North Manasota Key picks up the pieces while south waits to see their home

Homes in North Manasota Key have been hollowed out from the storm surge after Hurricane Milton. Now, residents living on Manasota Key are trying to figure out their next steps moving forward while coping with the loss.

The north end of Manasota Key has been open since Saturday. 

As of Monday evening, the south end remains closed, leaving neighbors in the dark while the north side starts cleanup. For those living on Slip Shod Manor, cleanup starts with removing sand.

Joy is a fitting name for a woman staying so positive.

“I have to be, or else I’d have to change my name,” said resident Joy Whipple.

Despite the state of Whipple’s home after Hurricane Milton.

“I can touch the roof of the garage,” said Whipple.

Sand fills and surrounds the stand-alone garage. Same for the first floor of the house.

“20,000 to get all the sand. There was 3 feet of sand all around the house,” said Whipple. “And now there’s more, so there’s 3 feet inside this first floor. In the back, part of the seawall, you can see, there’s a retaining wall under here, so right over there that big opening that was a sliding glass door, so it filled in and kept going in right on through.”

Joy’s three-story home looks more like a two-story because of all the sand.

Those break-away walls did what they were supposed to: break away.

The other portion of the cement slab was found next door in Sam Scherz’s backyard across the street.

“This house is totally awash. It came right in and right out they lost everything,” said Whipple. “They have the blue patio that they had just poured not too long ago a huge slab of it is in their living room. It is amazing what water can do.”

Rob Fey watches over their home and oversaw Helene’s cleanup.

“We had it all ripped apart, cleaned and dried out, and you know what happened after that,” said Fey.

It’s a positive bunch living on Slip Shod Manor. Grateful for what’s left but candidly overwhelmed.

“It’s surreal seeing your friend’s homes destroyed is unimaginable,” said one neighbor.

There is no timeline for when The south end of Manasota Key will open to neighbors, but Charlotte County says crews are working as fast as they can and thanks neighbors for their patience.