As first responders across Tampa Bay worked to assess damage Friday morning from Hurricane Helene, emergency managers reported that more than 1,000 people had been rescued overnight across a three-county region.

Tampa Bay area of Florida, particularly St. Petersburg, was hit hard by Hurricane Helene, which made landfall as a Category 4 storm Sept. 26, 2024.

Most of the deaths thus far from Hurricane Helene were in the Tampa Bay area, where many residents did not heed evacuation orders on barrier islands.