Anna Maria Island Hurricane Damage Details: Anna Maria Island was quiet on Wednesday, with many visitors and residents seeming to follow the required evacuation order.
At 10 a.m. Wednesday, a required order went into force for Manatee County’s zone A.
However, some inhabitants are still preferring to wait out the storm.
“I’ve always remained through the storms. “It can be scary, and there have been times when I wish I had left,” Anthony Stombaugh said.
But Stombaugh will not be staying at home. Instead, he’ll be waiting out the storm on the third floor of Waterline Vistas and Marina, where he is the general manager.
“I feel better being up higher because the flooding here on the island, like I said, does get so feel like the higher you are, the safer you are.”
He is concerned about Surge getting into his single-story home.
“Our road on Avenue C floods super, super bad so we sandbag and do all the prep like we do here at the resort.”
“The roads where I live were built before people started kayaking, so it may be a bit nerve-racking. Thank heavens I have neighbors who keep me updated about what’s going on over there.”
Meanwhile, the hotel remains closed, although workmen were putting a water barrier around it on Wednesday. Stombaugh had the shutters custom-made before the Marriott opened.
The surge from previous storms has risen up over the docks and pool, climbing the stairs on the rear door to the lobby.
Nearby, Holmes Beach homeowner William Flinn is similarly concerned about the storm surge.
“We’ve never had any wind damage, and it doesn’t appear like we’ll have much from this storm. But water is the most important worry,” Flinn remarked.
Flinn and his wife have left for certain storms but remained for others during the course of their eight-year residence. While she is abroad on business, he plans to ride out the storm at home with a friend who also lives on the island.
“We’re carefully monitoring it. But I have a go-bag with supplies in case I need to go,” he remarked.
His street does not flood as often as others in the area, although it did during Hurricane Idalia.
“Pray, what can I say?” “I can’t do anything about the storm surge.”
Stombaugh was recharging his electric vehicle on Wednesday. If an electric vehicle floods during a storm, it might cause a fire.
We will try our best to keep it out of the water, but that is someone else’s responsibility.”
Manatee County authorities have said that the water supply to the island might be turned off as early as 6 p.m. Wednesday. This is often done during hurricanes as a preventive step to safeguard infrastructure from storm surges.