Pinellas County’s Gulf beach communities bore the brunt of Tropical Storm Eta, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office said.The agency deployed High Water Rescue Teams throughout the county, using boats and high water vehicles to rescue 33 people from homes and roadways.The Sheriff’s Office Dive Team assisted in several rescues from areas vehicles couldn’t reach. The high water vehicles included Humvees, flat-bottom boats and inflatable boats.Most of the rescues occurred in the area from Pass-a-Grille in south St. Pete Beach north to Madeira Beach. Those rescued were taken to area hotels or other shelters, the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Thursday.One family was taken to Alden Suites Beachfront Resort in St. Pete Beach, said manager Buddy Hyer. Two adults, three “very small children” and two small animals arrived at the hotel in a sheriff’s Humvee about 1:30 a.m.They were soaked, had limited clothing and wore no shoes. They had been rescued after their St. Petersburg home flooded during the storm, Hyer said.No injuries were reported as a result of the rescues.Deputies have been working overnight to assure roadways are safe and used chainsaws and other hurricane response equipment to remove fallen trees and branches from the roads. The Sheriff’s Office was working with county highway crews to further clear the roads.Deputies are assessing roadways throughout the county and planned to provide updates as they are available. • • • HURRICANE SEASON IS HERE: Get ready and stay informed at tampabay.com/hurricane PREPARE FOR COVID-19 AND THE STORM: The CDC's tips for this pandemic-hurricane season PREPARE YOUR STUFF: Get your documents and your data ready for a storm BUILD YOUR KIT: The stuff you’ll need to stay safe — and comfortable — for the storm PROTECT YOUR PETS: Your pets can’t get ready for a storm. That’s your job NEED TO KNOW: Click here to find your evacuation zone and shelter What the Panhandle’s top emergency officials learned from Michael ‘We’re not going to give up.’ What a school superintendent learned from Michael What Tampa Bay school leaders fear most from a storm Tampa Bay’s top cops fear for those who stay behind
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