Because of concerns about the effects that Hurricane Helene could have on Sarasota County, The Sarasota News Leader implemented an earlier publication deadline this week.
As we “went to press,” so to speak, on Wednesday evening, Helene still was predicted to bring 4 to 7 feet of storm surge to the county’s coastal areas.
Late in the afternoon of Sept 25, the storm remained on track to come ashore sometime Thursday in the Big Bend area.
City and County of Sarasota local government offices were closed to enable staff members to focus on monitoring the hurricane and issuing updates.
Both city and county leaders had called for the evacuations of residents who live in Level A — primarily along the coast — along with those who live in mobile and manufactured homes and those who reside on boats. Some inland areas also were covered by the evacuation order, as Sarasota County Emergency Management Chief Sandra Tapfumaneyi noted in a video update on Wednesday afternoon. For example, she pointed to areas of North Port that border the Myakka River, as well as neighborhoods along Phillippi Creek in the northern part of the county.
The Sarasota County School District had cancelled classes so 14 schools could be used as evacuation centers. Two of those were designated for medically dependent residents.
As of late afternoon Wednesday, Sept. 25, the staff of both the county’s Public Utilities Department and the City of Sarasota’s Utilities Department had alerted the residents of the barrier islands of the likelihood that the potable water systems would be shut off early in the morning of Thursday, Sept. 26. Their goal was to effort to protect the infrastructure.
The city’s notice was directed to Lido and St. Armands residents, while the county was urging those on Siesta and Casey keys to leave their homes and wait out the storm with friends or family members in safer situations or to head to one of the evacuation centers.
City Utilities staff did shut off the water as of approximately 7 a.m. on Sept. 26, while the county’s Public Utilities crew shut off water to Siesta and Casey keys as of 8 a.m. that day.
Additionally, both the Sarasota Police Department and the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office were working to provide updates about road conditions, via their Facebook pages. The Police Department closed the Siesta Drive access to Siesta Key shortly before noon on Sept. 26 because of unsafe conditions. Further, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) had ordered the John Ringling Causeway closed west of Bird Key, the agency reported
The Sheriff’s Office shared City of Venice photos of flooding in that area and noted flooding in part of Nokomis, as well.