Sarasota County installs color-coded storm-surge poles on Siesta Key to illustrate flood risk

Sandra Tapfimenet, chief of emergency management for Sarasota County, unveiled three color-coded storm-surge indicator poles at Siesta Beach and said companion poles have been placed at North Jetty Beach and Manasota Key Beach to help residents visualize potential flood depths.

Tapfimenet said the poles use the same coloring as the National Hurricane Center's storm-surge maps. "If it's 0 to 3 feet above ground, it'll be blue. 3 to 6 feet will be yellow. 6 to 9 feet will be orange, and anything that's potential for more than 9 feet will be in red," she said, describing how the bands correspond to increasing flood risk.

Officials pointed to local examples from the 2024 hurricane season to show the stakes: Tapfimenet said Hurricane Helene produced "up to 7 to 8 feet of storm surge" on Siesta Key and that, "all the way down in Manasota Key during hurricane Milton, we saw storm surge rise as high as 10 feet up into the red area." She said the markers are intended to make clear how low the local elevation is and how far inland surge can travel.

Each pole includes a pedestal with information about both coastal and inland threats, Tapfimenet said. She urged residents to heed evacuation orders, saying, "It is critical that when you are told to evacuate that you leave because it is safer for you to vacate the area than it is for you to stay." For more information, she directed listeners to scgov.net/beprepared to find evacuation levels and sign up for emergency alerts.

County emergency management framed the poles as a visual, public-facing tool to improve preparedness ahead of the peak hurricane season. Tapfimenet closed by encouraging readiness and thanking attendees for coming.