LAKEWOOD RANCH, Fla. — Standing in her empty Lakewood Ranch home after rapidly rising floodwaters during Hurricane Debby forced her to evacuate, Jill Sauchinitz is speechless about her loss but vocal about her frustrations with Manatee County.
"Nobody was coming down our street in a boat or high-water vehicle with a loudspeaker telling us, ‘a flood is coming, get out of your house.’ Nothing," she said.
Sauchinitz is one of dozens of neighbors still questioning how Manatee County notified residents during Hurricane Debby when torrential rain slammed the state in August.
"We had 15 minutes to pack, which was so hard,” she said. “It was so stressful."
During the early morning hours of Aug. 5, as Debby dumped inches and inches of rain within hours, emergency officials made what they called a strategic release of water from the Lake Manatee Dam.
They insist it did not cause the flooding those like Sauchinitz experienced along the Braden River. "I can tell with 100% certainty, the Manatee River basin and the discharge from the dam did not move through the Braden River basin and create the flooding there," Manatee County Director of Natural Resources Charlie Hunsicker said during a press conference in August.
Neighbors like Sauchinitz, who live along the Braden River, say they are not so sure.
"What really, really disappoints us and, and, and just adds salt to the wound is having a county official come out and blatantly say that the water from the dam did not cause this after they agreed to an investigation that hasn't been completed," she said.
10 Investigates learned the county hired Patel, Greene & Associates LLC alongside Intera as consultants to investigate dam operation and flooding concerns in the wake of Hurricane Debby.
Manatee County spokesperson Bill Logan said the study is already underway.
Neighbors like Sauchinitz say they want transparency through the process.
“They agreed to an investigation. Bring us in. Let us be a part of that,” she said.
It’s unclear when the investigation will be complete, but Sauchinitz said she wants more answers about how the county chose to notify residents about flooding threats.
"I did not receive a text stating that my entire neighborhood was going to flood and that I needed to prepare and get out,” she said.
Manatee County did send notifications to neighbors living downstream from the Manatee Dam. At 9 a.m. on Aug. 5, the county says it began making reverse 911 calls to people living closest to the dam. That’s a half hour before the first phase of the dam release.
Records show two rounds of geo-targeted wireless alerts went to some cell phones. The first was at 10:29 a.m. to a small area determined by county officials. The second alert went out at 12:31 p.m. to another area again determined by county officials. Both alerts lasted at least an hour. Anyone within the geo-targeted area should have received the notification as long as government wireless alerts were not disabled on their phones.
Sauchinitz lived outside of the targeted area and away from the zone county officials determined to be at risk due to the dam release.
10 Investigates asked county leaders why they did not broaden their reach.
“We look to message the appropriate targeted audience so that that messaging does not go where it may cause confusion or panic when those residents may not be impacted,” said Deputy County Administrator Evan Pilachowski.
"Sometimes if you put a message out to a greater audience that's going to be impacted, it may cause unnecessary panic, which may get people to leave their homes during a time when they should actually stay and shelter in place,” he said.
Everbridge, the third-party company that all 67 Florida counties use to send out wireless emergency alerts, said it neither controls the messaging nor determines who it should be delivered to.
However, the company says receiving any wireless emergency alert is always optional, and it’s best to check phone settings to make sure government alerts are activated.
Emerald Morrow is an investigative reporter with 10 Tampa Bay. Like her on Facebook and follow her on X. You can also email her at emorrow@10tampabay.com.