Sarasota County reflects on Ian one year later

SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - This month marks one year since Hurricane Ian and Sarasota County Emergency Operations Center invited the media into the building on Wednesday to discuss how the county handled the storm.

The emergency services Director, Rich Collins, addressed the media on what they learned from Ian and also answered questions.

“Many of the things we put into place after Hurricane Irma were effective in the decisions and actions that we took,” said Emergency Services director Rich Collins.

He thanked the community for being so willing to help others during and after the storm, and also for listening to what the county advised.

The director acknowledged that although they were able to act fast, working with FEMA to support residents, and creating disaster recovery centers in the hardest hit areas, there is still plenty of work to be done.

“When you go to the south part of the county there are still homes that have blue tarps on that are working through their insurance processes,” said Collins.

“There’s 150 or so residents still living in some type of temporary houses, so that work continues,” he added.

The county continues their work with those still recovering through FEMA.

Copyright 2023 WWSB. All rights reserved.