ELLENTON, Fla. — Now is the time to revisit your severe weather plans—that's the message in Manatee County following a storm that damaged dozens of homes in Ellenton.
Manatee County Deputy Director of Public Safety & Emergency Management Chief Steve Litschauer said the storm was unexpected.
"It just came out of nowhere," he said. "We were in communication with National Weather Service after the fact. They recorded no tornado in the area. There was a strong thunderstorm come through. It was one of those out of the clear blue sky and it hit."
The afternoon storm in Ellenton damaged 31 homes in Colony Cove, according to Litschauer's midday update.
Of those: four had major damage, 21 had minor damage and another six had minimal damage. The damage ranged from torn roofs to missing rain spouts to broken awnings.
Colony Cove is a low-income retirement community. Darlene Kornacker serves as the HOA President for the neighborhood
"The situation is that many here do not have insurance because they cannot afford insurance," she said.
Kornacker also helps run their Helping Hands Program within the community.
Working beside Manatee County and the Colony Cove management team, her next step is to make sure her neighbors are able to repair their homes.
"The Red Cross was out there last night," Litschauer said. "I spoke to their Executive Director again today. No one needed placement. They either weren't home or stayed with family and friends. But they're following up on each one to see if they can provide any other assistance to them."
Litschauer said this should serve as a reminder to everyone to stay prepared.
"Being a lifetime resident, we have more damage in more areas affected by no named storms coming out of nowhere, or the flooding associated with rain," he said. "Always have a plan, whether it's in the back of their mind or not, where they would need to go if they had to evacuate and then have that kit ready with their medications, things like that."
Emergency Management stated that most people were away from home when the storm hit. No one was injured.
