See the damage to beachfront community on Manasota Key after Hurricane Milton
By Joey Flechas and
Al Diaz
Manasota Key
When Lee White stood at the end of his driveway Friday on Manasota Key, he was sandwiched between devastations.
To the left, a road had washed away. To the right, feet of sand piled high onto the remainder of a street littered with swamped cars, chipped cobblestone and twisted wrought-iron gates. Yet when he looked straight ahead, he saw a beautifully flat Gulf of Mexico through his neighbor’s hollowed out garage.
He, like everyone he could think of on this swath of Florida’s Gulf Coast, had evacuated when forecasts warned of Hurricane Milton’s power. While White’s home survived mostly unscathed, the storm shredded many others. Hurricane Helene had put this neighborhood on its knees two weeks before, and Milton knocked it cold.
“This one was a monster,” White said.
Here are views of the damage on Manasota Key two days after Hurricane Milton tore through Florida.
All that remains of a home on Manasota Key Al Diaz / Miami Herald Staff adiaz@miamiherald.com
Anna and Alex Marchuk walk along a washed out Manasota Key Road on Friday, October 11, 2024. Al Diaz / Miami Herald Staff adiaz@miamiherald.com
A damaged Lamborghini sits under a house two days after several feet of beach sand washed ashore from hurricanes Helene and Milton. Al Diaz / Miami Herald Staff adiaz@miamiherald.com
Like many homes in the area, the facade on this home was ripped off the main structure Al Diaz / Miami Herald Staff adiaz@miamiherald.com
Many homes on the barrier island of Manasota Key suffered extensive damage when Hurricane Milton struck Florida. Al Diaz / Miami Herald Staff adiaz@miamiherald.com
A view of some of the damaged homes on Manasota Key. Al Diaz / Miami Herald Staff adiaz@miamiherald.com
Beach sand and bricks washed up on Manasota Key Road Al Diaz / Miami Herald Staff adiaz@miamiherald.com
Manasota Key resident Lee White clears out his garage two days after Hurricane Milton hit Florida. Al Diaz / Miami Herald Staff adiaz@miamiherald.com
A turned-over car remains embedded in the trees and brush caused by the storm surge from hurricanes Helene and Milton on the barrier island of Manasota Key. Al Diaz / Miami Herald Staff adiaz@miamiherald.com
Another destroyed home on Manasota Key. Al Diaz / Miami Herald Staff adiaz@miamiherald.com
Piece of this structure are scattered about the beach like a gigantic puzzle on Manasota Key Al Diaz / Miami Herald Staff adiaz@miamiherald.com
This story was originally published October 12, 2024 at 1:53 PM.
Joey Flechas is an associate editor and enterprise reporter for the Herald. He previously covered government and public affairs in the city of Miami. He was part of the team that won the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for reporting on the collapse of a residential condo building in Surfside, FL. He won a Sunshine State award for revealing a Miami Beach political candidate’s ties to an illegal campaign donation. He graduated from the University of Florida. He joined the Herald in 2013.
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