Manatee County officials say Tropical Storm Debby caused $56M in damages

Manatee commissioners address flooding issues

Kylie Jones reports.

BRADENTON, Fla. - The cleanup from Tropical Storm Debby has become an ongoing routine for many residents in Manatee County.

The county is still cleaning up debris and assessing damage.

Many residents in Manatee County are still recovering after losing nearly everything in the floodwaters, while also worrying about what a future storm could have in store.

On Tuesday, county officials shared an updated report to the Manatee County Commission.

They say there has been a total of about $56 million in residential and business damages as a result of Debby.

"Major is more than 50% of the property, or the building itself had some sort of damage," Manatee County Chief of Emergency Management Matthew Myers said. "We had 164 of those. Minor is less than 50%, and 94 of those."

County officials say there have been more than 2,800 registrations for individual assistance, and more than $3 million in recovery funding approved through the Individuals and Households Program.

READ: Manatee County residents voice concerns during community flooding and development forum: 'There's still water'

At Tuesday’s commission meeting, residents continued to question the county’s storm response. During Debby, 18 billion gallons of water was released from the Lake Manatee Dam.

"Why were we releasing uncontrolled water when there was nowhere for water to go?" Chris Whittaker, a Manatee County resident said.

Last week, county officials said the Lake Manatee Dam did its job, and that it’s not connected to flooding in areas like Lakewood Ranch.

"That occurred because of 17 inches of rain that passed through this area, an unprecedented amount and no system, no system was ever going to be designed to handle that," Manatee County Director of Natural Resources Charlie Hunsicker said.

Officials said the dam is built for drinking water, not flood control. The county says this has also been the wettest summer on record.

Residents also continued to raise concerns about drainage system maintenance.

"Every ditch, the culverts are buried, the ditches are full of dirt," Whittaker said. "They’re overgrown with grass, and that’s a big problem when we have a lot of rain during hurricane season and people’s houses are flooding."

READ: Manatee officials tour Lake Manatee Dam site amid flooding concerns from residents

The county says its hurricane season preparations include clearing drainage ditches and inspecting drainage systems before storms sweep through.

Commissioner Ray Turner addressed some of the flooding concerns that residents voiced during Tuesday’s meeting.

"When there’s so many constituents threatening to lawsuit, it does mute us, because we’re going to get advised not to talk, so maybe if there’s just a little less of this litigious society, it will free things up quite a bit," Turner said.

The debris cleanup from Debby continues across the county.

"So, this is the debris that’s been picked up currently, 9,820 cubic yards and 210 loads," Myers said.

The county says it’s looking at improvements to existing drainage systems.

The county has also fielded questions and concerns related to rampant development throughout the county. Utility officials said this would be up to the county commission to discuss, but that it’s something that could be further discussed and studied.

County officials urge residents to report problems and issues to its county-wide 311 system.

The county says the 311 system has expanded its operating hours post-Debby to be able to respond to alerts from the public. County officials say they’re also working to enhance communication and outreach as appropriate in emergency situations.

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