By Robert Anderson and Ryan Paice
Islander Reporters
Swift recovery efforts followed Tropical Storm Debby’s slow passage in the Gulf of Mexico.
The storm, passing Anna Maria Island about 130 miles west at its closest, brought high winds and rainfall Aug. 4-5.
For most on the island, the storm left debris in yards and floodwaters on roads, but some properties flooded.
Much of the mess left behind in Anna Maria was mopped up within a week.
Mayor Dan Murphy said Aug. 8 that most recovery efforts were completed, with only street sweeping and some pockets of standing water left to be addressed.
Pine Avenue was without power following the storm but Murphy credited state Sen. Jim Boyd, R-Bradenton, for help in coordinating the deployment of Florida Power & Light to return power.
Building department manager Dean Jones said the storm left most roads flooded. To mitigate the flooding, city staff cleared drains and pumped water from several locations.
Jones said roadways were cleared of water less than 36 hours after the storm.
Debby also loosened a handful of planks on the landing of the city pier but the damaged boards were replaced with new Ipe wood planks by Aug. 7, according to Jones.
The city had no estimate for how many private properties took on water but sent emails to people who signed up for alerts on the municipality’s website, cityofannamaria.com, asking owners to report damage so the city could pursue funds through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
As of Aug. 8, no one had responded, according to Murphy.
Wellington-based Jet Hauling was set to pick up large, unbundled yard debris left curbside Aug. 13.
Bradenton Beach
Bradenton Beach Police Chief John Cosby, who heads up emergency management, said there was damage to the floating docks at the Historic Bridge Street Pier, 200 Bridge St.
Also, some flooding occurred in the city during the tropical storm.
“We had, at present count, five residential homes that had water inundation and that was at Avenue A and one at the Sandpiper trailer park,” Cosby said.
On the roads, public works cleared debris to restore access Aug. 5.
Crews also checked for damage to city infrastructure.
One boat found adrift by a Manatee County marine unit was towed to the pier, where it sank, according to Cosby, who was working with the county to expedite removal.
Mayor John Chappie said five newly planted coconut palms fell on Bridge Street. The palms were part of a public-private partnership with developer Shawn Kaleta. The palms were removed and will not be replanted.
Holmes Beach
It didn’t take long for Holmes Beach to get back to normal following Debby.
Public works superintendent Sage Kamiya told The Islander Aug. 7 that there were some low-lying areas where standing water remained but most flooding had dissipated.
Debby also felled a few trees, spread plant debris, left drains clogged and displaced sediment.
Kamiya said city staff had picked up debris, cleared drains and had begun street-sweeping.
Hurricane Idalia left extensive debris in its wake last summer. So much so that the city collected the debris in a pile at city field and collected FEMA reimbursement for its removal.
But Kamiya said the debris following Debby was not on the same level and curbside yard waste would be removed by Waste Pro, the city’s waste removal contractor.
“We’re pretty much back to normal,” he added. “We’re going to have our work cut out for us for another week or so doing some cleanup, but it’s not significant and not stuff that we can’t handle.”
Cortez
Debby’s impact was felt in the Cortez fishing village, where, according to Karen Bell, owner of the A.P. Bell Fish Co. Inc., 4600 124th St. Court W., two fishing boats encountered difficulties.
One netting vessel sank at a dock and another fleet vessel became disabled at sea after an anchor line damaged its propeller. The crew spent the storm adrift and then was rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard.
“Literally, they floated around out there from 3 p.m. Sunday, which was the worst of it, until Monday at noon, when it started to lay down a little bit,” Bell said.
She said all hands onboard were able to ride out the storm.
“I will be forever grateful to Cortez station and St. Pete station Coast Guard,” Bell said. “They went above and beyond.”
Capt. Katie Tupin, a Cortez resident and owner of Captain Katie Scarlet Boat Tours, described limited flooding.
“In Idalia, (the water) was barely an inch from entering and flooding into my house and the road was under almost a foot of water,” Tupin said.
“I was so relieved when I woke up after high tide and just half the road was flooded,” she said, referring to Tropical Storm Debby.
Longboat Key
People on Longboat Key’s north end also experienced flooding.
“Every storm is different,” Isaac Brownman, public works director, wrote in an Aug. 9 email to The Islander. “The impacts we experienced were an extremely wet rain event with some minor storm surge on the back end.”
“Many neighborhoods on Longboat Key did well and drained off quickly,” he wrote. “More pronounced and prolonged flooding was observed in our lowest low-lying areas, including but not limited to, the Village, Sleepy Lagoon, Buttonwood and St. Jude’s Drive.”
“We also had significant flooding along Gulf of Mexico Drive from about the 4600 block near Casa Del Mar and Zota Resort to about the 5300 block.”
Brownman said sections of Longboat Key beaches had varying degrees of erosion and they were being evaluated, a process taking place along much of the coastline.
“The north end beach at Greer Island/Beer Can did fairly well,” he said.
Areawide
Across Manatee, Debby disrupted travel, closed businesses for one or two days, caused sewage discharges, knocked out some utilities, forced a water release from Lake Manatee and shut down government offices and services.
Manatee County, as of Aug. 7, reported an estimated $24 million in residential damages and $98 million in commercial damages but assessments were continuing and totals expected to rise.
While cleanup efforts were quickly completed in many locations, other parts of the area continued to deal with flooding through the week.
In hard-hit areas east county, disaster aid distribution centers were set up, including at the Myakka Community Center, where the Florida National Guard was stationed.
Meanwhile, the county animal welfare service said it was awash in stray pets. Through Aug. 8, 129 stray animals were brought to facilities, where staff worked to expedite reunification and waived fees associated with reclaims.
Get help
Manatee County set up a webpage for people to seek help. Go to mymanatee.org/debbyhelp.
Lisa Neff contributed to this report,