Manatee County releases early damage estimate from Hurricane Milton

With 45% of the inspection completed, initial damage estimates by Manatee County released Saturday morning say 19 homes were completed destroyed by Hurricane Milton while 536 sustained major damage.

Another 1,112 homes sustained minor damage. Residential damage to this point is estimated at $136,569,705 with commercial damages estimated at $16,347,035.

Mantee County Public Works crews have repaired 120 traffic lights throughout the county. Of those, 25 are in flash mode and 34 are operating on generator power according to a county release.

That leaves approximately 130 traffic lights still without power or experiencing communications failures.

The county stresses that "drivers should treat each intersection with non-working traffic lights as a four-way stop by coming to a complete stop and yielding right-of-way to other drivers. Motorists are also urged to use caution and watch out for workers who are trying to make our roads safer as quickly as possible."

The release also said the Florida Division of Emergency Management has opened a temporary fuel site at Bennett Park (400 Cypress Creek Blvd., Bradenton). Fuel supply is limited, and there is a limit allowed per vehicle.

Several Points of Distribution sites have been set up throughout the county. Items, such as water and meals vary from location to location. Click "Distribution Sites" on the mymanatee.org/storm site to get up-to-date information about open locations and available items.