Live updates: Hurricane Idalia causes flooded Manatee County roads

Hurricane Idalia made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region as a Category 3 storm early Wednesday, leaving the cities of Anna Maria, Holmes Beach and Bradenton Beach under water.

The National Hurricane Center reported in its 7:45 a.m. update that Idalia’s eye came ashore near Keaton Beach, about 20 miles north of Steinhatchee in Taylor County, according to the Miami Herald.

While the storm did not make direct landfall in Manatee County, the area was not spared from impact.

5:45 p.m. update

The Cortez and Manatee Avenue Bridges have been reopened both ways, allowing access to Anna Maria Island.

5:30 p.m. update

All School District of Manatee County schools will reopen Thursday with the exception of Anna Maria Island Elementary.

School will operate normal hours, and extra-curricular activities and extended daycare will also resume, the district said.

Some athletic events may be postponed.

4:45 p.m. update

The Skyway Bridge was reopened, though the fishing piers and rest areas remain closed. Additionally, the Howard Frankland Bridge, Courtney Campbell Causeway and Gandy Bridge were reopened earlier on Wednesday.

In Manatee County, officials estimated early damages in excess of $2 million., according to a news release. However, it will take longer to assess the full scope of Idalia’s damages to the county.

4 p.m. update

The Sunshine Skyway Bridge remained closed at 3 p.m. Wednesday, as did eastbound lanes of the Courtney Campbell Causeway, the Florida Highway Patrol reported.

However, the Howard Frankland Bridge was reopened and the Gandy Bridge remained opened in Pinellas County.

Anna Maria Oyster Bar on the Pier, 200 Bridge St., Bradenton Beach, and Cafe L’Europe, 431 St. Armand’s Circle, remained closed Wednesday due to high waters on the barrier islands. All of the mainland Anna Maria Oyster Bar locations were reopening at 4 p.m. Wednesday.

3:45 p.m. update

Although it will be a while before homeowners affected by flooding, and 3,660 FPL customers and 311 Peace River Electric Cooperative residents without power get back to normal, the county government was planning to reopen.

“The county will be open for business Thursday,” acting county administrator Charlie Bishop said in a press release. “Though there may be a few facilities that won’t open due to ongoing assessment, we are doing all we can to get the bulk of our programs and facilities back to normal operations.”

Manatee County Area Transit (MCAT) will resume operation Thursday. County waste pick-up will also resume, with normal Tuesday pick-ups on Thursday, Thursday pick-ups on Friday, and Friday pick-ups on Saturday. There will be no recycling or yard waste this week. Manatee County 3-1-1 will close at 5 p.m. and will resume normal operating hours Thursday.

All county parks will be open Thursday. However, flooding may limit use of certain amenities. All county buildings will be open Thursday, except the following:

• Island Branch Library (closed to parking lot flooding)

• Coquina Beach Parking (portions may be inaccessible due to post-storm clean-up)

• Tower Two Lifeguard Stand (report of electrical issues)

“We would like to thank the public for their cooperation in staying put while we begin our recovery efforts,” County Commission Chair Kevin Van Ostenbridge said in a press release.

3: 15 p.m. update

Manatee County lifted its evacuation order for Anna Maria Island at 2 p.m. Wednesday.

The mayors of the three Anna Maria Island cities met in an online conference to discuss reopening.

Here’s what they decided:

• Holmes Beach will reopen at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday to everyone, but is asking those who don’t live on the island to wait for flood waters to recede and not create wakes that go into residents’ homes, Mayor Judy Titsworth said.

“We are asking people if you don’t live out here, give the property owners a day or two,” Titsworth said.

• Bradenton Beach was planning to reopen at 4:30 p.m. as well, Titsworth said.

• The city of Anna Maria will reopen at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday to residents and business owners only, Mayor Dan Murphy said.

Anna Maria officials are asking others to stay away, due to the magnitude of the flooding.

Anna Maria will have a barricade to check IDs of drivers, he said.

“Some of the streets are unbelievably flooded. It’s just not safe,” Murphy said.

The most flooded areas are in residential pockets in the city center, but there’s also flooding along Bayfront Park and North Bay Drive, nearly to Bean Point, he said.

“I have lived in Florida all my life and this is the worst I have seen. I don’t have much debris. What I have is a lot of water and it’s not going anywhere. It breaks my heart to look at this,” Murphy said.

Evacuation orders expired as of 2 p.m. and residents who can safely access their homes may do so. As of this time, all shelters are closed with a few remaining evacuees awaiting transport, Manatee County government said in a press release.

The city will continue to monitor the situation throughout the day today and advise when others may enter. Please check the city’s website, www.cityofannamaria.com for details and updates, the county press release said.

2 p.m. update

The Manatee County School District announced district staff are assessing damage to schools and will provide an update at 5 p.m. Wednesday.

There is no timetable as of yet for when public schools will reopen for classes.

Meanwhile, Judy Titsworth, mayor of Holmes Beach, said she has lived on Anna Maria Island all of her 60 years, and this was the most saltwater flooding she can recall.

For the first time, saltwater flooding crept into her house though the front door.

“The tide came in dramatically, and it’s leaving almost as dramatically,” Titsworth said.

By 1:45 p.m. Wednesday, the flooding had dropped about two feet from its crest, she said.

Ed Chiles, who owns three island restaurants, was evaluating damage on Wednesday.

“It looks like we have water in the Mar Vista,” he said of his restaurant at 760 Broadway St., North Longboat Key.

He was hopeful that his Sandbar Restaurant at 100 Spring Ave., Anna Maria, and Beach House Waterfront Restaurant at 200 Gulf Drive N., Bradenton Beach had been spared.

“We have a lot of sand that has been moved around,” Chiles said.

Carol Whitmore, former mayor of Holmes Beach and a former Manatee County commissioner, elected to ride the storm out at home on Anna Maria Island.

“I haven’t had any flooding in my home,” Whitmore said, but added that the street outside was flooded.

In talking to others, Whitmore said she knew some homeowners had suffered flooding on Anna Maria Island.

12:15 p.m. update

At Portosueno Park, several residents inspected the flooding near the boat ramp. As of Wednesday morning, the water breached the seawall and submerged roadways in the neighborhood.

The water rose so high that manatees, a common sight at the park along Palma Sola Boulevard, swam over the seawall and began feeding on the grass, said Janet Rezze, a Palma Sola Park resident.

“I watched manatees eat our grass in the backyard,” Rezze said. “That was new.”

Joanne Wilhelm sheltered with Rezze after evacuating her Longboat Key home. As of Wednesday morning, she had not had a chance to inspect her property.

“We’ve seen pictures and there’s flooding up to the back door,” said Wilhelm. “We just have to keep our fingers crossed that it doesn’t get inside the house.”

Bridges to Anna Maria Island and Longboat Key remain closed due to high water.

“We’ll have plenty of stories to tell,” Wilhelm said.

11:45 a.m. update

The city of Bradenton announced its water treatment plant is temporarily offline.

“We ask City water customers to help us by conserving water until the tides subside,” the City posted on X, the site formerly known as Twitter. “Refrain from washing your dishes or doing laundry. Conserve showers. We’ll let you know when you can use your drains again.”

Manatee County agriculture, a Florida leader in vegetable and melon production, appeared to have largely been spared from heavy damage by Idalia.

“I’m still making phone calls but at this point mostly some flooding in the fields and wind damage but very minor,” Lisa Hickey, interim county extension agent, said in an email. “The big tomato growers in Duette are saying they had about 40 mph winds and minimal flooding that will subside with no issues.”

11:15 a.m. update

By Wednesday morning, Bradenton-area residents had taken to the streets to assess flood damage in their neighborhoods and local parks.

Supervised by their parents, children Willow and Teddy Baxter frolicked in river water that rose onto the sidewalk at the Bradenton Riverwalk.

The floodwaters submerged part of the Rossi Park splash pad and some playground equipment.

Their father, Ted Baxter, said the family decided to ride out the storm in their house along the riverfront. While his house was safe from flooding, neighbors appeared to have floodwater in their homes.

11 a.m. update

In Palmetto, Mayor Shirley Groover Bryant said there was flooding along Riverside Drive, but roads are passable and city crews were picking up debris Wednesday morning.

“It looks like we fared as well as could be expected. It seems like we have been blessed,” she said.

Manatee County government was still assessing damage and injuries caused by the storm as of Wednesday morning, but spokesman Bill Logan told the Bradenton Herald in an email Wednesday morning that he was not aware of any hurricane-related injuries.

Spokespersons from Bradenton Police Department and Manatee County Sheriff’s Office also told the Bradenton Herald that they have not had any reports of hurricane-related injuries.

More than 17,000 Manatee County homes lost power after Idalia moved past the area overnight. Most of those saw their power restored by Wednesday morning.

Florida Power and Light said more than 13,000 customers had electricity restored. There are nearly 203,000 FPL customers in Manatee County.

Peace River Electric Cooperative, Manatee County’s other electric provider, reported that only 24 of over 40,000 customers were without power on Wednesday morning.

▪ To check FPL’s outage map, visit www.FPLMaps.com

▪ To check Peace River’s outage map, visit https://members.preco.coop/maps/OutageWebMap/

10 a.m. update

Anna Maria Island was cut off from Bradenton with the Cortez and Manatee Avenue bridges closed due to several flooded roads.

“We have extreme flooding on all our roadways,” Police Chief Bill Tokejar of Holmes Beach said. “The roads aren’t passable and no bridges open to Anna Maria Island.”

It won’t be possible to assess damage until the flooding recedes, Tokejar said.

The Bradenton Police Department reported the following roads were flooded and impassable:

• Virginia Drive just south of Manatee Ave

• Riverside Drive East: from 18th Street East to 21st Street East and between 24th Street East and Chauncy Avenue

• Riverview Boulevard West from 26th Street to 20th Street

In the city of Bradenton, Mayor Gene Brown and city administrator Rob Perry were evaluating flooding along the city’s riverfront.

At 9:49 a.m., street flooding had reached three or four houses deep from the Manatee River, and waters were expected to rise even more with the high tide coming at 12:30 p.m., Brown said.

“Some houses along the waterway will be in danger of flooding,” Brown said.

Waters could rise another foot or two, he said.

“We are trying to blast out to everyone stay out of the water. We dodged the windstorm, but not the flooding,” Brown said.

Bill Logan, Manatee County’s information manager, said county crews were assessing damage on Wednesday, with an eye toward reopening country buildings on Thursday.

Sarasota Bradenton International Airport, which closed at 7 p.m. Tuesday, reopened at 8 a.m. Wednesday.

“We didn’t have a lick of damage,” Rick Piccolo, the airport’s president and CEO, said.

All of the scheduled Wednesday morning arrivals at SRQ were canceled by the airlines on Tuesday out of an abundance of caution, Piccolo said.

Wednesday’s first flight, a JetBlue arrival from New York, was delayed from 9:22 a.m. until 2:26 p.m.

A complete list of road closures in the county can be found at MyManatee.org/roadclosures.

Beyond the flooding, a tornado warning was in effect until 9:45 a.m. Wednesday morning showed how dangerous Idalia can be well after it made landfall hundreds of miles northwest of Manatee County.

Reporters James A. Jones Jr., Ryan Ballogg, Ryan Callihan and Michael Moore Jr. contributed to this report. This is a developing story and will be updated throughout the day.

Editor’s note: These are Wednesday updates for Hurricane Idalia. For Tuesday’s updates, click here.