Jacob Ogles
State lawmakers in the Sarasota-Manatee area are both assessing severe damage and voicing relief.
After decades of near misses, the region took a direct hit from Hurricane Milton, which made landfall near Siesta Key on Wednesday night. But despite bringing Category 3 winds on shore, the region did not see the level of storm surge even as experienced during Hurricane Debby, which brushed past the region in August.
“At least from early reports from Anna Maria Island, the storm surge was not as bad as anticipated,” said Rep. Will Robinson, a Bradenton Republican. “But we are still waiting for reports from some of our low-lying areas like Terra Ceia.”
He noted that a large portion of the Anna Maria City Pier was taken out by the storm. The Rod and Reel Pier, which was already set for demolition, was destroyed by the hurricane.
Many homes took significant damage, especially on the barrier islands in the region. But Sen. Joe Gruters, a Sarasota Republican, said the Sarasota area saw less structural damage to buildings than he initially feared.
“It wasn’t complete destruction,” he said. “Any type of damage is terrible for the people who experienced it, but it wasn’t as bad as we were expecting leading up to it.”
When Gov. Ron DeSantis held a press conference Thursday at Mobile Estates Park in Sarasota, he commented that even the vulnerable homes there took less damage than the state has come to expect.
“There’s damage behind me with some of these,” DeSantis said at a podium in front of a damaged trailer. “Honestly, for the mobile home stuff, I thought there would be more roofs. Some of these mobile homes, I mean they have done a lot better in Florida over the years.”
Emergency officials in the state voiced concern that Hurricane Milton appeared on a long-dreaded path, potentially landing in Tampa Bay as a major hurricane and churning storm surge that would devastate the region. In that sense, a southern wobble that dealt the blow at Siesta Key averted some of the potential consequences there. The storm also ran into rain sheer as it neared the Florida coast, weakening the storm from a strong Category 5 to a Category 3 over the course of Wednesday.
Sen. Jim Boyd, a Bradenton Republican, posted a message online expressing anxiety over what the path to regional recovery looks like.
“As the sun rises, it shines light on so much loss and devastation in our region,” he posted on X. “Strength to our first responders as they begin to navigate the dangers out there to help those in need. We have a long road to recovery, but our community is strong. And we will come back stronger!”
For the moment, the greatest concerns in the area remain in the electrical grid. More than 70% of both Sarasota and Manatee County residents have no power.
