Hurricanes

Hurricane season in Sarasota starts June 1 and ends officially on November 30 every year.

On October 9, 2024, the center of the eye of Hurricane Milton passed directly over St. Armands Key, causing significant wind and wind-driven water damage. This happened just two weeks after Hurricane Helene caused an even higher level of flooding (but with less wind). Nothing like this scale of damage had been seen here in the 64 years since Hurricane Donna in 1960.

Should I evacuate?

Sarasota County issues evacuation alerts when there is a hurricane warning issued for our area. Depending on the potential severity of a storm, alerts will be issued for one or more zones (or "evacuation levels"). All of the barrier islands are in Zone A, which is the first to get an evacuation alert. Florida does not order mandatory evacuations, but municipalities will typically shut off water and sewer service, and the storm may cause power, internet, and cell phone service to go out, making it unpleasant, if not already dangerous, to stay.

Most, if not all, of the original single-story homes on St. Armands got flooded during Hurricanes Helene and Milton in 2024, as well as first-floor condos. But, even if the living space of your home is elevated, would you want to stay there for multiple days without electricity, air conditioning, water, sewer, internet, or cell phone service? Condo residents discovered that their elevators and parking garage gates didn't work. Even people with homes with whole-house generators discovered that they would automatically shut off after a few days of continuous operation, or that the gas company would come by and turn off their service.

What if the bridges on/off the island were compromised which also happened during the storms of 2024? Do you have enough non-perishable food, fresh water, and medications to last until access is restored, and how can you know when that will be? In addition to all utilities being out, could you tolerate the debris, dust, and smell that lingers afterwards, and potentially being the only people in an otherwise deserted neighborhood without access to news or information? How long could you last, and would you want to?

Consider taking a mini-vacation the next time a hurricane warning looks like it might be issued for your zone. Pick a city on the other coast of Florida and go stay for a few days. Or catch a flight somewhere. During Hurricane Milton, a hotel near the Sarasota airport had windows blown out, and a downtown hotel cancelled all reservations at the last minute. Storms generally weaken as they travel over the land, so the idea is to get far enough away for this to happen. Wait until power and water are restored before returning. You'll need power for air conditioning and water for cleaning.

Long before you are confronted with this decision, consider asking a friend or contracting with someone on the mainland who can check on your home while you are away. But keep in mind that even they may not be able to get out to the islands immediately after a storm. The stormwater pumps on St. Armands have been unreliable, causing flood water to remain on our streets for days.

Evacuation tips:

The longer you wait to evacuate, the harder it will be to find a hotel and the worse the traffic will be. Consider booking a hotel before you're sure that you'll even need it. Choose a hotel that lets you cancel up to a day before. The absolute latest you should leave is one and a half days before a storm is expected to make landfall. Leave two or more days before if you can.

How long should you book the hotel for? It depends on how long power, water, and access to the islands will be out, and that's not possible to know beforehand. Depending on the forecasted severity of the storm, consider making two or even three separate bookings for two or three nights each that you can use or cancel depending on the situation.

Here are a bunch of things you should be ready to do once you make the decision to evacuate:

Pack enough clothes for the possible time you'll be away, and don't forget important documents, medications, etc...
Move an extra vehicle to an upper level of a parking garage (the city gives free access as soon as evacuation alerts are issued, but spaces fill up quick)
Empty your refrigerator and freezer of perishables, empty your ice box, and turn off your ice maker
Turn off electricity to anything that could get flooded including your pool equipment, driveway gate, and boat dock; if your living space is on the ground level, consider unplugging any appliances that could get flooded
Turn off water to your boat dock so that you don't end up watering the bay for days if your dock is damaged or destroyed
Tie down your boat to the lift beams at all four corners, raise it to the highest position, and remove and stow any cushions and canvas covers
Move everything indoors and upstairs that you don't want to lose, and understand that rising flood water can topple shelves and bins in your garage
Before you leave, and in case you decide to return before water is restored, purchase bottled water and/or fill buckets or a bathtub with fresh water that you can use for drinking, hygiene, flushing toilets, etc... (note: there may be a boil water advisory for three days after water is restored, and why go through the trouble of boiling water when you can just use bottled water?)
Before you return, purchase anything you might need for cleaning and restoration that might be hard to find locally (e.g., dehumidifiers, fans, pressure washer, blower, cleaning supplies, etc...) and keep your vehicle filled up with gas on the drive back

What your insurance agent isn't telling you:

You have homeowner's insurance, wind coverage (a.k.a. "hurricane coverage"), and flood insurance. You think you're covered, right? Wrong. During the 2024 storms, residents of the barrier island neighborhoods discovered that basic flood insurance only covers damage to the living space in the primary structure (up to $250k) and the contents in that living space (up to $100k). Flood insurance does not cover many pricey items such as docks, walls/fences/gates, landscaping, swimming pools, pool equipment, outside air conditioning units, or gate operators/controllers. If your house is elevated, flood insurance may not fully cover remediation and repair of ground-level spaces including building access (e.g., your foyer, hallway), storage rooms, and the garage, and it may not fully cover damaged items in those ground-level spaces. If damage was caused by wind, the amount of damage will often not exceed the high deductible of your wind (hurricane) coverage.

Chronology of hurricanes affecting St. Armands:

1848 - present

Historical articles and photos of hurricane impacts on Longboat Key: click here

1888 - present

Sarasota, Florida's history with tropical systems: click here

September 10, 1960

Hurricane Donna hits from the south with 120mph winds. Water was pulled out of all bays & inlets and brought back in when she pulled north causing significant flooding and heavy damage here. more info , Wikipedia

June 9, 1966

Hurricane Alma 105mph just west from the south. Wikipedia

June 19, 1972

Hurricane Agnes caused beach and property damage on Longboat and Siesta Keys. Wikipedia

*** 45 years of no documented impacts ***

September 10, 2017

Hurricane Irma passes 35 miles to the east while moving north with 100mph winds. On St. Armands Key, this was a wind event only, not a flooding event. ABC7 article , Observer article , Wikipedia

October 9, 2018

No significant impact to St. Armands Key, but... Hurricane Michael passed to the west, as did Idalia (August 30, 2023), but the high tide and storm surge did not combine to reach as high as Idalia (perhaps it may have been a high tide, but not a king tide?) - Tampa Bay 10 , Wikipedia

September 28, 2022

Hurricane Ian passes 40 miles to the south causing massive wind and flooding damage to many southwest Florida communities. This storm caused a lot of damage in the region, but, on St. Armands Key, this was a wind event only, not a flooding event. Sarasota Magazine article , Observer article , Sarasota Magazine article , Wikipedia

August 30, 2023

Hurricane Idalia passed far enough to our west that there was no significant wind impact, but it happened to coincide with a "king tide" event resulting in significant flooding on the streets of St. Armands that persisted a full day in some sections. We estimate that there was a 3-4' storm surge on top of the unusually high tide. This was probably the most significant flooding event on St. Armands since Hurricane Donna in 1960 (63 years ago). Observer article , Herald-Tribune article , Wikipedia

August 4, 2024

Hurricane Debby (started as Invest 97L, then PTC4, then Tropical Storm Debby) passed to our west as a tropical storm, as did Hurricane Idalia. St. Armands only had minimal street flooding, but the storm surge and rain caused significant flooding on south Lido and north Longboat keys, and throughout the city and county. In fact, the City Emergency Manager wrote that "the city has not had to deal with this kind of an impact in probably over 50 years" (link). Observer article, Sarasota Magazine article, Herald-Tribune article, Wikipedia

September 26, 2024

Hurricane Helene

October 9, 2024

Hurricane Milton

St. Armands Residents Association

P.O. Box 2482, Sarasota, FL 34230

e-mail us at: st.armands.residents.assn@gmail.com