Diabetes and Neuropathy Treatment in South Venice, FL

VENICE

The current fix is technically a temporary one, as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers works out a long term restoration of Venice Inlet, which was built in 1937

Sarasota Herald-Tribune

VENICE – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the West Coast Inland Navigation District started long-awaited repairs this week on the South Jetty walkway in Humphris Park. The jetty was damaged by the storm surge generated by Hurricane Idalia as it passed Sarasota County on its way to an Aug. 30, 2023 landfall as a Category 3 storm in Florida's Big Bend area.

Idalia reached Category 4 intensity, with onshore winds, rough surf and storm surge producing significant flooding along Sarasota County – notably destroying a portion ofManasotaBeach Road near Englewood and flooding the St. Armands Circle shopping district in Sarasota.

Combined damage from Idalia in Sarasota and Manatee counties approached $5 million.

Damage to the South Jetty of the Venice Inlet and at Humphris Park was among the most significant recorded at Venice area beaches.

While Venice public works employees were able to grade the parking lot and the Jetty Jack’s snack bar reopened once that was repaired, fishermen have been unable to use the South Jetty for almost 11 months.

The North Jetty on Casey Key was not as severely damaged and remained open for most of that time.

One reason for the lengthy delay was the time it took for the Army Corps of Engineers to bring in large rocks for what is technically a temporary fix of the South Jetty walkway.

What is being done to repair the Venice jetty walkway?

More than 30 tons of rocks have been brought into Humphris Parks since July 22 and have been placed along both sides of the walkway to fill in empty spots and enhance stability of the jetty, built in 1937, when the channel was dredged between Roberts Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.

David Ruderman, the Army Corps spokesman in Jacksonville, stressed that the integrity of the South Jetty itself and the the inlet was never in jeopardy after Hurricane Idallia.

“It is basically a cosmetic repair, in part to make it available to the public,” Ruderman said.

Placement of the large rocks was scheduled for completion July 26, weather permitting, he added.

After that, the walkway atop the South Jetty must still be repaved – something that city public works staff is scheduled to accomplish.

Venice spokeswoman Lorraine Anderson said via email that it is “expected to be complete in a couple weeks.”

Is Venice's Humphris Park open now?

The park and more than half of the parking lot – which also serves as overflow parking for the Crow’s Nest Restaurant, Tavern & Marina – and Jetty Jack’s remained open while workers have been placing big rocks on the South Jetty.

The jetty itself is still closed to the public and individuals ignoring the “Jetty Closed” signs to fish from the jetty are subject to a $75 fine.

Chris Johnson, operator of Jetty Jack’s said the reopening of the jetty walkway will “be a huge improvement to our community fishermen, bigtime.

“The tip of the jetty is the best fishing and they guys who get set up first catch the most fish,” he said then added that many of those people have likely gone to the North Jetty or the Venice Municipal Fishing Pier instead.

“Those guys would normally come up and buy a hot dog or a soda and we don’t have that,” Johnson said.

What’s next at the Venice Inlet?

The Army Corps of Engineers is working on a larger, long-term project to restore both the South Jetty and North Jetty to their original specifications.

That project is still in the planning stages, with no timetable for when it would occur.

SARASOTA

President Biden calls Sarasota Mayor Liz Alpert with offer of assistance prior to landfall

Heather Bushman Christian Casale

Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Hurricane Milton, with 120 mph winds, made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane near Siesta Key at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 9. It was the first hurricane to make landfall in the Sarasota-Bradenton area in more than a century.

The potential impact of the fearsome storm prompted President Joe Biden to call Sarasota Mayor Liz Alpert with an offer of assistance.

Emergency Management officials and first responders are still assessing Milton’s impact, but early assessments indicated that aside from south Sarasota County, which seemed to take the brunt of the storm surge from the storm, the area escaped with far less damage than had been feared.

“Now that day has broken we're seeing the level of damage across the area as crews are getting out to assess the roads,” said Jennifer Hubbard, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Ruskin.

Hubbard said Milton was more of a wind and a rain event in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, while the landfall near Siesta Key meant that much of the potentially record-breaking storm surge would happen south of Osprey, along the shores of Venice, South Venice, Englewood and Manasota Key.

The city of Venice and South Venice in unincorporated Sarasota County appear to have suffered the worst storm surge damage from Hurricane Milton, according to briefings from the National Weather Service in Ruskin.

A flood watch continued through 8 p.m. Thursday for the entire area.

Storm surge, especially down south, is a major concern

The highest recorded surge reported by the National Weather Service was 7.45 feet above the mean higher high water line, at Shamrock Park and Nature Center, which is part of the unincorporated neighborhood of South Venice, which includes Alligator Creek.

The next highest surge was 5.32 feet above the mean higher high water line recorded by the United States Geological Survey at Venice.

Both Sarasota and Manatee counties sent damage assessment teams out at first light Thursday morning. Though it’s still too early to make any definitive statements on the extent of the damage, the general sentiment among local officials is a sigh of relief: It could’ve been a lot worse.

Weather experts predicted up to 15 feet of storm surge along the Sarasota area’s coastlines, but early assessments indicate it didn’t come to pass. Manatee County spokesperson Bill Logan said Milton’s late shifts in its path helped prevent what could have been catastrophic damage.

“Every little jog it took to the right seemed like it was working in Manatee County’s favor,” Logan said. “It was not nothing, but it was not nearly what folks worried themselves over.”

Sarasota County Emergency Management Chief Sandra Tapfumaneyi reported similar findings, noting that the county experienced around 7-8 feet of storm surge on first assessment — mostly on the barrier islands but some inland. As the back end of the storm eroded when it crossed the county, Tapfumaneyi said, it mitigated the more powerful storm bands that could have caused the record surge.

Both counties are reporting downed power lines and trees, broken traffic signals and widespread tree and other debris as they make these early assessments. Almost 214,00 in Sarasota County and more than 162,000 in Manatee County are without power, according to the Florida Power and Light’s outage map.

Local officials encouraged residents and potential “disaster tourists” to avoid the area to let emergency services through.

“We just ask that you please stay put,” Tapfumaneyi said. “Allow crews the opportunity to clear the roads.”

Access to the following barrier islands will remain closed, with entrances monitored by Sarasota County personel:

• John Ringling Causeway, just west of Golden Gate Point in Sarasota • Siesta Drive Bridge, 1400 Siesta Drive in Sarasota • Stickney Point Road Bridge, 1512 Stickney Point Road in Sarasota • Blackburn Point Swing Bridge, 733 Blackburn Point Road in Osprey • Albee Road Bridge, 913 Albee Road in Nokomis • Manasota Beach Road Bridge, 2055 Manasota Beach Road in Englewood.

The downtown Sarasota bayfront seemed to have sustained only minimal flooding, but debris from Milton’s substantial winds littered every nook and cranny.

Business owners took down the boards over their windows and inspected the damage to their canopies. Some just fluttered with the morning wind. Others were completely razed, blocking the entrance.

At the city’s Bayfront early Thursday morning, onlookers gawked at the boats either twisted in the water or sitting in the middle of the park, as if they’ve always been there.

A huge black and white yacht called the Indigo sat partially jammed up on the curb, stuck during the morning’s high tide.

One full dock was lifted off the marina and onto the ground yards away. A small, blue shack for Suntex Boating Club and a motor boat laid dry at the park entrance.

The Carpe Diem II - a much smaller recreational boat - sat in the grass about 10 yards away. At the tip of Bayfront Park, the Alamar sat in the gravel, tied to several trees.

By 10:30 a.m. city crews had begun to dissemble the trees blocking Main Street.

More than 100 mph wind gust recorded at airport

The highest wind gusts reported on land in the area was 102 mph at Sarasota Bradenton International Airport, where the gauge later stopped working Wednesday night.

In Charlotte County, a gust of 85 mph was reported at Grove City at 10:45 p.m. Wednesday; and a gust of 81 mph was reported at Punta Gorda at 7:59 p.m.

A gust of 96 mph was reported at 9:30 p.m, Wednesday in Bradenton; while in Sarasota a gust of 83 mph was reported at 9:55 p.m. and a gust of 77 mph at 7:26 p.m.

The Maritime station at Egmont Channel recorded 105 mph at 9:14 p.m. Wednesday and the station at the Skyway Fishing Pier recorded 103 mph at 8;30 p.m.

The highest reported rainfall of 18.75 inches came at St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport

At Sarasota Bradenton International Airport, 7.55 inches of rain was recorded, while 6.08 inches was recorded at Siesta Key and 3.95 inches in Charlotte County.

Third hurricane to cause damage in area since August

Milton came on the heels of Hurricane Helene, which caused record storm surge damage along the Sarasota-Manatee coastline, on the way to making landfall in Florida's Big Bend Sept. 26.

In August, Hurricane Debby – which was a tropical storm when it passed by Sarasota and Manatee counties – brought record rainfall and flooding to Sarasota and Manatee Counties.

The only other named storm to make landfall in the area – Tropical Storm Gabrielle – did so in September 2001 at Siesta Key.

The wind speeds of Gabrielle were just under hurricane force. The fast-developing storm hit the area in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Sarasota Memorial and HCA Florida Doctors hospitals are open and seeing patients

Sarasota Memorial Hospital suffered some minor damage at both the Sarasota and Venice campuses but both facilities are up and running.

“All in all we did pretty well,” said David Verinder, president and CEO of Sarasota Memorial Health Care System.

“We were a little nervous about this one as probably everyone else on the Suncoast was,” he added, since Milton was at times a Category 5 storm.

“We’ve had three named storms now in a month so we have a little bit of muscle memory to put through the paces,” he added.

The hospital staff is transitioning through to its “B” team of fresh personnel, who took over at both campuses at 10 a.m.

SMH is assessing the status of the various urgent cares and doctors offices. Verinder said people should check the SMH website to see what is open.HCA Sarasota Doctors Hospital, had some tree limbs down on its campus but it is open and caring for patients, spokeswoman Monica Yadav said by email.

The status of HCA Englewood Hospital, which had started transferring patients to other facilities in anticipation of Milton’s arrival, was not available at press time.

Street flooding reported in Venice

City of Venice tactical first-in teams reported street flooding of several roads, including: North Indies Circle, Tarpon Center Drive, The Esplanade North, Flamingo Drive, Villas Drive, Gardenia Drive, Harbor Drive at Sorrento Street, Alhambra Road and Castile Street.

Localized street ponding in North Port

The city of North Port tactical first-in teams started assessing the city at 2:30 a.m. Thursday.

All the main arterial streets were clear, according to an email from a city spokeswoman.

Some side residential roads are seeing some localized ponding. There are several traffic lights out, downed power lines and ponding on roads.

North Port EMS have responded to all people who called during the storm and are back to regular emergency response.

City public works was also monitoring water levels in the Myakkahatchee Creek and canals, because of potential secondary downstream flooding impacts as water flows into the Myakka River watershed.

VENICE

The Venice Jetties were built in 1937, when a channel connecting Roberts Bay to the Gulf of Mexico was dredged. a long-term restoration project is planned

Sarasota Herald-Tribune

VENICE – The South Jetty walkway at Humphris Park, 2000 Tarpon Center Drive, reopened to the public Wednesday afternoon after being closed for nearly a year because of damage sustained from Hurricane Idalia in August 2023.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and West Coast Inland Navigation District started long awaited repairs on the rock structure the week of July 22.

Workers placed more than 400 tons of granite rocks along both sides of the walkway, filling in voids and enhancing stability.

Venice Public Works crews used more than 12 tons of asphalt to create smooth walkway surface on the popular fishing spot.

‘It’s great,” Chris Johnson, proprietor of Jetty Jack’s snack bar said at the reopening.

He noted that there were not yet a lot of people at the South Jetty Wednesday afternoon.

“I’m going to make a (social media) post today when I get home and get the word out,” he added, "It's going to be a big plus.”

The city of Venice started spreading the word of the reopening through its social media channels Wednesday afternoon.

How bad was the damage from Hurricane Idalia?

Combined damage from Idalia in Sarasota and Manatee counties approached $5 million.

Damage to the South Jetty of the Venice Inlet and at Humphris Park was among the most significant recorded at Venice area beaches.

What’s next for the Venice Jetties?

The North and South jetties were built in 1937, when the channel was dredged between Roberts Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.

The Army Corps of Engineers is working on a larger, long-term project to restore both the South Jetty and North Jetty to their original specifications.

That project is still in the planning stages, with no timetable for when it would occur.

Humphris Park is closed nightly to vehicles from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.