Manatee County evacuating thousands ahead of Hurricane Ian

Manatee County Administrator Scott Hopes said the county is evacuating tens of thousands of residents from the barrier islands. 

Mandatory evacuations are required for residents in zones A and B. Residents living in evacuation level C are encouraged to find shelter further inland. Authorities will be shutting off the water and sewage lift stations to the barrier islands at sunset on Tuesday to save infrastructure from the "hurricane's wrath."

More than 229,000 sandbags have been distributed to date at sites over the county, and supplies have been exhausted. They are out of bags. 

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"This storm, even though it's doing what hurricanes do and it has a little jiggle here and a little jiggle there, it is still a major hurricane," Hopes said. 

Hopes asks those in evacuation areas to be in a safe area by sundown since roads will be shut down when the wind gets too high to navigate safely. When the storm comes into the area, the shelters and EOC will be locked down. 

"You can already see the outer bands have begun to hit our area," Hopes said. "It is only going to get worse, and it's going to get worse quickly."

Hopes urged residents not to drive on roads after officials shut them down since emergency vehicles won't be driving around either. He also asked them not to remove manholes to clear clogs. 

Congressman Vern Buchanan said that FEMA, Red Cross, and state assets are deployed and ready to dispatch resources in the area.  

"We will be ready and supportive and do everything we can to get people back safely and quickly once the storm leaves, ideally on Friday or Saturday," Buchanan said. 

Buchanan said they're expecting 10-foot surges in some areas within the next 24 hours. 

Hopes said that he's concerned about residents not evacuating from the barrier islands after getting a call from a police chief on one of the largest island cities, who asked him not to turn the water off so residents can stay on the island. 

Hopes said if they leave the water in, it could cause damage to the infrastructure that serves the rest of Manatee County. 

"I will not put our employees at risk because you fail to take our mandatory evacuation orders seriously," Hopes said. "It's not just about you. It really isn't. We're all in this together."