Two hurricanes in two weeks. What’s next for Longboat Key?

In the days following Hurricane Milton, it felt like Longboat Key had a chance to catch its breath. 

Residents slowly started trickling into the island once the water and power were restored. The island looked a little more damaged than when residents evacuated — an evacuation which happened just about a week after Hurricane Helene dealt a significant blow to the island. 

Town Manager Howard Tipton said, thanks to Florida Power & Light’s “heroic effort” to restore the island’s power, the water systems could operate again, and the town could get on track to normal recovery operations. 

After two major hurricanes flooded Longboat Key homes and threw debris around the island, it was time to start what officials expect to be a long recovery process. 

Learning experiences

Sitting in the Sarasota County Emergency Operations Center, Tipton and Fire Rescue Chief Paul Dezzi watched Hurricane Milton’s track aiming for Longboat Key. 

“I felt confident that we did what we needed to do as far as the plans are concerned,” Dezzi said. “But knowing that you’re getting a direct hit from a hurricane, are you ever prepared?” 

A last-minute breakup of the storm, plus a small shift south, saved Longboat Key from what could have been catastrophic impacts, both Tipton and Dezzi said. But Dezzi said he and the Longboat crew were as ready as they could be. 

“Sure, it’s stressful. But when you have a good working team, we’re ready to work. And that’s what we were doing,” Dezzi said. “Having the right people in the right spots was important.”

Throughout the experience of Hurricane Milton, Dezzi said his mind was focused on the estimated 150 people who chose to stay on the island. 

“That was on my mind the whole time,” Dezzi said. 

The Longboat team at the EOC kept a whiteboard with addresses of people confirmed to have stayed, and Dezzi said his top priority was checking on those people after the storm passed. Luckily, no deaths or serious injuries were reported. 

When town officials heard from the first-in team about the damage from Hurricane Milton, it was a pleasant surprise the island wasn’t damaged as much as expected.

The first-in team reported after Hurricane Milton that there was flooding and increased debris, but the damage was much less than what was expected with a possible direct hit. 

Photo by Ian Swaby

Tipton noted that, throughout the island, the newer buildings, and those built higher up, seemed to fare better. This observation reinforces the trend of elevating homes and building them to new state standards, according to Tipton. 

“If you’re going to live on a barrier island, it’s just those higher standards, literally and figuratively,” Tipton said. 

Along with personal property, Tipton said the town can look at the effects of these storms to reimagine the island’s resiliency. This includes evaluating the lower-lying roads for new designs, and thinking about new stormwater methods to adapt to the increased frequency and intensity of storms, Tipton said. 

These are things the town will look at as a part of the recovery process moving forward from Hurricanes Helene and Milton and adapting for future storms. 

After handling emergency operations for major storms, Dezzi said there's always a learning process involved in recovery. Over the next few weeks, this will mean checking in with department heads to receive feedback on what processes could be improved for the next event. 

Leaning on community

Tipton said, through a wider lens, it’s really been a long 24 months.

Hurricane Ian, which hit Florida in September 2022, also affected Longboat Key. Then, in 2023, Hurricane Idalia caused some significant flooding throughout the island. 

Now, in a two-week period, Hurricanes Helene and Milton shook Longboat Key. Aside from normal recovery operations from a town perspective, handling events like these hurricanes can be tiring. 

“There’s a fatigue factor that sets in,” Tipton said. “When you get back-to-back gut punches, it’s complicated, but it’s tiring. It’s exhausting. And I think that’s going to be a piece of this as well.”

Photo by Carter Weinhofer

The recovery process after major storm events can be challenging, both Tipton and Dezzi said. From a technical perspective, it can be tricky when filing claims with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, through which storms need to be documented separately. 

Recovery for the town also means working with residents and FEMA, helping the two work together, Dezzi said. 

The recovery phase will be a long process. Dezzi said it could be a couple of years until Longboat Key is fully back to normal. 

“It’s a slow process. This is not something that's going to happen overnight. We have to have patience,” Dezzi said.

It’s times like these that communities can come together — something that Dezzi said he saw in local churches’ eagerness to open comfort stations to the public after Hurricane Helene. 

Tipton said, moving forward, it’s important for people to give themselves a little bit of time to process everything, and check in on others. While things can seem overwhelming now, Tipton is confident that the Longboat Key community will persevere. 

“Living on Longboat is a special experience,” Tipton said. “And it will be again. We’ll get there.”