MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — This week brought heavy rainfall to neighborhoods across the Tampa Bay Region. People in Manatee County contacted ABC Action News because they're concerned the Lake Manatee Dam won’t hold up.
“It didn’t alarm me until I realized very quickly that the water started to drastically rise," said Lindsay Ryan, who has property near the dam. "It went from this to everything you see. Up to my boots in this driveway was flooded, all of my pastures were flooded.”
She said it was nerve-wracking to watch the rising water quickly move towards the barn where she kept her animals.
“At that point, god forbid the barn had started to flood. I had no way to get my animals out. There was not enough time,” Ryan said.
Now, residents are criticizing Manatee County officials because water was released from the dam with little warning after Debby.
“The dam and Lake Manatee continue to function as designed," said Evan Pilachowski, the deputy county administrator. "They are structurally sound. There’s no risk of any breach of the dam.”
County officials extended the state of emergency for another week.
Investigative Reporter Katie LaGrone obtained the most recent batch of Florida teacher exit interviews which detail, in their own words, why teachers left the classroom this summer.
