- December 30, 2024
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The house was still standing.
That was the key takeaway for many Longboat Key residents when they returned home on Oct. 11 to assess the damage following Hurricane Milton.
It was the first day that the barrier island was reopened to residents after the storm.
Michael Drake, standing and looking out at his house on Longboat Drive South, pointed to other homes on either side that had suffered from the storm surge of Helene two weeks prior.
"That house completely jeopardized. That house completely jeopardized. They lost everything," he said.
As he looked over his own house, which he had built in 1995, there were tears in his eyes.
"We still have a beautiful home," he said.
Some residents agreed the situation that greeted them as they returned was far more optimistic than expected, although some flooding could be seen at residential buildings along Gulf of Mexico Drive on Oct. 11.
"I didn't know what to expect," said Todd Duell, a resident of Linley Street in Longboat Village. "They were talking about a Category 4 to a 5, so we were worried about more."
He said from what he could tell, the damage from Milton amounted to missing roof shingles, although the home had suffered major damage during Helene's storm surge.
With his home intact, Duell's priority was salvaging some of the components that he discarded in his driveway after Helene, which were wet again and impossible to dry due to the current lack of electricity.
These included his family's "favorite doorknobs."
"They were just nice," he said. "The people that designed the house before us had a flare on certain things."
Frank Harrison used to run by a home along Poinsetta Avenue in Longboat Village, years ago when he was a Bradenton resident and was practicing for long-distance runs.
Although he always dreamed of buying the home, he never did, but he did end up buying the one directly across the street from it at the corner of Cedar Street and Poinsetta Avenue.
He and his wife, Priscilla VanHaven, were so glad to see the home standing that there were sometimes smiles on their faces, even as they picked up the tree branches and other debris scattered across the yard.
"We thought we were going to have no house," said VanHaven. "We are just so happy that it withstood the storm."
Harrison said the weak point of the home was the corner of a screen porch on the upper floor of the house, which he secured with small posts and three 18-inch straps.
"If that came loose, the whole roof's gonna come off," he said.
Some of the damage that did occur included the loss of plants and flowers in the front-yard garden, and parts of the underside of the roof being chipped away.
Brian Feeney, a resident of Longboat Village, had felt optimistic as he watched the storm's path from a condominium he and his wife own in Bradenton.
He said seeing the trajectory of the storm made him feel optimistic they would't be on the "dirty side" of the eye.
"I think we fared fairly good," he said, noting that this time, damage came from the wind rather than from flooding.
His home on Broadway Street did experience damage to two roof vents, while he also lost some of his plants including his bird of paradise flowers, and his storage shed collapsed.
However, the shed hadn't been a superior example of construction, created from blocks that were defective and had been tossed aside, unsuitable for use in the house, when it was built in the early 1900s.
After Helene, Feeney had had about 28 inches of water in the home, having to tear out drywall in the bathroom and laundry room, the two rooms that used the material.
He plans to stay in the condominium until comforts like electricity and water are restored to Longboat.
"We're getting that house ready for sale, so we're very lucky to have a place around here," he said.
Drake said when he built his home, which he shares with his wife, Amy, he had elevated the living area above ground, even going beyond what was required at the time by FEMA regulations.
"We have a little bit of minor damage to some of the stuff, but the structure itself is still there, and it's just an island that has always been dear to us," he said.
He said until power and water are restored, they still plan to stay at the home of his cousin in Lakewood Ranch, which he called "a savior" with the storm.
While staying in Lakewood Ranch for the storm, Longboat Village resident John DeVito had wondered what to expect upon returning home.
"I didn't know what I was going to see, but I was somewhat relieved when the town manager reported... that we didn't get a surge, which particularly in this section of the village, impacts us pretty hard."
However, at his home on Broadway Street, he just found some screen damage, a lost pergola and fence, and some broken tree limbs. He noted that his house has solid construction and is elevated above ground.
He called himself "very happy" with how his home fared in both storms.
"I hope it's the end, but we still got it a month and a half to go," he said.
Although the impacts of Milton were limited for many residents, plenty of them were still feeling the impacts of Helene.
Mary and John Donato had experienced Helene’s devastating surge at their home on the 5900 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive, with two feet of water entering the house.
“We lost all of our furniture, plus lots of memories,” Mary Donato said.
They noted that although their home was not flooded during Milton, some properties on the ocean side of the road (Their home is located by a canal) did not appear to have fared as well during the surge.
Resident Mary Lou Johnson, who lives on the 6000 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive, said most of the damage during Milton came from wind.
With Helene, on the other hand, she had seen about an inch of water in her home, as well as the loss of a boat lift and motor, and five kayaks (four of which neighbors were able to return.)
“I’m praying a lot for everyone,” she said. “I know some people are going to change their minds about living here.”
Nonetheless, having spent her life living on islands, she said her plan is to continue to do what she has always done — to evacuate when a storm is approaching.
“Fortunately, it’s one weather thing that we get notice, and I just lift everything and go somewhere,” she said.
Despite his home being intact, debris including tree branches nonetheless littered Drake's yard.
He called the damage to the landscape the "devastating part of it."
"If you look around, it looks like a bomb went off, but we're still safe and we really appreciate our leaders doing what they've done, and it will be years to recoup."
The island also wasn't without storm surge. On Oct. 11, flooding was visible at some locations on Gulf of Mexico Drive.
The impacts of the tree and landscape damage were significant for Longboat Island Chapel, one of the island's first buildings.
Senior Pastor Brock Patterson noted there was little damage to the structure itself.
"We have some roof damage, but no leaks. Otherwise, everything is as we left it, after Helene," he said.
Nonetheless, the church's garden saw significant damage, with fallen trees blocking the path and the loss of a "massive" banyan tree that Patterson said might be the largest tree in the garden.
He said the damage to the property, overall, was below what was expected.
"I was expecting terrible," he said. "We all were because Helene was so disastrous... We're very, very, very pleased. We are blessed. God has taken care of all of us for sure. So this is the answer to a lot of prayers."
Although hurricane season lasts until Nov. 30, Drake noted the storm is the type of event found once in 100 years.
"It seems as though we're sort of in a biblical time right now, but still, paradise to us always has been nice," he said. "And the good thing about Longboat is we all band together during these times and come together and rebuild together and look out for each other."
This story has been updated to include the impacts that Mary and John Donato and Mary Lou Johnson received from Hurricane Helene.
