Manatee County declares state of emergency for Tropical Storm Ian

Manatee County Commissioners voted 4-0 Saturday, during an emergency meeting, to declare a state of emergency in advance of Tropical Storm Ian.

The vote also authorized County Administrator Scott Hopes as the authority to distribute emergency plans, agreements and supporting documents, taking leadership over the decisions of Emergency Management Chief Steve Litschauer.

Stay up to date: Tropical Storm Ian updates, news in Sarasota and Manatee counties

"Every time we're up here doing this, it's very eerie, and it's very scary," District 5 Commissioner Vanessa Baugh said. "Please, I ask that citizens continue to pray for everyone's safety and for the storm to just dissipate; that would be the best thing in the world. …  But that being said, Dr. Hopes, I realize that is a pretty serious storm we're tracking right now."

Litschauer said everyone in the county should take the present time as an opportunity to prepare for the storm.

"What we've learned recently, is when a storm gets into the gulf, it's going to do what we see today — go from no storm to Category 3, 4 or 5 in three days," he said. "Well, if you haven't already started to prepare, that three days goes real quick."

He said residents should gather supplies including canned food and water, fill their cars with gas, make sure they have their prescription bottles and discuss plans with friends and family.

As of 2 p.m. Saturday, the National Hurricane Center forecasts the storm will impact Florida as Category 3.

Hopes said the county could experience 8-10 inches of rainfall, as well as a 10-12 foot storm surge above sea level.

"This is a storm that we need to keep a watchful eye on," Hopes said. "We will continue to push information out to the board members as well as the community moving forward. We have a lot of work to do."

The emergency order lasts until it is terminated or for a period of seven days.

Present at the meeting were Commissioners Reggie Bellamy, Kevin Van Ostenbridge, George Kruse and Baugh. 

For information on shelters, evacuation levels and more, visit MyManatee.org/Weather.