PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — Pinellas County officials gave an update on recovery efforts after Hurricane Idalia hit early Wednesday morning.

Cathie Perkins, the Director for Pinellas County Emergency Management spoke at the conference held at the Pinellas County Emergency Operations Center.

Teams including emergency management, flood plain manager, the head of the damage assessment unit, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the FDEM are all out assessing the aftermath of Hurricane Idalia.

At the peak of evacuation, 10 risk shelters were open, holding over 1,700 people. Lealman Exchange is currently holding those who can’t go home.

Dangerous floods and storm surge flooded hundreds of homes in the county.

From Tuesday night to Wednesday afternoon, there were 800 emergency calls to 911 and 8,000 interactions. Search and rescue teams helped hundreds of people in flooded areas. St. Pete had 73 people helped in flooded areas.

“We send our thoughts and prayers to those in the Big Bend area who were directly impacted,” Perkins said.

Currently, the county is out there looking for any damage. One home reported two feet of water in their home.

Following the peak of the hurricane, 28,000 people were out of power. Duke reports 2,600 still without power.

“Thank you to all our utility providers who have helped with that restoration effort,” Perkins said.

Perkins also thanks everyone in the community who has helped with sandbag distribution throughout the week, damage assessment, rescues, cleanup efforts, and in shelters.

For those with flood impacts, take photos of how high the water was in your home, to help with insurance and data for future storms. File insurance claims as soon as possible at pinellas.gov/flash/insurance.

If an electric vehicle has flooded with saltwater, keep it out of the home. One electrical vehicle has already caught fire.

Additionally, there have been three house fires reported. At one home, fire crews couldn’t get in due to the height of the water.

For those who experienced power outages, check all food and don’t consume anything that may have gone bad.

For resources, visit disaster.pinellas.gov.

Crisis cleaning is available for people to come help with cleanup. The hotline is open to volunteers to help with downed trees, removing flooring or appliances that are damaged, and with roof repair.

Perkins also encourages people to check in on their neighbors to make sure everyone is okay.

“We’re all in this together,” Perkins added.