Damage from Hurricane Idalia nears $4 million for Sarasota and Manatee

Hurricane Idalia-related damage in Sarasota County has exceeded the $1.9 million threshold needed to apply for public assistance programs, a county spokeswoman said Thursday afternoon.

That assessment is similar to the one conducted by Manatee County officials Wednesday, when the county released an initial $2 million storm damage estimate.

That means both counties and local municipalities will be able to tap into state and federal reimbursement programs similar to those in place after Hurricanes Ian and Irma.

Sarasota County parks and public works officials were assessing damage from Hurricane Idalia Thursday with a goal of wrapping up the examination of homes on the barrier islands, the bayfront and area beaches by the end of the day, according to Sarasota County interim emergency manager Scott Montgomery.

Sarasota County’s Emergency Operation Center was still active on Thursday. County spokeswoman Jamie Carson added: “Overall we’re through the storm but there's a lot to do; there’s a lot of coordination between the county and municipalities and our law enforcement agencies.”

State Road 789 was open over the John Ringling Causeway, to St. Armands Key and Longboat Key as of Thursday morning.

Carson said that the primary stormwater pumping system on St. Armands is inoperable because the entire control panel was submerged and it will take up to 90 days to have a new panel made and installed.

Until then, temporary pumps have been installed throughout the key.

Responding to social media criticism that the system failed, Carson said: “No pumping system will prevent flooding if the island seawall is overtopped.

“That’s what happened yesterday.”

The biggest impact to road infrastructure was the washout of Manasota Key Road just north of Blind Pass Beach Road – the same stretch of road impacted by Hurricane Irma in 2017. About 1,600 feet of the road – located between 6780 Manasota Key Road and Blind Pass Park – was damaged.

Casey Key Road was damaged in three separate sections. Public works employees were working to make the entire road passable by the end of Thursday, Montgomery said.

He then added if residents don’t need to be on the roads, it would be better to stay home and let the repairs continue.

County employees are also assessing debris on the barrier islands and determining whether to set up a special pickup for construction and demolition debris – such as flood-damaged furniture and drywall – Montgomery said. The county is formulating a message on how residents should prepare construction and demolition debris for pickup.

Sarasota County Parks and Recreation officials have assessed 149 of the 186 parks in Sarasota County, with 16 listed as closed on the latest park status report, including Blackburn Point Park, Blind Pass Beach Park, Caspersen Beach Park, and the Jelks Preserve.

Montgomery said area beaches are still being assessed for storm damage.

Three recently renourished beaches – Turtle, Lido and South Manasota – could be eligible for FEMA funding to fix erosion from Idalia. The county had launched an extensive renourishment of Turtle Beach this year.

A boil water advisory was in effect for residents of Casey Key, since water was shut off prior to Idalia.

All libraries reopened Thursday.

Collection services for garbage, recycling and yard waste for the remainder of the week will be delayed by at least one day.

Any changes to service schedules will be published through scgov.net and the Sarasota County social media channels.

Service will be delayed by one day again next week, due to the Labor Day holiday on Monday, Sept. 4.

Yard waste (small branches, leaves, moss, etc.) may be placed in containers, in paper bags or bundled and placed at the curb for pickup.

Items that are bundled or in containers should not exceed 4 feet in length and items that are in bags, containers or bundles should not exceed 40 pounds. This applies to both garbage and yard waste.

There will be an increase in the amount of trash and yard waste placed curbside over the upcoming weeks. All items placed curbside must be properly prepared.

The Central County Landfill reopened with regular business hours on Wednesday, Aug. 30.

The Bee Ridge Chemical Collection Center and The Re-Uz-It Shop will reopen on Thursday, Aug. 31.

Both the Manatee River and the Myakka River at Myakka River State Park may reach minor flood stage this weekend, as may Horse Creek near Arcadia at State Road 72.

The Manatee River was at 10.25 feet and rising Thursday morning noted Ross Giarratana, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Ruskin. This is technically known as action stage. Minor flood stage is 11 feet. The river was forecast to reach that late Thursday night or early Friday morning and top off at 11.2 feet over the weekend.

The Myakka River has been rising over the past few days and may reach action stage by the end of Thursday and minor flood stage by the weekend, Giarratana said.

Flood stage for the river is 7 feet and it is forecast to reach 7.2 feet by the end of the weekend.

Horse Creek at Arcadia is iat 10.4 feet and forecast to get to minor flood stage – which begins at 12 feet – either overnight Thursday or early Friday and linger there through the weekend.

Rainfall for Sarasota and Manatee counties was in the 2 to 4 inch range, NWS-Ruskin meteorologist Nicole Carlisle said.

The highest reported rainfall was 4.5 inches in Manatee County at Northeast DeSoto Lakes, between Interstate 75 and U.S 301.

The highest reported wind gust was 70 mph, though the area did experience sustained winds in the 50 to 60 mph range, she added.

Manatee County reported preliminary $2 million in damage Wednesday afternoon, after an initial sweep of Hurricane Idalia's impact on the community.

The barrier island communities of Holmes Beach, city of Anna Maria, Longboat Key, and Bradenton Beach all had impassable roads due to saltwater that flowed from the Gulf of Mexico into the Intracoastal Waterway on Wednesday.

The city of Anna Maria reopened Wednesday for residents and business owners only.

Manatee County Area Transit (MCAT) resumed operation Thursday. The county waste pick up will also resume, with normal Tuesday pick-ups on Thursday, Thursday pick-ups on Friday, and Friday pick-ups on Saturday. There will be no recycling or yard waste this week.

First-In-Teams deployed to help keep thoroughfares accessible for first responders and rescue personnel, but with storm surge inundation, several streets and roadways remained impassible Wednesday. An updated list of road closings is at mymanatee.org/roadclosures.

With no reports of casualties — or injuries — initial investigations have focused on maintaining vital infrastructure and making damage assessments. Officials said it will likely be days before more substantial damage evaluations are available.All shelters were closed Wednesday.

“We would like to thank the public for their cooperation in staying put while we begin our recovery efforts,” said County Commission Chairman Kevin Van Ostenbridge. .

“The County will be open for business Thursday,” said Acting County Administrator Charlie Bishop. “Though there may be a few facilities that won’t open due to ongoing assessments, we are doing all we can to get the bulk of our programs and facilities back to normal operations.”

In the city of Venice, the only major reported structural damage was the loss of the roof of Troll Music on East Venice Avenue.

According to an email from Venice spokeswoman Lorriane Anderson, City Engineer Kathleen Weeden said a temporary repair of damage from Hurricane Ian along the beach at Alhambra Road held up well.

Weeden added that there was no major beach erosion in Venice and city stormwater outfalls performed well.

Venice Fire Chief Frank Giddens estimated that the storm surge in the city matched the National Weather Service prediction of 3 to 5 feet.

While damage assessment continues, city officials are meeting with representatives of the West Coast Inland Navigation District to discuss damage at the South Jetty and an emergency contractor is working on damage at Tarpon Center Drive.

Anderson said that Humphris Park/South Jetty received heavy damage and will be closed for a while.

Anderson said that Venice Building Official Derek Applegate said all residential damage was minor – carports, soffit/fascia though some of that damage may be pre-existing from Ian.

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