UPDATE:
As of 4:30 p.m., Tampa Electric had fewer than 700 TS Alberto-related outages.
As of 9 a.m., TECO says the total number of customers without power is down to 2,500. More details to come.
EARLIER:
According to Tampa Electric Company, customers in the following areas are experiencing power outages.
Hillsborough County - 4,075
Pinellas County - 12
Pasco County - 3
Polk County - 1,116
Total - 5,206
TECO has crews working on restoring power.
By Kevin Begos
The Tampa Tribune
The fish, birds and gators may have the best take on Tropical Storm Alberto as it heads towards making landfall at one of the least populated areas on Florida’s coast, southeast of Tallahassee.
At dawn Tuesday there were reports from the tiny towns of Steinhatchee and Keaton Beach of higher than normal tides, but not reaching the point of submerging roads, according to Mandy Cornelius, public information officer for the Taylor County Emergency Management Center. An update from officials was expected at 8 a.m., with landfall expected sometime this morning.
In Perry, about 20 miles in from the coast, there was steady rain and moderately strong gusts of wind, but not of hurricane force. There were still concerns about flooding in low-lying areas and the possibility of tornadoes.
According to NOAA, the likelihood that Alberto will become a hurricane prior to landfall is decreasing.
Reporter Kevin Begos can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or (850) 222-8382.
According to Progress Energy, about 2900 customers are out of power in Largo and Seminole. Around 500 customers are facing outages in St. Petersburg. Crews are en route but do not have a restoration time.
Progress Energy Customer Service: (800) 228-8485
Citrus County Emergency Management Officials have rescinded the mandatory evacuation notice for mobile home dwellers on the east side of Citrus County.
A mandatory evacuation continues to be in place for all residents living west of U.S. 19 and one-and-a-half miles east of U.S. 19.
To accommodate evacuated residents, two shelters are open at this time. Lecanto Middle School is open for all citizens with special needs and Lecanto High School is open for the general public.
Both the Inverness Middle School and the Citrus High School shelters have closed as of 8 a.m. Tuesday morning.
Coastal flooding is of major concern for Citrus County at this time.
Storm-related questions and concerns may be directed to (352) 746-5470, 527-2106 or 746-6555.
Pinellas County Does Not Expect Increased Threat
Pinellas County EOC is not expecting any greater threat from the storm than previously anticipated. Residents may face wind gusts of 50-60 mph, coastal storm surge of 5-7 feet and flooding in low lying areas.
At this time, 22 people are in the three Pinellas County shelters.
Our Citizen Information Center will also continue to accept calls at 727-464-4333.
by VALERIE KALFRIN
The Tampa Tribune
TAMPA - The U.S. Coast Guard thinks high winds and seas from Tropical Storm Alberto caused a 60-foot work barge to slam into the eastbound lanes of the Howard Frankland Bridge about 2:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Workers closed the right eastbound lane for a few hours to assess the damage, but reopened it by 9:30 a.m., Florida Department of Transportation spokeswoman Marian Scorza said. She had no financial estimate for the damage, which is minor.
Scorza said a contractor hired by FDOT was using the barge to perform small repairs to the bridge’s concrete pilings. The repair project, similar to one at the Courtney Campbell Parkway, began in May.
No one was aboard the barge at the time of the crash. The barge was tied up but got loose from its moorings, Scorza said.
The barge has been leased to M & J Construction Co. of Tarpon Springs, officials said.
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Pinellas County public schools and district offices will be open for normal operations Tuesday, June 13.
Schools and offices will remain open. However, it is up to each parent to determine what is best for his or her child.
Pinellas County Schools’ emergency line, (727) 588-6424, will have a recorded message with information about school system operations that can be accessed 24 hours a day.
Pasco-Hernando Community College will be closing as of 6 p.m., June 12, and will remain closed on Tuesday, June 13.
The college will resume normal operations on Wednesday, June 14.
Visit the web site at http://www.phcc.edu for details or call Lynn Rothman-Venus at 1-727-919-3324 with questions.
The Courts in Pasco County will be closed on Tuesday, June 13.
Residents of both Pasco and Pinellas counties who have been summoned for jury duty on Tuesday (June 13) are excused. Potential jurors should not report to any courthouse in the Sixth Judicial Circuit on Tuesday.
The next first appearance advisory hearings for Pasco County will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday (June 14). They will be held by video conference between the Pasco County Detention Center and Courthouse in Dade City.
At this time, the only effect on Pinellas Court operations is the decision for jurors not to report.
The Courts in Pinellas County will be open on Tuesday, June 13th. This court’s website (http://www.jud6.org
) will be updated regularly.
All Pasco County Government Offices will be closed Tuesday.
* All Pasco County Public Schools and Pre-K Programs for children will be closed Tuesday.
* All Pasco County parks will be closed Tuesday. This includes all day camps, pools and swimming lesions taking place in county parks.
* The Pasco County Solid Waste Resource Recovery Plant and East Pasco Transfer Station will remain open for commercial operators.
* The Pasco County Board of County Commissioners regularly scheduled board meeting for tomorrow (Tuesday, June 13) has been rescheduled for next Tuesday, June 20, at the Historic Court House in Dade City, 1:30 p.m. time certain. This includes all scheduled public hearings.
St. Petersburg - Tuesday’s residential garbage collection will be postponed to Wednesday in St. Petersburg. Residents should refrain from placing their garbage cans on the street until Wednesday.
Residents are also reminded to secure other loose items in their yards - such as outdoor furniture, tools, etc.
The 4 churches designated to serve as Red Cross shelters will open at 7 p.m. tonight.
The shelters are listed below:
* The First Apostolic Church, 1830 30th St. Ruskin 33570, (Capy. 140)
* The Bible Based Fellowship Church, 8718 N. 46th St, Tampa 33617 (Capy 200)
* St Johns Presbyterian Church, 4120 N. MacDill Ave 33607 (Capy 75)
* Town n’ Country Baptist Church, Tampa 33615 (Capy 100).
By ANTHONY MacCARTNEY
The Tampa Tribune
TAMPA - At 4 p.m., Hillsborough County declared a local state of emergency, but stressed that local evacuations will not be ordered unless Alberto’s path turns closer to the Tampa Bay area.
The decision is primarily an administrative one, allowing county officials to take special action if Alberto’s path changes overnight.
Portions of Hillsborough County could expect to see four to eight inches over the next couple of days as Alberto makes it way toward landfall near Florida’s Big Bend.
Gispert said the area, which has already seen 3 ½ to four inches of rain in the past two days, will benefit from the recent drought-like conditions, said Hillsborough County
Emergency Management Director Larry Gispert.
Much of the rainfall is expected to be soaked up by the parched soil, he said.
However, county officials are concerned about tomorrow’s high tide, which is expected to be at about 3 p.m.
A full moon will increase the tide, threatening to cause some coastal flooding.
People who live in areas that are prone to flooding should prepare and can go to one of four evacuation centers that will open tonight at 7 p.m., Gispert said.
Those areas include along Bayshore and West Shore boulevards in Tampa, Apollo Beach and portions of Town ‘N Country.
Public schools will be closed Tuesday, Gispert said, but government offices will remain open.
The county will also open its Emergency Operations Center at 8 a.m.
Alberto is expected to generate wind gusts of greater than 40 miles per hour, but most county operations will not be greatly impacted, Gispert said.
Some high-profile emergency vehicles will not operate once winds exceed 40 miles per hour, Gispert said, and trash pickup may also be suspended once the winds pick up.
But high winds are not expected to be sustained, he said.
The American Red Cross is opening four shelters at 7 p.m. Those will be located at The First Apostolic Church at 1830 30th Street in Ruskin; The Bible Based Fellowship Church, 8718 N. 46th Street, St. John’s Presbyterian Church at 4120 N. MacDill Ave. and Town ‘N Country Baptist Church, 7601 Jackson Springs Rd., all in Tampa.
Residents with questions about where to pick up sandbags or other precautions can call the county’s InfoLine at (813) 272-5900.
The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) plans to operate on a normal schedule tonight and tomorrow (Tuesday June 13, 2006).
However, PSTA service is subject to change should the storm conditions worsen.
The latest information on PSTA bus service can be obtained by calling the PSTA InfoLine at (727) 540-1900.
Visit http://www.PSTA.net
Summer school has been canceled for students, teachers and bus drivers on Tuesday, June 13, 2006, in the Hillsborough County Public Schools.
At this time, school district 12-month employees still are expected to report for work on Tuesday.
Summer school is expected to resume on Wednesday, June 14, 2006.
In addition, all staff development classes have been canceled for this evening.
Updates also will be posted on the school district website at http://www.sdhc.k12.fl.us
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