Manatee County in state of emergency as Idalia approaches

3:20 p.m. Monday, Aug. 28

Manatee County has moved its evacuations to mandatory in Level A and voluntary in Level B. Find your evacuation level using the county's Learn Your Level map tool.

12 p.m. Monday, Aug. 28

Manatee County declared a state of emergency Monday as public safety officials briefed commissioners with plans to prepare for Tropical Storm Idalia.

Noting that Tropical Storm Idalia is expected to build to a Category 3 hurricane, Deputy Director of Public Safety Steve Litschauer said the county always prepares for a hurricane of at least a category higher strength. 

“The current arrival time for winds could potentially be around 7 p.m. Tuesday. That is subject to change,” Litschauer said. “There is potential for flooding on coastal roads as early as (Monday night) due to the high tides.”

There’s no word on bridge closures yet, but Director of Public Safety Jodie Fiske said they are being monitored. 

Evacuation orders are not in place yet, but Litschauer said the county is considering a mandatory evacuation in Zone A and a voluntary evacuation in Zone B. 

There are some plans in place now. 

Three elementary schools will be opened as emergency shelters at 2 p.m. Monday in Virgil Mills in Palmetto and Jesse P. Miller and Freedom elementary schools in Bradenton.

Students at Freedom and R. Dan Nolan Middle School were dismissed at noon Monday so that those sites could prepare to become shelters.

All other School District of Manatee County schools are open for a full day.

The district is monitoring the storm and will make decisions regarding school on Tuesday and Wednesday in collaboration with Manatee County Emergency Management. 

All county operations will be shut down starting at noon Monday, except the landfill, which wil be open until 6 p.m.

Yard waste and recycling collections are canceled for Tuesday and Wednesday. County parks and libraries are closed until further notice. 

Transit is the exception in that bus and trolley services will be suspended when winds reach over 45 miles per hour, according to Acting County Administrator Charlie Bishop.  

Officials say drought conditions have lowered the chances of flooding, but if sandbags are needed, each household can fill 10 at one of the self-service sites across the county. Visit MyManatee.org/sandbags for locations. 

“We’re already seeing increased tornado threats,” Fiske said. “I would just remind everybody that as the storm is approaching, do not just focus on where the eyewall is tracking. You need to look at the entirety of the width of the storm.”