SCANNING Sarasota PLANNING

A presentation from water engineer Steve Suau to an overflow crowd at Selby Library last evening (Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024) was by all counts excellent. Many in the audience who lived inland had suffered damage or disruption from the heavy rains during Tropical Storm Debby. Many more had experienced the strong coastal storm surge of Hurricane Helene, and many more had experienced the astonishing winds and rain from Hurricane Milton, all within a three-month period - August to October. Suau, who founded Sarasota County's stormwater division 25 years ago before going into private practice offered clear and incontrovertible evidence that at least some of the flooding occurred thanks to a breach in a dike near Cow Pen Slough - a breach that was at least 6 years old, as evidenced by the way the opening was cluttered with Brazilian Pepper and more. There was much more to Steve's deep dive into the watersheds, the drainage mechanisms, and the sophisticated tools that are available to t...

Washington Post Editorial:   As hurricane seasons worsen, taxpayers subsidize people to live in risky areas Laurel Meadows after Debby Helene and Milton spotlight a federal flood insurance program drowning in debt By the Editorial Board October 18, 2024 at 4:59 p.m. EDT Hurricane Helene likely caused more than $30 billion worth of damage. Less than two weeks later, Hurricane Milton inflicted almost $50 billion more. With six weeks left in this hurricane season, the Small Business Administration’s disaster loan program is already out of money. And more tropical storms are swirling over the Atlantic. Who pays for all of this? Because private home insurers generally find this sector of the business unprofitable, the federal National Flood Insurance Program shoulders the burden of providing homeowners inundation coverage — and it has problems. The NFIP is managed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency — the same body fighting misinformation and dodging vigilantes as it tries t...