Manatee County Keeping an Eye on the Storm

Despite Tropical Storm Isaac’s westward shift, Manatee County officials said today local residents should continue to prepare for possible tropical-force winds and inland flooding early next week.

Emergency Management officials said this morning during a countywide briefing at the Emergency Operations Center they’ll continue monitoring the storm but have no plans yet to formally activate Emergency Operations.

“Now is the time to create a family disaster plan, if you haven’t already,” said Laurie Feagans, emergency management chief.

She also warned parents to keep their children out of standing water after the storm. "You don’t know what kind of contaminants may be in there,” she said.

County officials warned that by Monday morning, tropical-force winds could begin sweeping over Manatee County.

Isaac is currently moving westward at about 15 m.p.h. with maximum sustained winds of about 45 m.p.h., according to the National Weather Service.

“The storm is slated to go over eastern Cuba over the weekend, which may bring down its intensity,” said Steve Simpson, operations chief for emergency management.

He added that fallout from the storm could bring 8 inches of rain to an area already saturated from summer storms. '“Inland flooding is one of the primary concerns we have with this storm,” he said.

Lake Manatee is currently at an elevation of 38 feet and is discharging about 1,000 cubic feet of water per second. If the Lake Manatee dam must be opened to discharge water, residents within the Lake Manatee watershed will be notified eight hours in advance.

Local Isaac updates will be available regularly on the county’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/manatee.county.fl and Twitter feed, @manateegov, as well as on www.mymanatee.org