Four Located in Unincorporated County Neighborhoods; Two in City Neighborhoods - Hurricane Helene Update No. 24

Hillsborough County, Fla. (Sept. 30, 2024) - Hillsborough County and the City of Tampa are opening six comfort stations to help residents affected by Hurricane Helene. Two comfort stations are open in the City of Tampa and four other locations will open in Town 'N Country, Apollo Beach, and Ruskin.

The comfort stations offer showers, restrooms, ice, washers and dryers for laundry, and charging stations for phones, laptops, and other communications devices. Hot food or boxed meals will be available at lunch and dinner times.

The comfort stations in Marjorie Park Marina and Desoto Park are now open. The other stations will be open on Tuesday. Please follow Hillsborough County on social media @HillsboroughFL for updates on when each site will open.

Once opened, the comfort stations will be operational daily from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. until further notice at the following locations:

Restrooms, showers, and laundry services will be available at unincorporated county comfort station locations later today. The other amenities will be available tomorrow. In the meantime, residents can charge their devices at Hillsborough County libraries.

Lunch plan for Monday:

Lunch available at Desoto Park, Ruskin Park and Skyway Sports Complex provided by the American Red Cross and at Apollo Beach Park and Sandy Perrone Park provided by the Salvation Army.

Dinner plan for Monday and lunch and dinner plan for Tuesday and Wednesday:

American Red Cross will be serving lunch starting at approximately 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and dinner starting at approximately 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at all comfort station locations.

People without access to adequate air conditioning also can take refuge in public places, including libraries or shopping malls. Residents also can refill water bottles in County parks, libraries, or government buildings across the county. 

Get Connected. Stay Alert.

Make sure to have a plan. Residents and visitors are encouraged to register for HCFL Alert, Hillsborough County's official public notification system for emergency and urgent alerts. To receive messages by email, phone, and text, go to HCFL.gov/StaySafe. without digital access are encouraged to call (833) HC STORM or (833) 427-8676, the County's storm information line.