ST. PETE BEACH, Fla.—The Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners announced they asked the federal government to merge Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton into a single disaster, and they expect that request to be granted shortly.
The announcement was made by the Board’s Chair Kathleen Peters as she spoke alongside President Joe Biden in St. Pete Beach during his visit on Oct. 13. Her primary reason for the request appeared to be about expediting debris cleanup.
“Can you imagine if we had to separate our debris?” she said. “‘This is Helene debris and this is Milton debris.’ There’s just no possible way that we would be able to do that effectively and efficiently.”…