CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. — One year after Hurricane Milton battered Southwest Florida, signs of recovery are visible from Manasota Key to downtown Punta Gorda, the same places that were left under water when the Category 3 storm made landfall near Siesta Key around 8:30 p.m. on October 9.
Just 13 days after Hurricane Helene, Milton followed a devastating one-two punch for coastal Charlotte County. The storm weakened through the day, but still packed 100-mile-per-hour winds and produced catastrophic surge — with water levels reaching up to 10 feet above ground on Manasota Key, and waves cresting closer to 15 feet.
Watch Fox 4's Alex Orenczuk report on the year of recovery following Hurricane Milton:
When Milton hit, Charlotte County ordered evacuations for Zones A and B. Wind gusts reached 80 miles per hour, and storm surge pushed five to eight feet of water into the northern reaches of Charlotte Harbor and up the Peace River. A U.S. Geological Survey gauge near Shell Creek measured 8.86 feet above NGVD29, about a foot and a half higher than Helene’s peak just two weeks earlier.
Manasota Key was one of the hardest hit areas and was closed for days after the storm as county crews sifted through sand and debris. Parts of the beach parking lot stayed shut for eight months, used as a staging ground for cleanup.
Doug Izzo with the Englewood Chamber of Commerce says it’s remarkable how far the community has come since then.
“We’ve come so far in such a short period of time,” Izzo said. “We’re back and better than ever, but the road to get here certainly wasn’t easy. The amount of people who pitched in to help each other get back is truly remarkable.”
Today, Englewood Beach is open again, though currently the parking lot is closed again temporarily not for cleanup, but to host the American Power Boat Association’s Offshore Racing World Championship, a symbol of the region’s return to normalcy.
Across Charlotte County, flooding from Milton left much of downtown Punta Gorda under water. Even mannequins inside Hipnotique Boutique wore water lines marking where the surge reached.
Owner Alina Cosman said it felt impossible at first for her and other flooded businesses to rebuild after back-to-back storms.
“It seemed like a very far cry to ever get it back here, only because of the extent of the damage and the amount of dirt that was in here,” Cosman said. “We’re the heart and soul of the downtown core, everyone was committed to coming back and keeping this little town alive.”
Today, many downtown businesses have reopened, and events are returning to the streets once flooded. Cosman says her shop is even teaming up with other boutiques in downtown for a Halloween themed event to help bring back business as season starts up.
No deaths or major injuries were reported in Charlotte County from Milton, which is a silver lining after the storm surge and mental toll of two hurricanes in less than two weeks.
