Florida’s changed a lot in the over 20 years I’ve lived on the Gulf coast, and it’s changed even more as a result of COVID-19. But the biggest change to southwest Florida and the entire coastline south of Tampa may come as a result of Hurricane Ian.
Now that the flood waters are receding and everyone is assessing the damage from the storm, we’re starting to get a feel for the damage to real estate values. Feedback from brokers is that the investors and buyers are now out in force looking for properties to buy in as-is condition. One broker from Englewood predicts that home prices will increase for at least another 12 to 18 months because of the additional demand.
Buyers from out of state have not changed their minds and are motivated to buy before prices increase further because of the anticipated additional shortage of properties to buy in the aftermath of the storm. In addition, they have not been discouraged by the increased costs associated with fortifying homes against wind and flooding.
The fallout from the insurance companies is still unknown, but anyone purchasing a coastal home now is calculating that additional cost into their affordability factor.
Of course, Anna Maria Island and other barrier islands on the coast that did not have major damage will be looked at by buyers and seasonal renters. This could prove to be an even busier rental season for Anna Maria Island with higher price tags for rentals and purchases alike.
Assuming all of the above, where does that leave the average buyer who wants to live on the coast? Unfortunately, many will be forever priced out of coastal living because of a combination of building codes and the increased costs of flood and homeowners’ insurance.
The most recent update to Florida building codes from 2020 includes provisions to seal roof decks, as well as longer standing requirements to install impact-resistant windows or shutters and an update to stronger connections between the roof, walls and foundation.
As previously stated, homeowner’s insurance companies are requiring condos and single-family homes to install new roofs before they will provide an insurance policy. This is happening even if there are currently no leaks or damage to existing roofs, if they are over a certain age.
According to a recent report by CoreLogic, there are nearly 33 million homes at risk of hurricane-force wind damage along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts in Florida, so the amount of property updating required is substantial.
When Hurricane Michael hit the Panhandle town of Mexico Beach, it didn’t take long for the area to recover with high-end homes, gated communities and beachfront condos supplanting the original old Florida cottage nature of the area. This is certainly going to happen in parts of southwest Florida where many homeowners do not have flood and/or homeowner’s insurance and are planning not to return. Just to prove that “deep pocket” money isn’t afraid of storms, The Ritz Carlton Residences on Estero Bay, located just south of Fort Myers Beach, is breaking ground next year with units starting at $2.8 million.
I still have my crystal ball handy from Halloween and it’s telling me Florida’s real estate values are strong and may actually get stronger because of Hurricane Ian. The downside is will “old Florida” be gone forever? The crystal ball is saying, “Why are you asking that question? You know the answer.” Unfortunately, I do.
ANNA MARIA – When Hurricane Michael made landfall Oct. 10 in the Florida Panhandle near Mexico Beach as a Category 4 storm, it left devastation for residents and business owners in its wake. A group of seven people from Roser Memorial Community Church traveled to the area Nov. 11 for a five-day trip to help bring help and hope to the area.
The group, including Rev. Neil Crowell, David Cheshire, Dan Luckenbill, Ruth Martin, Matt Meehan, Mike Pescitelli and Randy Swain drove in a caravan to Wewahitcha, Fla., in the Panhandle which served as their base camp. During the day, they traveled 20 miles to Mexico Beach to help with cleanup efforts and providing emotional support to residents still stunned by the magnitude of the storm.
This photo shows some of the devastation in Mexico Beach, FL following Hurricane Michael coming ashore in the Panhandle. Many beachfront homes disappeared or became rubble piles across the street. – Submitted
Meehan said he’s been on three similar disaster relief trips, all sponsored by the church and Samaritan’s Purse, and this was “by far the worst” damage he’d encountered.
“It was total devastation,” he said, likening the visual experience to seeing the site of a meteorite crash.
“It was like a huge tornado had come in and just sat there,” Swain said. “What wasn’t torn up was completely moved.”
During Hurricane Michael, one Mexico Beach home was pushed off its foundation and into a neighboring residence. – Submitted
Luckenbill said he was “dumbfounded” by the damage to the area and the amount of need that exists in the Panhandle as residents try to work their way back to a semblance of normalcy.
“It’s catastrophic damage,” he said.
The group spent five days working 10 hours a day to help residents remove belongings from damaged structures, put tarps on roofs, tear out damaged drywall and listen as residents told their stories to relief workers. Volunteers also helped prepare meals for volunteers and the community, clean and direct residents to local relief resources.
“People just don’t know who to turn to,” Pescitelli said.
“Sometimes the homeowners just need someone to talk to,” Swain said. “The work will get done.”
In addition to helping bring hope to the storm’s victims with their presence and work, the group also helped residents locate assistance by way of supplies, food, clothing and other aide outside of government services. Meehan said this is the first disaster relief trip he’s been a part of where there were no FEMA trailers on the ground to provide temporary shelter. Pescitelli said most of the people he spoke with are staying with friends or family members located 50 miles or more away from their ruined homes and travel daily to help pick up the pieces of their lives. Some people in the area also are staying in tents.
“These people’s lives have just been darkened,” Swain said. “We wanted to help them see that God loves them enough to help them get their lives started again.”
The disaster relief group has turned into a formal ministry of the church in conjunction with Samaritan’s Purse. The team from Roser was just seven of more than 100 volunteers from across the country and Canada who came to the area to help out.
“It renews your hope for the citizens of this world,” Luckenbill said. “You just leave with a new energy, vigor and faith in humanity.”
“We support each other as much as we support the victims,” Meehan said, adding that despite having their own issues to deal with, each volunteer gave up a week of their time to join the group and help those in need.
Luckenbill said he believes there are three sections to the work that needs to be done with disaster relief missions – bring hope, love and joy to the people affected, help with the physical work and spread fellowship and volunteerism within the community and volunteers onsite.
Pescitelli said seeing the good work the group accomplished during the trip and the work that Samaritan’s Purse is doing to assist disaster victims has encouraged him to become more physically and financially involved in the relief efforts, something he hopes other people will do as well.
To see volunteer opportunities with Samaritan’s Purse or learn more about their disaster relief effort, visit their website.
BRADENTON – Manatee County first responders don’t only answer the call of duty locally, they also answer when other people need their help, including those affected by Hurricane Michael in the Florida Panhandle.
West Manatee Fire Rescue Chief Tom Sousa said that when the call came in for assistance in the aftermath of the Category 4 storm, five strike teams of firefighters and emergency medical service workers from region six, stretching from Manatee to Collier County, assembled including 25 fire engines with around 100 firefighters and five ambulance teams with 25 ambulances and about 50 medical personnel.
Sousa said the region’s six strike teams assembled first in Tallahassee before traveling to Marianna, Fla., where they helped to clear debris, treat injuries using the WMFR advanced life support engine, distribute supplies and run emergency calls with local first responders.
He said the team, including firefighters from WMFR, Longboat Key, Cedar Hammock, Southern Manatee, the City of Bradenton, East Manatee and North River fire districts, was redeployed Oct. 15 to Port St. Joe and Port St. Joe Beach to provide hurricane recovery assistance.
WMFR Battalion Chief Ben Rigney served as the leader for an engine strike team of five engines and around 30 personnel. The City of Bradenton Urban Search and Rescue team also responded, sending six personnel to the region along with Manatee County EMS workers.
Sousa said the teams were expected to return home after nearly two weeks in the region early this week.
The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, through Anna Maria City Hall, is collecting items to send to the areas hit by Hurricane Michael last week. The hallway at city hall was already full of items donated by Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch volunteers on Monday. The collection period ends Sunday, Oct. 21. City hall is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
New items being collected include toilet paper, paper towels, shampoo, conditioner, hair brushes/combs, hair ties, deodorant, toothbrushes, toothpaste, Chapstick, soap/body wash, body lotion, first-aid kits and items, razors, shaving cream, feminine products, sanitary wipes/gel, sunscreen, insect repellant, laundry soap, cleaning supplies, towels, sheets, blankets, sleeping bags, flip flops, water shoes, work gloves, shovels, rakes, saws, empty gas cans, flashlights, batteries, tarps, ropes, box fans, extension cords, paper plates, plastic silverware and cups, mops and brooms and Ziploc bags and trash bags, pet food and supplies and baby products such as diapers, formula and bottles, wipes, baby food (no glass, please) baby wash and shampoo. Donate canned food only.
Cash is not accepted; money can be donated to the Red Cross.
Holmes Beach police also involved
The Holmes Beach Police Department is partnering with Manatee County Search and Rescue to be a drop off location for hurricane relief goods to be transported to the Panhandle. Items may be delivered to the police station, 5801 Marina Drive, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday until Oct. 21.
You can also drop them off at the following Beef O’Brady’s locations:
8913 US-301 N Parrish
1795 Lakewood Ranch Blvd. Bradenton
4286 53rd Ave E (corner of Lockwood Ridge Road and SR 70)
Items requested include duct tape, tarps, cleaning supplies, toys for little children, clothes such as T-shirts, socks, underwear and shoes, plus other nonperishable items like diapers, personal hygiene and feminine products.
There also is a desperate need for pants and boots for the first responders. Any help would be appreciated.
ANNA MARIA – Mayor Dan Murphy said Oct. 11 he thinks the city’s north shore lost 30-35 percent of its white sands, but, he added, Bean Point has grown.
Murphy and Manatee County Sheriff’s Office Sergeant Mike Jones toured the city’s beaches after the high waters caused by Hurricane Michael receded. Murphy’s opinion of the state of the beach is based on opinion and visual inspection, not on a formal study.
“We got really lucky,” Murphy said, adding the sea oats planted along the coastline helped keep the sand on the shore. “That’s what they’re there for.”
Anna Maria’s beaches also were spared from major erosion during Hurricane Irma in 2017. According to a coastal impact report published by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the beaches of Anna Maria were listed as only suffering “minor damage” due to the storm losing a lot of its momentum after making landfall.
Murphy said there’s no plan to replace the eroded sand at this time.
HOLMES BEACH – The Holmes Beach Police Department is working with Manatee County Search and Rescue to gather supplies for first responders and residents in the Florida Panhandle affected by Hurricane Michael.
Items requested include duct tape, tarps, cleaning supplies, toys for small children, clothes, underwear, socks, shoes, fatigues, nonperishable food items, diapers, personal hygiene products and feminine hygiene products. Items most needed include T-shirts, underwear, socks and shoes. First responders in the area also are requesting pants and boots.
Donations can be dropped off at the HBPD, 5801 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach. Supplies are being collected through Friday with delivery this coming weekend to the panhandle. For more information, contact the HBPD at 941-708-5804.
CORTEZ – The Swordfish Grill, the Cortez Bait & Seafood Company, The Blessing Bags Project and the Service Industry Relief Festivities (SIRF) organization are teaming up to provide supplies to Floridians impacted by Hurricane Michael.
The relief efforts are set to begin at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 16, with two semi-trailers stationed in the plaza parking lot near the Cortez Fish Market (12110 Cortez Road W.) and Cortez Post Office.
The goal is to fill both trailers with donated backpacks filled with donated toys, baby supplies (diapers, baby wipes, etc.), personal hygiene products, first aid supplies, sunscreen, bug spray and other comfort items. Cash donations will also be accepted.
As he did last year after Hurricane Harvey hit Texas, Swordfish Grill General Manager Bob Slicker is helping spearhead the local relief efforts.
“I was sitting there this morning sitting by myself, watching the news and crying and I thought I needed to do something,” Slicker said Monday morning.
Applying lessons learned last year, Slicker said the focus this year is on comfort items that are easier to stage, transport and distribute than the bulkier food, water and clothing that were among the many items collected last year.
The Bradenton/Sarasota-based Blessing Bags Project has a great deal of experience collecting, filling and distributing backpacks to those in need locally, and one Monday afternoon Director Betsy Plante told Slicker 300 backpacks had already been donated to the hurricane relief efforts, but more are needed.
The donated backpacks and supplies will be delivered to Port St. Joe High School in Port St. Joe, where resident Jay Rish is helping to coordinate the distribution efforts. Rish is a friend of Robert DeMino, territory manager for U.S. Foods, the company that supplies the Swordfish Grill and several other local restaurants.
DeMino said Rish is a third-generation Port St. Joe resident and a prominent realtor and developer in the area. Port St. Joe is approximately 12 miles southeast of Mexico Beach, one of the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Michael.
According to Slicker, Rish said there’s already plenty of food and water making its way to the area and the comfort items will be greatly appreciated.
“What we are collecting are the best possible things for now,” Slicker said.
Slicker expects it will take at least a couple of days, maybe a week, to fill the trailers provided by Cortez businessman John Banyas.
“We’ll do it as long as we need to,” Slicker said.
“If you would like to make a cash donation, we will have our good friend Simon Lord purchase supplies for us and get those supplies up there also,” Slicker added.
“I was sitting there this morning sitting by myself, watching the news and crying and I thought I needed to do something.” – Bob Slicker, Swordfish Grill General Manager
Financial donations will be processed through the recently-created, SIRF-affiliated 501(c)(3) non-profit Florida Restaurant Employee Red Tide Relief Fund. The fund was established to provide relief to Cortez and Anna Maria Island restaurant employees and others impacted in future years by red tide outbreaks, hurricanes and the annual slow season.
On Monday afternoon, SIRF set up a wish list at Amazon.com that allows folks to order relief supplies to be delivered to the Swordfish Grill and then loaded onto a trailer headed for Port St. Joe. Visit SIRF online at their recently-launched website.
Slicker said the relief efforts will continue during the 7th Annual Cortez Stone Crab & Music Festival on Saturday, Nov. 10 and Sunday, Nov. 11.
“It’s almost November and the holidays are approaching. Some of those families will not be able to buy toys for their children. Toys probably aren’t on anyone’s priority list, but that’s going to be part of our focus working with The Blessing Bags Project,” Slicker said. “If you come to the stone crab festival, bring a toy to get in. We will make the festival a hurricane relief toy drive.”
Updated Oct. 16 – Hurricane Michael’s violent churning in the Gulf of Mexico could break up the red tide bloom that has affected Southwest Florida for the past year – or it could make it worse, scientists say.
The storm made landfall Wednesday, Oct. 10 in the Florida Panhandle, just shy of a Category 5 hurricane. As its tail brushed past Anna Maria Island on Wednesday, it caused minor local flooding, but whipped up Gulf surf, making the red tide airborne.
Short-term red tide outlook
Red tide continues to seriously impact Florida tourism businesses. It reached Anna Maria Island on Aug. 3, but coastal Gulf communities to the south began experiencing red tide a year ago this month, and the bloom now covers 150 miles of coastline.
While not unprecedented in its duration, this bloom is unusually persistent, according to NOAA forecasters, who predict that coastal communities are likely to continue to experience the effects of the ongoing bloom.
NOAA forecasts low levels of red tide on Gulf beaches in Manatee County through Oct. 17.
The size of the bloom changes constantly, and is patchy – not every beach is affected every day.
Until Michael passed by, hurricane storm winds were blowing offshore, pushing most of the water containing red tide farther out into the Gulf, said Dr. Richard Pierce, associate vice president for research and a senior scientist at Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota.
However, as the hurricane traveled north past Anna Maria Island, its winds changed direction, bringing the red tide back onshore on west/southwesterly winds, he said.
Scientists are still collecting air and water samples from the storm, so it’s too early to reach any conclusions, nor can researchers tell if past hurricanes helped or hindered past red tides, because there has not been enough continuous monitoring, he said.
“But there have been times when a hurricane came and dispersed red tide so it didn’t come back,” he said, adding that other times, storms concentrated nutrients near the shore, which makes red tide worse.
“We can’t really predict it. Every situation is different,” Pierce said.
Past hurricanes have not caused red tide blooms to dissipate, although the research is incomplete because the number of cases where blooms and hurricanes occurred at the same time is small, said Jerry Slaff, Public Affairs Specialist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), noting, “We will be watching to see what effects Hurricane Michael has on the current bloom.”
Island beaches were sunny but sparsely populated the day after Hurricane Michael. – Cindy Lane | Sun
Scientists agree that hurricanes can move red tide around. The 2005-06 red tide bloom off the coast of southwest Florida was carried up to the Florida Panhandle by Hurricane Katrina, according to NOAA, and the current bloom intensified and spread to the Florida Panhandle after Tropical Storm Gordon in September 2018.
What Michael did to the beach
“(Anna Maria Island) beaches fared very well with this storm overall, especially along the beaches from mid-Island to the north end. The waves certainly overtopped all of the sandy beaches but after the storm passed, wave action had the effect of leveling out the beaches on a gentle slope down to the waterline. Many low-profile dunes were overtopped as well, with a minor loss of sea oats, but overall conditions recovered well. At Coquina Beach on the south end, noticeable erosion occurred, almost to be expected as this stretch is one of our most active erodible beaches on the entire Island. We are working with FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers to bring back a major beach renourishment project to the Island in the spring of next year to rebalance sand losses encountered with Hurricane Hermine and Irma combined.” – Charlie Hunsicker, Director of the Manatee County Parks and Recreation Department
Red tide worse locally after Michael
As the lifeguards in Bradenton Beach got ready to begin their day Thursday, there was hope that the high winds and surf would disperse the red tide.
But as midday approached on Coquina Beach, those hopes were dashed.
William and Rita Postino of Bradenton were two of the few people on the beach around 9 a.m. on Thursday.
“I collect shells and we come out here two or three times per week,” said Rita Postino. “There are more people here than yesterday watching the waves.”
William and Rita Postino – Tom Vaught | Sun
She said the red tide was not as noticeable as the water rose at high tide and covered a lot of beach.
Thursday there were few dead fish on the beach.
Mark and Kathy Biscontine – Tom Vaught | Sun
At the Coquina Beach Café, Mark and Kathy Biscontine of Bradenton said the water covered the old groins that normally were buried by sand. They said surfers were out and they came close to the groins because they were not visible from the water.
Lifeguard Chelsea Hart guided a utility vehicle down the beach around 10:30 a.m. There were a few more people on the beach, but the irritation and smell of red tide were increasing. She said they use masks when it gets too bad. An Army veteran, she was a lifeguard in Volusia County on Florida’s East Coast before coming to Manatee County to work the beaches five years ago.
Bradenton Beach groins – Tom Vaught | Sun
“The beach has a little deeper slope to it, but I don’t think too much sand washed away yesterday,” she said. “There were some pretty intense waves yesterday.”
Hart said conditions were a “double red” Wednesday, meaning nobody was allowed in the water.
Chelsea Hart – Tom Vaught | Sun
For the people who are on the beach to save lives, the red tide outbreak has been especially rough.
Red tide: What scientists know
Florida red tide (Karenia brevis), a type of harmful algal bloom, is the result of uncontrolled algae growth in optimal conditions, including salinity, sunlight and nutrients such as nitrogen and iron, the latter carried on winds from the Sahara desert across the ocean and deposited in the Gulf.
Blooms produce neurotoxins called “brevetoxins” in the water, turning the Gulf’s light greenish-blue water to dark reddish-brown, killing fish, manatees, dolphins, sea turtles, and even a whale shark earlier this year.
The darker water reduces the amount of sunlight that passes through it, affecting organisms on the sea floor that need sunlight to live, according to research at the University of South Florida College of Marine Science in St. Petersburg. The algae also can deplete oxygen in the water.
Red tide toxins in the water can become airborne with wind and wave action, causing respiratory problems, especially for people with asthma, emphysema, COPD or other chronic respiratory diseases. Red tide toxins affect the nervous system, and when inhaled, they cause respiratory irritation including coughing, sneezing and a scratchy throat, and can trigger asthma attacks.
Red tide toxins also can accumulate in oysters and clams, which can lead to neurotoxic shellfish poisoning in people who consume contaminated shellfish.
Seafoam during a red tide is highly concentrated in toxins and should not be touched.
Hurricane Michael made landfall at Panama City around 2 p.m. as a category 4 storm with 155 mph winds, and has since dropped to 140 mph winds, moving north/northeast at 15 mph, according to NOAA.
Anna Maria Island saw few effects today, with localized flooding, intermittent rain showers and high surf, which brought out surfers and pushed the Gulf of Mexico high onto the beaches at high tide around 2 p.m.
Local tropical storm and storm surge watches have been lifted, but high surf and rip current advisories remain.
NOAA forecasts south/southwesterly winds subsiding Thursday to 20-25 mph, gusting as high as 36 mph, with a 60 percent chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms and a high around 89 degrees.
A sea turtle nest falls victim to washover in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael passing Anna Maria Island Wednesday. - Kristin Swain | Sun
Water crept high on this dock in Holmes Beach as high tide approached this afternoon. - Cindy Lane | Sun
The sidewalk beside Holmes Beach City Field flooded from rainwater associated with Hurricane Michael this morning. - Cindy Lane | Sun
Surfers took advantage of waves during Hurricane Michael at Twin Piers in Bradenton Beach on Wednesday. - Joe Hendricks | Sun
The Rod & Reel Pier in Anna Maria closed today. - Joe Hendricks | Sun
The Rod & Reel Pier in Anna Maria closed today. - Joe Hendricks | Sun
The boats in the Bradenton Beach anchorage fared well today as Hurricane Michael passed by. - Joe Hendricks | Sun
The water was high near the Bridge Street Pier Wednesday, but the boats in the anchorage are faring well. - Joe Hendricks | Sun
Wading birds in Holmes Beach got new feeding grounds from Hurricane Michael today. - Cindy Lane | Sun
This morning, Anna Maria Island showed evidence of extremely high tides overnight. - Cindy Lane | Sun
A child chases retreating waves Wednesday on Manatee Public Beach as Hurricane Michael passes offshore. - Kristin Swain | Sun
Water slid up a driveway this morning in Holmes Beach. - Cindy Lane | Sun
Waves and sea foam reached far up the shoreline Wednesday at Manatee Public Beach. The foam appeared to contain red tide. - Kristin Swain | Sun
As the clouds blew away from Holmes Beach, the surf rose along the shoreline this afternoon before high tide. - Kristin Swain | Sun
A line in the sand in Holmes Beach shows that the Gulf waters rose well up the beach as Hurricane Michael passed the Island Wednesday. - Kristin Swain | Sun
A family waded in the Gulf as Hurricane Michael approached. - Chantelle Lewin | Sun
Updated Oct. 10, 7:30 a.m. – ANNA MARIA ISLAND – Hurricane Michael developed Tuesday night into a category 4 storm with 140 mph winds, moving north at 13 mph in the Gulf of Mexico.
Manatee County remains under tropical storm, tornado and storm surge watches of up to 2 feet as of 5:45 a.m. Wednesday.
The storm is expected to make landfall in the Florida Panhandle this afternoon, brushing Anna Maria Island.
Anna Maria Elementary School is closed today, while other Manatee County schools are open. Emergency shelters will remain closed, according to the county Emergency Operations Center.
High tide today, Wednesday, Oct. 10, on the Island will be at 1:56 p.m., when storm surge will be greatest, around 2 feet according to NOAA. Up to four inches of rain is expected, with wind gusts of 30-40 mph.
Tuesday, Michael caused high surf, high tides and, in combination with a king tide, some flooding on Anna Maria Island.
Emergency managers advise beachgoers to be aware of dangerous rip currents, and they discourage swimming or surfing.
Manatee County declared a state of emergency Tuesday, following Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s Monday statewide emergency declaration.
The state of emergency allows people on medications to refill prescriptions early in anticipation of storm evacuation under Florida Statute 252.358, according to the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation.
It also limits price hikes on gasoline, according to AAA. If there is a “gross disparity” between the current price and what the retailer charged during a 30-day period prior to the storm, it is considered “price gouging” and should be reported to the Attorney General’s office via the Price Gouging Hotline at 1-866-966-7226. During the past 30 days, Florida’s average price for a gallon of gasoline ranged from $2.72-$2.82 per gallon.
A state of emergency also allows local government officials to apply for emergency funding.
For helpful storm-related information, see The Sun’s Hurricane Guide.
Flooding began Tuesday in some Bradenton Beach neighborhoods, and tidal waters covered portions of Avenue B, Avenue A and 24th, 25th and 26th streets on the north end of town. - Joe Hendricks | Sun
Bradenton Beach roads flooded on Tuesday as Michael churned offshore. - Joe Hendricks | Sun
Bradenton Beach roads flooded on Tuesday as Michael churned offshore. - Joe Hendricks | Sun
Bradenton Beach roads flooded on Tuesday as Michael churned offshore. - Joe Hendricks | Sun
Updated Oct. 9 – ANNA MARIA ISLAND – As Hurricane Michael approaches Florida’s west coast, local officials are making storm preparations.
Lt. John Cosby serves as Bradenton Beach’s emergency operations manager.
“We’re expecting tropical storm-type winds and gusts starting Tuesday evening, with heavy rain on Wednesday and Thursday, so we’ll be watching for standing water and flooding. We’ve got code enforcement going to the beach businesses telling them to batten down and get their stuff off the beach because it will blow around. If we’re looking at a two-to-four-foot storm surge, that shouldn’t hurt us too much because we don’t have any real soft spots,” Cosby said.
“They seem pretty positive about the storm track and don’t anticipate it changing. The only change would be if the storm really intensifies or stalls above us. There’s going to be a lot of rain and wind, but it’s nothing we’re not used to. We’re the first county on the watch list and the worst is expected to happen north of us. Hopefully it just steams on by,” Cosby said this afternoon.
Bradenton Beach Public Works Director Tom Woodard said high water signs were placed in areas that typically flood and catch basins were cleaned so the water can get to where it needs to go.
“I heard some mention of possible ‘king tides’ too,” Woodard cautioned.
Bradenton Beach does not provide sandbags, but sandbags can be obtained at the east end of G.T. Bray Park, at 5502 33rd Ave. Drive W. in Bradenton. ID is required and county residents are allowed 10 bags per household.
Bradenton Beach Police Chief Sam Speciale said the generator that powers the police department and public works buildings was being tested and he and others would continue to monitor the storm.
“We are already prepared. We were in June and we just double checked today. All equipment is in working order, we have reserve fuel and water, we have 3,000 bags on standby and our filling area is topped off with sand. We rehearsed our evacuation and emergency notification plan. I am confident all is in order,” Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy said early this evening.
Anna Maria Public Works Manager Dean Jones said, “We made preparations with our equipment, our personnel and our plan of attack. We’ve got our barricades ready and we’ll have more information on Tuesday. We’re monitoring the high and low tides, and sandbags are available at the north end of Bayfront Park on North Bay Boulevard.”
Sandbags are available at Bayfront Park in Anna Maria, shown here, and at city hall in Holmes Beach. – Dean Jones/Anna Maria Public Works | Submitted
Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer said, “We’re not doing anything more than our regular sandbag preparations. Sandbags can be found in front of the police station and city hall, on the south end of the property.”
Manatee County issued a press release this afternoon that said, “Hurricane Michael is projected to deliver up to four inches of rainfall and a storm surge of up to four feet,” according to acting Emergency Management Chief Steve Litschauer.
“Beachgoers should be aware of dangerous rip currents and high surf. Swimming and surfing are not advised. We’re advising people to avoid driving through water if there’s standing water on local roads. People can act over the next day to secure lanai furniture and any valuables they have outdoors. We expect Hurricane Michael to deliver strong winds in the area, so the time to prepare is right now,” Litschauer said.
