SARASOTA, Fla. — As several parts of Sarasota County clean up after Hurricane Idalia, water service in Casey Key is back after a major pipeline broke in the storm. However, the barrier island is dealing with other infrastructure issues.
According to county officials, there was some significant damage to property. Some roads that crumbled from the powerful storm surge remain closed as county officials begin their damage assessment.
Neighbors too are getting a chance to see the full scope of damage left in the wake of Idalia.
"I've never seen anything like this before," one neighbor Jacob Allen said.
The biggest issue is with a number of roads on Casey Key that have now been closed off and only accessible to residents, officials said.
"If you can imagine what this looked like over here, just nicely done and semi-manicured, that's all this was here but it's just gone. It's so different than what it was," Allen said recalling what the road looked like before the storm.
County assessment teams have fanned out throughout the county taking a look at damage to both residential and public property.
Heavy-duty equipment also arrived to start the process of effecting repairs and to shore up the roads.
"Our public works crews were out there first thing yesterday and those roads are actually now passable we just ask people when they're out there driving to use due care and due caution," Scott Montgomery, interim emergency management chief, said.
Manasota Key Road, north of Blackburn Point, and the road north of Blind Pass are also damaged. Officials say those will take longer to repair and ask drivers to stay away from this area.
"We're asking all the citizens for patience who are alerting people that if they have to get off the island they can only go north or they can you have to go into Charlotte because the left is cut off," Montgomery said.
Several parks took on water damage and are closed for cleanup in the meantime, but officials say they will be open on time for the Labor Day holiday.
"We kind of got lucky I feel like there's people that I think I've had a worse so I just hope the best for them as well," Allen said.