MANATEE COUNTY, FL (October 3, 2022) – Manatee County continues to clean-up and recover following Hurricane Ian. Today, Dr. Russel Vega, the Medical Examiner for District 12 (which includes Manatee County) confirmed two storm-related deaths attributable to Ian. We have no details on the circumstances of these deaths.
At the onset of the storm, Manatee County ordered the evacuation of more than 100,000 residents and visitors in Levels A and B. A total of 17 shelters were established in schools, and more than 5,000 people were able to safely shelter there from the storm. One facility remains—run by the American Red Cross—as temporary housing for displaced residents..
Damage Assessments are still being conducted, but as of today, $72 million in residential damage and $13.5 in commercial damage has been calculated—with about 90% of surveys completed. All told, there were:
- 7 structures destroyed
- 173 structures with major damage
- 610 structures with minor damage
- 1,809 structures affected
Power is gradually returning to many residents with the notable exception of the Myakka City area. Of the 198,000+ Florida Power & Light customers in Manatee County, more than 138,000 were affected by power outages. As of Monday (October 3) afternoon, 39,000 remained in the dark, with just 444 Peace River Electrical Cooperative customers in Manatee still without power.
Of course, power outages affected many Manatee County functions. At one point, more than 400 of the county’s 738 lift stations were compromised, which impacted the county’s wastewater collection system. Even as power was restored, more than 200 lift stations were still powerless, and so we asked our residents and visitors to “refrain from the drain”—and they did—to help alleviate unnecessary overflows or discharges. As grid power returned and generators were deployed, the system returned to normal.
In order to maintain intact potable water infrastructure, service was interrupted to evacuated areas, including the islands and mobile home parks. It has been reestablished after Ian’s passage, and residents were advised of any water quality issues through direct electronic notification.
Traffic Signals were also affected across the county due to the storm. Public Works maintains 232 of them throughout the county, and 104 of them were damaged. County staff and contractors have repaired 44 of those, with 15 still remaining on generator power as of this afternoon and two intersections remain on flash. It’s not back to normal, but we are on the way—drivers are making their way safely through the county.
Due to high water, the following roads remain closed:
- Wauchula Rd., 1 Mile north of Ballard
- Clay Gully Rd., Myakka
- Jim Davis Rd., at bridge crossing
- SR70, at the Manatee/Desoto County Line
Water levels in the Myakka City areas are receding slowly. We anticipate that the recovery efforts underway will continue there through the end of the week—at least.
Manatee County has mobilized resources to the east county area to help with humanitarian needs. Pallets of water, ice, tarps, sunscreen, insect repellant, propane and other necessities were distributed from the Myakka Community Center Saturday and Sunday, with some deliveries taking place right to resident’s doors by staff in boats and high-water vehicles during house-to-house welfare checks. This was a truly cooperative effort with high water vehicle and marine vessels from the Parrish Fire District, West Manatee Fire & Rescue and Manatee Search and Rescue under the direction of East Manatee Fire Rescue.
Residents have already been collecting debris and piling it along rights-of-way and roadsides for collection. Still others have already started taking debris to the Lena Road landfill. While residents can continue to bring debris to the landfill with no dump fee, contractors collecting debris and bringing it to the facility will be responsible for commercial fees.
Recycling collection is suspended until further notice. Do not use the recycling cart for yard waste or garbage—it will not be collected. Yard waste will be collected on Wednesday as usual if properly prepared (bagged, bundled or canned). Storm debris can be properly bundled as yard waste for collection on Wednesdays. No loose debris will be collected by the haulers on Wednesdays as yard waste—that will be collected as contractors initiate their debris collection(s).
Three debris hauling contractors are working to establish collection management sites in the county and will finalize their collection routes this week. We anticipate the haulers to begin their pick-up routes by Friday. We will notify residents of those routes as soon as they are confirmed at mymanatee.org/debris.
In addition to all the local rescue and recovery efforts, Manatee County has dispatched “strike teams” down south with Manatee assets and dozens of people deployed to Sanibel and Ft. Myers.
We are also encouraging those who want to help to contact local volunteer organizations, churches and outreach organizations you may have worked with in the past to see about their efforts. The American Red Cross, and Salvation Army have established Ian recovery efforts and Volunteer Connect is a clearing house for those who want to help personally.