If you’re traveling to Tampa Bay Philadelphia Eagles vs. Buccaneers gameLucky. If you’re planning on spending a few extra days on the nearby beaches between Clearwater and St. Pete Beach, you’re not so lucky with Hurricane Helene.

Pinellas County’s beach communities, which lie directly on the Gulf Coast, are closed for business. All access is closed and residents attempting to clean up will be asked to leave the site, which could take up to a week.

Hurricane Helene destroyed parts of the infrastructure for bridges, roads, sewer, water and power on all of Pinellas County’s barrier islands, leaving no water, sewer or power.

Several CBS News Philadelphia reporters spoke with Eagles fans who had to make sudden changes to their travel plans because of Helene, including Craig Chenosky of the Green Legion, which organizes trips for Birds fans to away games.

Chenosky and others had to move from their Clearwater Beach location before Helene’s arrival.

“The alarm sounded around 2:30 a.m., it was a real evacuation,” Chenosky told Kerri Corrado. “You weren’t messing around.”

He added that the Green Legion was lucky enough to find another hotel in Tampa and get there via Uber.

In addition to utility and infrastructure problems, roads on the barrier islands are covered in up to a foot of mud and sand, and debris can be found everywhere from beach chairs to propane tanks to stranded boats.

Yes, boats. Many people didn’t moor their boats before the storm, and now they’re high and dry in yards and streets.

A big draw is the soft, cool sand of these beaches, but all of it has been washed away. In many places there is no beach anymore, only the water splashes against the sea walls where the beach used to be.

The bottom line is that if you plan to stay at a hotel, vacation rental or resort on the Gulf Coast beaches, you should call ahead because you may need to put Plan B into action.

This was the worst storm surge for Tampa/St. For more than 100 years, the Petersburg area has experienced flooding of buildings and homes by 5 to 8 feet of water.

Enjoy the weather in Florida if you’re traveling there soon, and have a great time playing the game if you go there. Come on, eagles!