Manatee dries out after Tropical Storm Eta delivers heavy rain and fatal storm surge
Manatee County was drying out Thursday after Tropical Storm Eta dumped about 9 inches of rain and storm surge entered some homes, killing one man in Bradenton Beach.
Eta made landfall near Cedar Key early Thursday morning.
As the storm approached, Manatee County received some of the worst Eta delivered to the west coast. The east side of the storm, known as the dirty side, battered the coast for several hours with gusty winds tossing sailboats and toppling trees and power lines.
Several tornado warnings were issued throughout the early part of the evening but no tornadoes actually touched down, according to the National Weather Service Tampa Bay office.
In Bradenton Beach, long-time island resident Mark Mixon went to check on one of his rentals when he learned the storm surge was entering the house. But Mixon didn’t realize the water was charged, having reached the wiring of a clothes dryer and he was electrocuted.
Overnight, water from Palma Sola Bay encroached on the causeway but never covered it. Storm surge caused Wares Creek waters to rise above the seawall and into the yards of several neighbors and water from the Manatee River to flood out Riverview Boulevard — a road prone to flooding.
Eta’s flooding waters overwhelmed ditches in Rubonia, but spared the neighborhood.
“What we had was a big tidal surge,” said Councilman Patrick Roff, who lives in the Wares Creek neighborhood. “The water came up into the road on Virginia Drive, which it does quite often. I’ve been here 30 years and that’s not the highest the water has ever been. It’s all tidal. It came from the Gulf.”
After sitting in the Gulf of Mexico for several days, Eta could’ve done much worse. By 8 a.m. Thursday morning, the storm surge had receded back below the seawall — a good sign for Bradenton’s stormwater system. An inundated system would have taken nearly a week to fully drain, according to Roff.
“Eta had all the makings of a worst-case scenario. We had a storm churning out at sea for a week and then it went straight for us. We got the worst part of a hurricane, which is between 12 and 3 if you’re looking at a clock,” Roff said. “It churned up the Gulf, so when it pushed that water in, it was doing the best it could.”
“The system was tested last night and it worked pretty well,” he added.
Manatee County Public Safety officials didn’t receive any major reports of damage from Eta. Some residents did report minor roof damage and debris. Residents needing to report damage or with questions are asked to call 311.
Surfers got another day of waves in the aftermath
The breaking waves left behind by Eta attracted surfers back to Anna Maria on Thursday — especially Cortez Beach where dozens of surfers again lined the water.
Lawrence Peterson, of Sarasota, was among the many who returned to catch the rare waves.
“Today’s a little choppy,” Peterson said. “Yesterday was wonderful, yesterday was really big. Early in the morning, lots of nice ride but as the day got on, it got a little choppier as the winds picked up. But all in all, it was fun.”
Manatee County Public Beaches remained closed to swimmers, however.
“That’s the first time I have ever seen that,” Peterson said. “It was just absolutely amazing for the west coast of Florida.”
This story was originally published November 12, 2020 at 8:06 AM.