PORT CHARLOTTE — Hurricane Milton caused nearly six times the amount of damage in Charlotte County than Hurricane Ian did two years earlier, County Emergency Management Director Patrick Fuller said Tuesday.
And its storm surge was worse than any recorded in the area.
“This storm was able to become the second-most-intense in the Gulf of Mexico with 180 mph winds at its peak,” he said. “There was at least one tornado confirmed in El Jobean.”
Patrick Fuller was giving a report to the Charlotte County Board of Commissioners at its meeting Tuesday.
Charlotte County’s department directors gave damage assessment and recovery efforts from hurricanes Helene and Milton that pummeled Manasota Key and other barrier islands, along with Grove City and other parts of Englewood, large areas of Port Charlotte and downtown Punta Gorda in the last month.
Public Works Director John Elias begged for residents to stop going to Manasota Key to try to get a look at the beach. All public beaches are closed, and the Englewood Beach parking lot is covered with piles of sand more than 30 feet deep.