BRADENTON BEACH, Fla. — As with many barrier islands in our area, access remains restricted at this time with all beaches and restaurants closed.
Thursday's storm surge from Hurricane Helene devastated the whole stretch of beach and nearby buildings from Anna Maria down into parts of Sarasota County.
On Anna Maria Island, several construction and power crews are working to clear up the roadways and restore power. Authorities are only letting first responder vehicles onto Cortez Bridge and Gulf Drive. Residents and business owners with ownership credentials or emergency passes can return to the island but only by foot. There is also an island-wide curfew in effect from 7 p.m. until 7 a.m.
10 Tampa Bay got a first-hand look at some of the damage to the city of Bradenton Beach from the Mayor who was also cleaning up his home which was among those damaged by the storm.
"The sand was unbelievable. The beach and the sand dunes are on the streets, on the road, in our neighborhoods, in our houses," said Bradenton Beach Mayor John Chappie.
All up and down Gulf Drive, the primary coastal road, miles of sand dunes heaped as high as 6 feet adorn the street. They are among the key reminders of Hurricane Helene's extensive force as she barreled up along the Gulf of Mexico directly hitting Taylor County in Florida's Big Bend area.
"Two-and-a-half, three feet, and in some places even more," said Chappie as he showed the watermarks in his living room.
The state's CERT team after their assessment determined that Hurricane Helene destroyed 90% to 95% of the City of Bradenton Beach.
"Bradenton Beach is considered by the cert team as a "catastrophic area," according to the press release posted to the city's website.
The force of the storm moved some homes from their foundation.
"It lifted up and ran into the blue house here and that wall in there came on down 12 Street south and ended up down there," said Chappie of a neighbor's house.
Governor Ron DeSantis and the director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management were at Manatee Memorial in Bradenton and gave an update on the ongoing damage assessment and recovery efforts there.
He said power has now been restored to Manatee County but urged residents to make sure their power systems are functional and not faulty before trying to turn their power supply back on.
The governor also highlighted the robust response to the evacuation orders and rescue mission and how that helped to keep the number of casualties down.
"If you tell somebody there's 15 feet or more, you assume fatalities. So they worked hard, people in this region worked hard. I think a lot of the citizens were very responsive so there were a lot of things done right. But this is a good lesson though, take steps to mitigate," said DeSantis.
The governor also said they have now moved assets to Western NC to help with Operation Blue Ridge and rescue efforts over there.
In addition, he highlighted the use of Tiger Dams that helped mitigate flooding at Manatee Memorial.
FEMA trailers will soon be available as well as hotel accommodations which victims can apply for directly through FEMA or Hope Florida.
Meanwhile, Chappie said city hall operations have been moved to the main firehouse as the clean-up work continues and he encourages the community to be prepared to assist each other through the process.
"Neighbors are helping neighbors," Chappie said. "We have volunteers that want to come out here when the streets open and we will welcome them with open arms to help our citizens residence in Bradenton Beach."