MANATEE COUNTY – Two years ago, in early August, Tropical Storm Debby passed offshore of Anna Maria Island and Manatee County on its way to becoming a Category 1 hurricane as it traveled north.
According to the Florida Climate Center, the tropical storm dropped more than 18 inches of rain in some portions of eastern Manatee County during a five-day period and caused significant flooding. According to city officials, 10 to 12 inches of rain fell on Anna Maria during a two-day period, which also created localized flooding.
Manatee County’s newly purchased Peregrine emergency data integration system was not yet operational during Tropical Storm Debby, but it was operational by the time Hurricane Helene’s catastrophic storm surge struck the Island on Sept. 26, 2024.
Manatee County Public Safety Director Jodie Fiske oversees the Public Safety Department, which includes the Emergency Communications Division (911), the Emergency Management Division and the Emergency Medical Services Division (EMS).
When speaking to The Sun during a recent July 29 visit to the Manatee County Emergency Operations Center in Bradenton, Fiske said the county signed the purchase order for the Peregrine system three days before Tropical Storm Debby, and the vendor team was still on-site setting the new system up when the tropical storm arrived.
Fiske said the Peregrine system pulls data from about a dozen sources, including gauges, cameras, dispatch records and property files, and integrates it into a real-time digital display map. Fiske said Manatee County paid $140,000 for the Peregrine system that was purchased in 2024, and the total cost to expand the system to its current capacity is more than $400,000.
While Hurricane Helene was still offshore, the storm surge was already approaching Anna Maria Island. Inside the Emergency Operations Center, Fiske and the emergency management staff watched the Peregrine system operate in real time as the green dots on the electronic county map turned into red dots when the Island’s sewage lift stations lost power as the storm surge came ashore.
Fiske said there’s a difference between flooding and storm surge – a distinction she wants Island residents to clearly understand.
“People really underestimate storm surge,” she said. “Imagine standing up, and I push you. And as soon as you start to get your bearings back, I push you again. It’s the force of the ocean, powered by wind. It’s relentless, and it will go on for hours.”
Hurricane Helene’s predicted storm surge for the coastal areas of Manatee County was 7 to 9 feet. Fiske said the actual storm surge reached nearly 9.5 feet in some areas.
Fiske said the county always plans for a category above whatever strength hurricane is forecast. A predicted Category 1 hurricane is treated like a Category 2. A predicted 9-foot storm surge is planned for as an 18-foot surge.
Hurricane Milton then struck the Island and Manatee County less than two weeks after Helene. Fiske said the county’s coastal areas could have faced a 17-foot surge had Milton not wobbled during its final approach.
Fiske said slightly less than 1,000 people and approximately 60 pets headed to the county shelters before Hurricane Helene arrived. After seeing what Hurricane Helene’s storm surge and flooding did to the Island, residents evacuated with more urgency ahead of Hurricane Milton, when more than 11,000 people and 1,500 pets utilized the county shelters.
“The lesson stuck,” she said.
Fiske said before the Peregrine system was in place, checking a gauge that measures the height of a river’s water meant refreshing a browser tab on the National Weather Service website, which she said gets updated approximately every six hours. Now, the county’s river gauge data is refreshed every one to five minutes during a hurricane or major storm.
Using the Peregrine system allowed damage assessments to be completed faster. The county sent assessment teams to the neighborhoods where lift stations failed and pulled the affected property values directly from the Manatee County Property Appraiser’s Office website. This allowed Manatee County to deliver its damage estimates to the state within 12 hours after Hurricanes Helene and Milton. That turnaround time was 24 to 36 hours without the Peregrine system.
The county’s use of the Peregrine system has been expanded beyond tropical storms and hurricanes. The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, Bradenton Police, Palmetto Police and the county’s fire districts are being added to the county’s Peregrine platform. The Peregrine system is also used in nearby Pinellas and Hillsborough counties.
COUNTY TASK FORCE
During large-scale emergencies, Manatee County is assisted by the Tampa Bay Regional Search and Rescue Task Force 3, which includes St. Petersburg Fire Rescue, Hillsborough County Fire Rescue and Tampa Fire Rescue. During and after Hurricane Helene, Task Force 3 personnel assisted Manatee County while also assisting their own impacted counties.
Fiske said Manatee County is now in the process of developing its own search and rescue task force, and she credits North River Fire District Assistant Chief Joel Baker and West Manatee Fire District Deputy Chief Jay Johnson for suggesting it. In June, Manatee County commissioners approved spending $500,000 for task force training and equipment.
ISLAND CONCERNS
When asked what worries her most about Anna Maria Island before, during and after a hurricane, Fiske said her biggest fear is complacency and Island residents not taking hurricane warnings and evacuation orders seriously.
“People not taking the message seriously, that’s always the fear,” Fiske said. “I would rather you be uncomfortable for 12 hours in a shelter than be dead.”
