Clearwater trudges on, while Clearwater Beach hit hard

Clearwater is open for business.

Despite the effects of Hurricane Milton hitting Pinellas County, on Thursday evening, the city of Clearwater seems open and ready. Along Gulf to Bay Boulevard, the city’s main east to west thoroughfare, traffic is as heavy as on any other day.

While not many shops are open, people are out and about. A Publix on Belcher Avenue was packed with customers, its parking lot overflowing.

But as you cross into Clearwater Beach, there is an entirely different scene and it seems like a different world.

Hotels and shops that are still recovering from Hurricane Helene remain boarded up. Debris, from mattresses and dressers to household appliances and garbage, is scattered along curbs still and there is little sign of life other than from those who are driving through.