Hurricane Idalia Thursday updates: Minor North Port damage, a look at the islands

Hurricane Idalia has diminished to a tropical storm in the North Carolina area before it's expected to head east into the Atlantic, but residents, businesses and local governments in Sarasota-Manatee are working on recovery and getting back to their regular routines.

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Venice Fishing Pier reopens

The Venice Municipal Fishing Pier, 1600 Harbor Drive South, Venice, reopened Thursday afternoon.

North Port tallies little damage

Overall, the city of North Port has apparently suffered only minor damage from Hurricane Idalia.

According to an email Thursday from a city spokeswoman, public works employees moved a few downed trees and two or three downed signs.

No damage to the stormwater management system, traffic or lighting infrastructure has been reported. Public works employees are straightening a leaning light pole in the Atwater area

A light at Fire Station 84 was taken down after winds from Idalia caused it to lean more.

The roof of the North Port Police Department developed a minor leak – which also happened during Ian – and staff is working to seal that again.

A look at conditions on Casey Key, South Lido

Sarasota County officials share conditions of damaged road on Casey Key.

Current conditions on South Lido.

AMI homeowners rush to minimize damage

Paver by paver, Siobhan Clark and a few helpers built a makeshift barrier to keep the high tide away from her bayside home on Anna Maria Island.

She is one of many residents with properties on the northern end of the island who started to rebuild on Thursday, the first full day island residents could return after bridges opened up at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. She owns two properties on the northern end of the city of Anna Maria.

"Everybody from the Rod and Reel Pier down to Bean Point suffered massive beach erosion," Clark said. "I know we're not a huge group of people affected, but these are our properties, and we take pride in them, and it's hard not to see a level of support in putting them back and making them safe."

All of Anna Maria Island experienced significant impacts from the storm, but floodwaters have been slow to recede on the north side of the island, which made it difficult for property owners to reach their properties last night. In her neighborhood, Clark points toward beach erosion caused by Hurricane Ian that made it easier for high surf from Hurricane Idalia to reach her home.

"I feel like the damage to the island here from Ian was really underrepresented," Clark said. "When all the water was pulled out of the bay, all of our sand was pulled with it ... We've all been struggling on this end of Anna Maria with the errosion and the encroaching water."

"I'm trying to take what's left of the pavers from my patio and create a level of barrier," she said. "We're at high tide now, so the water was coming right up to the house."

Surfers catch waves on AMI

Some normalcy returned to Anna Maria Island, where surfers hit the waves Thursday to take advantage of the choppy surf that remains in Idalia's wake.

Parrish resident Chris Whittaker brought his two children.

"I'm out here with my boys, catching a few waves, it's a good size for them," Whittaker said. "They are home-schooled, so this is a little surf school day. I started about their age. I just want to pass this on to them."

Up and down Anna Maria Island, residents patronized open businesses, while others returned to their properties for the first time.

Marie Selby Gardens reopens

Selby Gardens' downtown and Historic Spanish Point campuses reopened to guests and the public at noon Thursday. A press release from Selby stated that both campuses "fared well" and reported no major impact from Hurricane Idalia. The gardens will be cleaned of debris today and for the remainder of the week. The Selby House Café will be closed through Saturday, Sept. 2. A food truck will be open on the Great Lawn on Friday, Sept. 1 and Saturday, Sept. 2.

Residents and visitors of the Gardens can find updates and details at the website at https://selby.org/. Those interested in volunteering with cleanup visit selby.org/volunteer

Sarasota County checking barrier islands, bayfront, beaches

Sarasota County parks and public works officials were assessing damage from Hurricane Idalia Thursday morning, with a goal of wrapping up the assessment homes on the barrier islands, the bayfront and area beaches by the end of the day, according to Sarasota County interim emergency manager Scott Montgomery.

Sarasota County’s Emergency Operation Center is at Level 2, with staff still working storm coverage.

Sarasota County spokeswoman Jamie Carso added: “Overall we’re through the storm but there's a lot to do, there’s a lot of coordination between the county and municipalities and our law enforcement agencies.”

State Road 789 was open over the John Ringling Causeway, to St. Armands Key and Longboat Key as of Thursday morning.

The biggest impact to road infrastructure was the washout of Manasota Key Road just north of Blind Pass Beach Road – the same stretch of road impacted by Hurricane Irma in 2017.

About 1,600 feet of the road – located between 6780 Manasota Key Road and Blind Pass Park – was damaged.

Casey Key Road was damaged in three separate sections. Public works employees are working to make the entire road passable by the end of Thursday, Montgomery said.

He then added if residents don’t need to be on the roads, it would be better to stay home and let the repairs continue.

County employees are also assessing debris on the barrier islands and determining whether to set up a special pickup for construction and demolition debris – such as flood-damaged furniture and drywall – Montgomery said, then added that the county is putting together a message on how residents should prepare construction and demolition debris for pickup.

Sarasota County Parks and Recreation officials have assessed 149 of the 186 parks in Sarasota County, with 16 listed as closed on the latest park status report, including Blackburn Point Park, Blind Pass Beach Park, Caspersen Beach Park, and the Jelks Preserve

Montgomery said area beaches are still being assessed for storm damage.

Three recently renourished beaches – Turtle, Lido and South Manasota – could be eligible for FEMA funding to fix damages.

Manatee, Myakka rivers may reach minor flood stage on the weekend

Both the Manatee River and the Myakka River at Myakka River State Park may reach minor flood stage this weekend, as may Horse Creek near Arcadia at State Road 72.

The Manatee River was at 10.25 feet and rising Thursday morning, noted Ross Giarratana, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Ruskin. That is technically known as action stage. Minor flood stage is 11 feet. The river was forecast to reach that late Thursday night or early Friday morning and top at 11.2 feet over the weekend.

The Myakka River has been rising over the past few days and may reach action stage by the end of Thursday and minor flood stage by the weekend, Giarratana said.

Flood stage for the river is 7 feet and it is forecast to reach 7.2 feet by the end of the weekend.

Horse Creek at Arcadia is iat 10.4 feet and forecast to get to minor flood stage – which begins at 12 feet – either overnight Thursday or early Friday and linger there through the weekend.

Rainfall for Sarasota and Manatee counties was in the 2 to 4 inch range, NWS-Ruskin meteorologist Nicole Carlisle said.

The highest reported rainfall was 4.5 inches in Manatee County at Northeast DeSoto Lakes, between Interstate 75 and U.S 301.

The highest reported wind gust was 70 mph, though the area did experience sustained winds in the 50 to 60 mph range, she added.

Road to St. Armands reopens; boil water advisory in effect for Casey Key while damage assessments underway

Roads to St. Armands Key were open as of Thursday morning, through water had not receded enough on North Washington Drive and North Boulevard of the Presidents to allow access north to Longboat Key and Ken Thompson Park.

In Englewood, Manasota Key Road north of Blind Pass Beach Road is damaged, and the road north of Blind Pass is impassable.

Stay away from this area. Teams are assessing the damage and planning repairs.

Casey Key Road, mid-key, is open for two-way traffic. Repairs are needed, but the road is intact.

A boil water advisory is in effect for residents of Casey Key.

Water Service has been restored to most Casey Key residents.

Sarasota County returned to normal operations today, Aug. 31. County staff continues to assess county facilities for storm impacts and will notify the community if there are any interruptions to programs and services or facility closures.

All libraries are reopening at 10 a.m Thursday.

All outdoor Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources reservations, including those for athletic fields, are canceled for today, Aug. 31.

All indoor reservations for today, Aug. 31, will be honored, except for Englewood Sports Complex.

Collection services for garbage, recycling and yard waste for the remainder of the week will be delayed by at least one day.

Any changes to service schedules will be published through scgov.net and the Sarasota County social media channels.

Service will be delayed by one day again next week, due to the Labor Day holiday on Monday, Sept. 4.

Yard waste (small branches, leaves, moss, etc.) may be placed in containers, in paper bags or bundled and placed at the curb for pickup.

tems that are bundled or in containers should not exceed 4 feet in length and items that are in bags, containers or bundles should not exceed 40 pounds. This applies to both garbage and yard waste.

There will be an increase in the amount of trash and yard waste placed curbside over the upcoming weeks. All items placed curbside must be properly prepared.

The Central County Landfill reopened with regular business hours on Wednesday, Aug. 30.

The Bee Ridge Chemical Collection Center and The Re-Uz-It Shop will reopen on Thursday, Aug. 31.

Charlotte County establishes Cleanup Hotline

Charlotte County advises that if you need assistance with damage from Hurricane Idalia, call the Home Cleanup Hotline 800-451-1954 to ask for help. You will be connected with volunteers from local relief organizations, community groups and faith communities who may be able to assist with cutting fallen trees, drywall, flooring & appliance removal, tarping roofs and mold mitigation.

All services are free, but service is not guaranteed due to the overwhelming need.

This hotline will remain open through Friday, Sept. 15, 2023.

U.S. 41 bridges over Peace River reopen

The U.S. 41 bridges over the Peace River in Punta Gorda have reopened as well as the Beach Road causeway leading to Manasota Key.

Storm surge, high tides and excessive rainfall from Hurricane Idalia have caused widespread localized flooding in Charlotte County, particularly in coastal and low-lying areas. .

Florida accepting assessments of Idalia impacts to online

The state of Florida is now accepting online assessments of the impact of Hurricane Idalia via its web site https://www.floridadisaster.biz to go directly to the form, visit: https://bit.ly/45QucmB.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Hurricane Idalia Thursday updates in Sarasota and Manatee counties