Sarasota Warnings Or Dangers

I’ve lived off the Atlantic Ocean for 20 years now and during that time have lived through quite a few hurricanes. Luckily Tampa is not a prime location for hurricanes since to get us the storms would have to head up the Atlantic and make a sharp right.

However, Sarasota has been hit in the past several years and is put on alert every year. The locals review and follow our hurricane checklist several times a year. Hurricanes are not something to play around with. Be aware and be safe. In the case of a bad hurricane you need to have everything you need to survive without any assistance, water or electricity for a MINIMUM of 72 hours! It is up to you to be self sufficient.

Hurricane season
Officially the Atlantic Hurricane season is June 1 to November 30th. However, the most probable time for hurricanes is from mid September to mid October (think September 11 to October 11).

My Advice if there is a storm in the Gulf

+ Be aware of the storm and the “cone of uncertainty”. When there is a storm in the Gulf check in at least every 12 hours. In 12 hours the category (how dangerous the storm is) and the hit zone can change dramatically

+ Get supplies on the hurricane checklist early. Stores will run out of supplies! See the checklist below…the most important things are lots of water, gas in your car, food that does not need to be heated or refrigerated (remember the can opener) for you/your pets and children, gas in the car, cash (ATMs don’t work when there is no electricity) and medications
http://www.wcti12.com/hurricane_checklist.htm

+ Know the hurricane evacuation zone you are in, the storm category rating, and the cone of uncertainty. Use this information to decide on your action plan. Do it early and follow it.

+ If you need to evacuate LEAVE EARLY – I cannot stress this enough. You do NOT want to be on the road when everyone else is evacuating since a 60 mile drive can take you 3 to 6 hours at this time. (be sure to bring your hurricane supplies and a full tank of gas)

My Plan (as a Tampa Local - I thought this may be helpful to tourists)

Category 1 storm – Have supplies for a week, remove everything from patios and yard (it can fly around and do damage to myself and others).

Category 2 storm – Follow #1 plus board up the house. Since I am in the first evacuation zone (A) I consider staying with a friend in a more secure location (within Tampa)

Category 3 storm – Follow #1 and #2 and go to an alternate location. Consider flying out of Tampa or staying with friends out of town. At the very least move to evacuation zone C

Category 4 or 5 – Leave town…most likely via plane. At this point the roads throughout Florida are probably grid locked. Call the airport; find a flight up north or west (Vegas, Philly, Toronto etc) and go

Finding information
Most news agencies get their information from here and I’ve found that this is the best resource for information

www.nhc.noaa.gov

Evacuation Zones
Tampa is divided into various evacuation zones. This is mainly based on the risk of flooding which is a main concern during hurricanes. The state orders mandatory evacuations based on these flood zones. Zone A is evacuated first, then B, then Z. To find yours go to:

http://www.tbo.com/weather/hurricane/counties/hillsborough/evaczones/

http://www.tampagov.net/dept_Emergency_Management/information_resources/find_your_evacuation_zone.asp?cscRedirectID=638

Shelters

The Red Cross will open shelters for those who have no place to go. My recommendation is to plan early, find a friend or a hotel before using shelters. If you go bring everything on your list plus, pillows, eye masks, ear plugs and games to pass the time.

see the local news for shelter openings

Bradenton Beach on Anna Maria Island has this huge sign right on Bridge Street that reads:
DOG WASTE IS A THREAT TO THE
HEALTH OF OUR CHILDREN -
DEGRADES OUR TOWN -
TRANSMITS DISEASE -
LEASH - CURB AND CLEAN UP
AFTER YOUR DOG
IT'S REQUIRED BY LAW!

$75.00 FINE BY ORDER OF
CITY OF
BRADENTON BEACH

Red Tide Warnings

Make sure you don’t go to beaches or go into waters that are closed due to red tide.

Red tide happens in ocean waters periodically. It is caused by an increased presence of plant-based plankton. When this plankton gets out of control it is called a “red tide bloom.” These blooms produce toxins that can poison fish and can be harmful to humans.

Beaches with bad red tide blooms will post a red warning flag or even close. While some beaches are not considered safe other beaches will be safer.

During Red Tide blooms many locals avoid going in the ocean and still others avoid going to the beach even for a walk. Red tide toxins can become airborne and there are reports of bad blooms triggering asthma attacks and other health/breathing problems.

Red tide can often be spotted by the water’s reddish color and bad smell (I think the smell s more a function to the number of fish that are killed by the bloom).

I know all these warnings might make the Florida and the ocean look dangerous and I really don’t want to give that impression. Us locals love the water and are in it all the time. There are some things you should know - in my mind knowledge is power.

For more info see

http://redtideflorida.org

We went to Sarasota drawn by the promo about the beautiful beach. Well Siesta Key Beach was beautiful, but when we started wading into the surf after checking that there were green flags at the lifeguard station we were overwhelmed by the stench of raw sewage. Then we started coughing. We spent about fifteen minutes in the water hoping that whatever it was would go away before giving up and going home to shower off the stench.

When I asked the desk clerk at the hotel what the smell was, he said it was the red tide and that we should stay out of the water as it could make people sick! I asked why the beach hadn't been closed (the green flags had been out!) and he said they never closed the beaches for that. I asked him how often they had red tides and he said quite a lot of the time lately. The newspaper's frequent mention of red tide as a problem seemed to confirm this

We spent the rest of the day wondering if we were going to get sick. Since the rest of Sarasota is pretty much like being in a Dallas suburbs with a cast supplied by an Assisted Living facility catering to the terminally old, there wasn't a whole lot else to do except drive around wondering why we'd spent so much money on a beach vacation where we couldn't go to the beach.

NEVER AGAIN.

Florida also has Jellyfish, when there are Jellyfish in the water, stay out of the water and enjoy the beach. While Jellyfish normally isn't deadly their stings are quite painful, equivalent to a wasp sting although if you swim into a long tentacle you can be covered in stings, equivalent to dozens of stings.

Jellyfish sting whenever it brushes against you so even the pieces of them washed up on the sand can sting.

If you are stung immediately remove the tentacle and go to the lifeguard station for first aid. Do NOT rub the area - it will just release more poison into your skin!

As soon as you get stung wash, and don’t rub, with seawater, vinegar or rubbing alcohol. The longer you wait to get the stingers off (many of these are very small) the more toxins get into you so do quickly. Lifeguard stations normally have jellyfish treatment kits.

Some recent studies show that traditional treatments for jellyfish stings such as putting urine, meat tenderizer and baking soda on the sting don't really help make the sting better. I still like making a paste of baking soda and cold water though; the cool paste offers temporary relief.

Another note the top of the jelly fish does not have toxins, it’s contact with the tenancies that cause the problems.

Florida beaches do sometimes have a rip tides.

Rip tides can take you out further out into the ocean and keep even the strongest swimmer away from the shore.

About 20 years ago a friend and I got caught in them and we were lucky to get out alive. So be careful. The best way to avoid rip tide conditions is not to swim when warning flags are yellow or red (see my other tip that tells what are warning flags mean)

If you get caught in a rip tide the trick is to not try to beat it, instead stay calm and float when needed, and/or swim parallel to the shore. With this plan the tide will eventually bring you into shore or stop fighting you so you can easily swim in.

Florida has gotten quite a bit of publicity about shark attacks lately but it hasnt kept us locals out of the water. Shark attacks are VERY rare in Florida and more rare when you realize just how many people are playing in their depths.

Most of the shark attacks in Florida have been on tourist who dont obey or know the rules us locals follow.

Here are the rules of the water us locals follow:

First of all - do NOT swim in the ocean at dusk or dawn, this is when sharks feed

Second - AVOID the sand bars since this is where sharks hang out. If the first sand bar is close to shore its normally OK. The second sand bar is especially dangers for sharks and rip tides often hide behind them.

Florida beaches normally have two sand bars they are located underwater and parallel the beach. These can be spotted from the beach. They are the lighter and shallower areas.

The area by the second sand bar is the area where you are most likely to be attacked by sharks - this is the sharks home territory in an area most swimmers do not go. While the chances of getting attacked are rare here. Why take the chance?

Third - Use caution when swimming in cloudily water

Fourth - Don't swim while bleeding. If you get cut in the water for some reason leave the water

Fifth - Splashing around like crazy can attract sharks if your in shark prone water (sharks can mistake the splashing for a wounded fish and come to investigate)

Sixth - If someone is chumming the water (dropping fish parts and blood into the water) they are trying to attract sharks - get out of the water immediately

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Great white sharks which are responsible for most shark attacks in the world are VERY RARE in Florida. Most shark attacks in Florida are from the Tiger and Bull Sharks, these smaller sharks do not consider humans as pray are thought to bite when they mistake us for other food sources.

If you are attacked hit the shark in its most sensitive area the eyes or nose and he will release you.

If you are renting a boat or a jet ski be sure to find out the local regulations and that your boat is equipped with the basic life preservers etc.

The coast guard is vigilant here and will fine you for violating any regulations. Anytime the coast guard stops you they will do a safety check to make sure you have the required supplies. i.e. life vests, flairs, anchor etc....

Be careful not to speed in no wake or manatee zones. These zones are guarded closely and the fines are heavy. We want to protect our natural resources and our presious manatee

and just a note Drinking and Driving a boat in Florida is a CRIME