MANATEE COUNTY — At a Friday EOC Press Briefing, Manatee County officials confirmed that Hurricane Helene brought record-setting storm surge totals to the county's coastal areas.
The tropical cyclone rapidly intensified into a category four hurricane with 140 mph winds as it rode the state’s Gulf Coast before making landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region.
Beginning Tuesday, national hurricane forecasters warned of the significant storm surge threat from what would become Helene, issuing advisories that included a surge potential of 5-8 feet in Manatee's coastal areas.
As 5:00 p.m. approached Thursday evening, so did Helene. Its center passed roughly 100 miles off Manatee County’s coast, and the NHC/NOAA, 5:00 p.m. advisory, reported Helene’s tropical-storm-force winds extending outward up to 310 miles.
By then, local officials had already issued evacuation orders to residents of Evacuation Level A and encouraged those in Level B to consider evacuating.
The evacuation notice was issued on Tuesday and set to begin at 10:00 am Wednesday ahead of the storm’s approach. Three area shelters were opened at local schools.
Speaking by phone on Friday afternoon, Manatee County’s Director of Public Safety, Jodie Fiske, told TBT that roughly 200 evacuees were sheltered throughout the weather event. Many arrived ahead of the storm on Wednesday, with more seeking shelter in the facilities throughout Thursday as the weather deteriorated. More arrived overnight after fleeing or being rescued from the surge waters that had overtaken their homes.
By Friday evening, Manatee County announced that the Red Cross had opened a temporary shelter for those displaced by Helene, and the school shelters were closed.
During Friday’s EOC Press Briefing, County Commission Chairman Mike Rahn stated that the destruction was so widespread and so serious on the island that officials were uncertain when island residents would be allowed to return to assess their property or try to recover any belongings.
“The beaches have been impacted by unprecedented storm surge,” Rahn said on Friday afternoon. “From 5-7 feet along the coast and the beaches… this is not going to be a quick recovery for the island or Manatee.”
County officials and Anna Maria Island’s city officials announced that access to the island was suspended the day following the storm.
In addition to Anna Maria Island, communities in the coastal areas of Palmetto, Bradenton, Memphis, Bayshore Gardens, Cortez Village, and others were also inundated by Helene's surge.
Hurricane Helene brought her record-breaking surge and devastation to Manatee County’s coastal communities roughly two months after Tropical Storm Debby dumped record rainfall, causing severe flood damage to many homes and businesses in eastern portions of the county.
In the aftermath of Debby, residents expressed frustration with the county's lack of communication during the weather event. Some criticized county-issued IPAWS alerts about the Lake Manatee Dam that many called “confusing."
County officials later acknowledged its communication shortfalls during Debby, responding to criticisms with a vow to learn from the experience and to make improvements. Though Helene may have been an unwelcome opportunity to employ the enhanced communication strategies, the county's improvements were visible.
Beginning on Monday—before the storm had reached tropical storm status—county officials issued a press release and alerted the public through its social media pages that the NHC was monitoring a tropical system.
A social media post at 9:00 am encouraged residents to sign up for severe weather alerts through Alert Manatee.
Additional posts followed, informing residents that county emergency management officials were monitoring the storm's development, had opened sandbag locations, and how residents could learn their evacuation level.
An afternoon press release shared that county staff had lowered water levels at the Lake Manatee Reservoir in preparation for the storm, that maintenance work on the dam’s mechanical gates was completed, and that all three gates were fully operational. The information was also shared in social media posts, including on Facebook, where it received more than 100 “likes” and shares.
By 7:00 am on Tuesday, the county’s social media pages shared a National Weather Service update on the tropical system, including an NHC/NOAA graphic depicting a peak storm surge forecast of 5-8 feet for Manatee County.
During a regular BOCC meeting later that morning, commissioners declared a local state of emergency. The declaration was announced via a press release and on the county’s social media pages.
Throughout Tuesday, the county’s social media pages shared just over a dozen posts communicating pertinent information about local storm preparation and preparedness, including how to register in advance for special needs shelters or transportation assistance, changes to garage collection services, additional sandbag locations, the potential for significant impacts to the coastal and low lying areas, and eventually notified of the issuance of evacuation orders.
Several county officials held a late afternoon press conference. Public Safety Director Fiske announced the evacuation orders for residents in Level A and encouraged residents in Level B to “pay attention to the storm surge models” to determine their risk. The briefing reiterated much of the information that the county had shared throughout the day on its social media.
Early on Wednesday, just after 5:30 a.m., the county’s social media shared the most recent update from the NHC/NOAA showing peak storm surge potential for coastal residents—the forecast remained unchanged from the day before.
Just before 9:30 am, the Chief of Emergency Management, Matt Myers, addressed the public in a video message shared on social media. In the message, Myers warned the public again of the 5-8 foot storm surge forecast and encouraged residents in Level A to heed evacuation orders.
By 10:00 am, when the evacuation orders went into effect, the county issued an IPAWS alert informing residents of the storm surge forecast and orders. The alert included the names of the schools that had been opened for shelters and provided a link to the county’s severe weather dashboard.
Residents responded to the alert, with many simultaneously clicking the link provided for more information. The increased website traffic caused the website to crash, and for more than an hour, residents struggled to gain access to the dashboard and the evacuation level map.
At 11:00 am, the county issued another alert, this one announcing a “vendor issue” with the website and providing an alternative link to access the online dashboard and evacuation information. By noon, the website service was restored, and the dashboard was accessible.
Later in the afternoon, the county issued another press release sharing information about the storm surge threat, the evacuation orders, and open shelter locations. The release included informing residents and business owners of Anna Maria Island that potable water service to the island may be disabled ahead of the storm to protect infrastructure from the anticipated surge.
Throughout Wednesday, the county’s social media pages shared additional information on closures, service disruptions, or schedule changes, as well as a video message from Director Fiske reiterating the storm surge risk and evacuation orders, as well as shelter information.
Wednesday evening, Fiske provided another video message with updates on the status of resident and county storm preparations.
On Wednesday, a final post on the county’s social media at about 9:30 pm announced that water service to the island would be shut off before 6:00 am the following day.
The county's first social media post on Thursday was shared at 4:00 a.m. and announced that the process of turning off the island's water supply had begun.
At 11:00 am, a video message featuring Manatee County Communications Manager Casey Zempel shared the ways technology assists emergency management officials in monitoring data and communicating information to the public during emergency activations.
The county shared numerous messages on its social media pages throughout Thursday as Helene approached and impacted the area. The posts included information regarding the county’s 3-1-1 information hotline, post-storm safety, additional closures, and updates regarding the anticipated storm surge peak.
The day after the storm, Friday, the county continued communicating through social media and press releases.
Just before 10:00 a.m., the county issued a press release summarizing Helene’s effects and local officials' response. The release noted that emergency operators had answered over 1,000 9-1-1 calls since the storm began and that first responders had completed more than 300 successful rescues.
At 1:30 p.m, various officials gathered for a live-streamed Emergency Operations Center Update, including county PIO Bill Logan, Manatee County School Superintendent Jason Wysong, Sheriff Rick Wells, Public Safety Director Fiske, Emergency Management Chief Matt Myers, Deputy County Administrators Courtney De Pol and Evan Pilachowski, Bradenton City Mayor Gene Brown, a representative of Senator Marco Rubio’s Office and a representative of Congressman Vern Buchanan’s Office.
In addition, three Manatee County Commissioners were in attendance, Chairman Mike Rahn, Amanda Ballard, and Jason Bearden.
Commissioner Rahn led the press briefing which began by sharing the response details as outlined in the earlier press release as well as updating on the vast damage to Anna Maria Island before Bradenton City Mayor Brown took to the podium.
Brown thanked Manatee County for its collaboration and assistance during a water system breach caused by surge water infiltrating the city’s freshwater supply. The mayor stated that despite possible off-taste or smell, the city’s water was safe to drink.
Emergency Management Chief Myers followed Brown’s comments, urging residents to use caution when re-entering surge-damaged homes.
“Most injuries and casualties happen after the storm,” said Myers, “so we want everyone to be as careful as possible. Do not enter flood waters, be careful for debris, sharp objects, and other displaced things around your home as you’re cleaning up.”
Myers also cautioned residents to be “weary” of unlicensed contractors and individuals offering to do quick repairs but requiring full payment up-front.
Myers advised residents who have been displaced and require temporary shelter to call the county’s 3-1-1 hotline for assistance. In addition, said Myers, an Unmet Needs Survey was added to mymanatee.org/storm, and he encouraged residents with post-storm needs to complete the form.
“A self-reporting tool for crisis track is being opened,” Myers added. “We would like you to report your damages, it helps us find those areas and get disaster designation and help to the county faster.”
Following Myers, Rahn returned to the podium to thank various elected officials, including county commissioners, Governor Ron DeSantis and his staff, Congressman Buchanan, Senator Rubio, Representative Jim Boyd, and Senator Rick Scott. He also thanked FEMA.
Public Safety Director Jodi Fiske also made brief comments, which included thanking county staff who manned the EOC throughout activation.
Neither Rahn nor Fiske recognized with thanks local first responders in law enforcement, fire, or EMS, the school district that opened the emergency shelters, or the school district staff who stayed in the shelters from Wednesday morning through Friday assisting evacuees.
Though in attendance, neither Superintendent Wysong nor Sheriff Wells, nor any other officials, spoke during the briefing.
In a closing comment, Rahn thanked the county’s Communication Division, “Our communications team has done a phenomenal job of getting the word out to everyone on what’s going on, and I can’t be prouder of the work that they’ve done…from our social media to our webpage, to getting with our media partners just to let everyone know what is going on during the storm and what’s going to be happening afterwards.”
As of Saturday morning, access to Anna Maria Island was opened to residents and business owners, a dusk-to-dawn curfew remains in effect for the island.
For continued information and updates regarding storm recovery, visit mymanatee.org or follow Manatee County Government on Facebook, X, or Instagram. To request recovery support/assistance, visit mymanatee.org/storm, and complete the Unmet Needs Survey.
Click the video below to replay Manatee County's EOC Update, held on Friday, Sept. 27 at 1:30 p.m.
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