When Hurricane Debby rolled into Florida in 2024, Sarasota and Manatee counties were both hit hard.
According to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, total damages exceeded $100 million in just these two western counties (1). But damage of this scale didn’t really match Hurricane Debby’s strength; after all, this storm made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane, and the Sunshine State has seen far stronger storms in the past.
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In the months following this storm, investigators looked more deeply into the issue, and some argued that the lack of preparedness was more to blame for ruined homes than the storm itself. Now, one community is using this evidence against its county leaders.
Residents of the Laurel Meadows subdivision recently filed a civil lawsuit alleging Sarasota County knew about a breach in a dike along Kalpen Slough that could have prevented massive flooding, ABC 7 Sarasota reports (2). During Hurricane Debby, this poorly maintained infrastructure allegedly failed to keep the water back as intended, leading to flooding on 56 properties…