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.

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.

Hurricane Helene. The St. Pete Pier, Tampa Bay, Florida, hours before Hurricane Helene made landfall, September 26, 2024. Hurricane Helene slammed into Florida’s Big Bend region late Thursday, bringing catastrophic storm surges which have destoyed buildings. Martha Asencio-Rhine Tampa Bay Times