This is your Hurricane Milton update for 8 a.m. Thursday, October 10 th.
There are flooded roads, many downed trees, and blown-over fences.
Even before sunrise, Sarasota County “Tactical First-In Teams” were briefed and began assessing damage. The county is urging residents to not leave their safe place yet, to give first-responders an opportunity to assess the situation and ensure it’s safe to travel.
The storm made landfall in Siesta Key at around 8:30 pm as a Category 3 hurricane, with sustained wind of close yo 80 miles per hour and gusts of up to 120 mph.
The NOAA’s Coastal Emergency Risk Assessment assumed before landfall that the worst surge would occur along the shore from Siesta Key south to Venice, as well as upriver, along rivers, canals and creeks.
Access to the barrier islands in Sarasota and Manatee is closed. Uniformed personnel are posted at all the bridges to the islands.
Schools, airport
Both Sarasota County Schools and Manatee County Schools are closed for the week.
New College of Florida and Ringling College of Art and Design are closed all week.
Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport remains closed. Contact your airline directly for flight status.
Recovery
Water service on all barrier islands in Sarasota and Manatee Counties is shut off, and will remain off until further notice.
Due to the storm surge forecasted at the City of Venice water plant, Venice shut down all potable water Wednesday afternoon. It may be several days until water service is restored.
There are widespread power and Internet outages. FPL reported 166,000 customers without power in Manatee County and 224,000 in Sarasota as of 8 a.m. Thursday morning.
Comcast has opened thousands of free Xfinity hotspots available to all, not just Xfinity customers. To find the nearest hotspot, visit the Wifi Hotspot Map on Xfinity.com and type in your zip code.
About 125 homes in the region had already been destroyed by Hurricane Milton by Wednesday evening, even before landfall, according to Florida officials.
Kevin Guthrie, director of Florida’s Division of Emergency Management, said in a press conference in Tallahassee that most were mobile homes in senior communities.
Have patience with recovery.