More than 1,000 inmates rode out Hurricane Milton at Manatee jail. Here’s what happened

As Hurricane Milton plowed through Manatee County, 1,154 inmates were left behind at the county jail in Palmetto, which sits in a mandatory evacuation area.

Randy Warren, a spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office, told the Bradenton Herald that 117 staff members, 10 nurses and two paramedics worked through the storm at the jail.

The two-story jail, 14470 Harlee Rd., is built to withstand hurricanes. But it is in evacuation level A, the most vulnerable during a storm.

“We are confident in the strength and design of our correctional facility, and that it will remain above flood level,” Warren said Wednesday, hours before the Category 3 storm made landfall near Siesta Key.

A mandatory evacuation order was in effect for residents in levels A, B and C, and mobile homes and RVs. Bill Logan, a spokesman for the county, said more than 11,000 people stayed at shelters across the county.

The storm devastated homes and businesses with its 120 mph winds and heavy rains.

All inmates and staff members were safe and there was no damage to the jail, Warren said.

A few inmates with physical disabilities or other medical conditions were moved to the second floor as a precaution, he said.

There were generators, supplies and enough food and water for several days at the jail.