UPDATED: Debby Does Damage To Sarasota

Updated June 26 6:28 p.m.

Sarasota's feeling the effects of battering of the city this weekend and is expected to continue through Thursday. 

The Sarasota County Emergency Operations Center is in a monitoring mode, and the county will declare a state of emergency Tuesday.

The U.S. Coast Guard ordered all drawbridges to cease and lock down from Tampa to Englewood, according to Gary Spraggins of the county's Public Works, in an e-mail to County Administrator Randall Reid. The drawbridge will only open if a boat or vessel is in distress, he said. The county will also monitor the water levels where if it reaches the "superstructure" of the bridge, the roadway would need to be closed, he said.

Here is what else the county is monitoring, according to Spraggins:

• Roadways – Water ponding on roadways can result in damage to the roadway substructure over time.  Our Traffic Engineering Department will need to monitor this over a period of time for potential damage.
• Erosion – Prone areas in the past are North Beach Road on Siesta Key, North Casey Key Road, Casey Key Road, Turtle Beach, and near the Venice Jetty’s.  We will be monitoring this for potential storm damage.

According to the county, the following roads are blocked, closed, or flooded:

Richardson Road west of Coburn Road in Sarasota is closed due to a stormwater culvert failure and partial road collapse caused by the storm. North Casey Key Road is blocked with sand and debris.

Motorists are advised to avoid the following due to standing water:

• Point of Rocks (Siesta Key)
• 2734 18th Street (Sarasota)
• 4156 - 4160 Roberts Point Circle (Siesta Key)
• 5257 Avenida Del Mare (Siesta Key)
• 1920 Hillview Street (Sarasota)
• 1435 Hillview Street (Sarasota)
• 1486 Hillview Street (Sarasota)
• 4534 Banana Place (Siesta Key)
• Gulf Mead Drive (Sarasota)
• Myakka Drive (Sarasota)
• Canal Road (Siesta Key)
• North Beach Road (Siesta Key)
• Givens Street (Sarasota) 

Canal/Drainage overflow issues continue at:

• 4582 Del Sol Blvd. (Siesta Key)
• 4534 Banana Place (Siesta Key)
• Camino Real and Field Road (Sarasota)
• Drainage Pipe in Colonial Oaks area (Sarasota)
• 4014 Red Rock (Sarasota)
• Indian Beach Lane and Myrtle Street (Sarasota)

Traffic signals are out at the following intersections: Treat non-functioning intersections as four-way stops.

• Bee Ridge Road and Beneva Road (Sarasota)
• Clark Road and Gantt Road (Sarasota)
• Beneva Road and Seaview Street (Sarasota)
• Beneva Road and Sarasota Square Boulevard (Sarasota)

Traffic signage is damaged or down at the following locations:

• Legacy Trail Sign at Laurel Road (Venice)
• 22nd Street and North Tuttle Street (Sarasota)

Meanwhile, Sarasota County's Emergency Operations Center urges folks to be cautious this week as Debby isn't expected to move much this week.

Emergency crew members are conducting damage assessments this morning. Some flooding has been reported near Beach Road on Siesta Key along the public beach area and Ocean Boulevard, the county reports. The streets are passable but motorists are urged to use caution and drive slowly to avoid wakes.

The county's utility crew also urged residents and businesses to cut down on water consumption by delaying or combining laundry loads, dishes to allow the sewage plants to process all the water from the last day. Four plants were at capacity Monday, the county reported.

"We have several lift stations on Siesta Key without power or surcharged due to the excess flow and staff is responding to the alarms," Theresa Connor, director of environmental utilities wrote in an e-mail to Reid. "Contractors are hauling flows where needed from the lift stations."

Connor said emergency staffing for around-the-clock operations will be used to deal with the emergency. 

In the city, a diluted mix of sewage and stormwater flowed into the stormwater system in the Harbor Acres neighborhood Monday.

Crews stopped the spill by using pumper trucks to divert the flow. Although the exact amount of the spill is unknown at this time, it is estimated 20,000 gallons of untreated wastewater mixed with stormwater entered the stormwater system, according to the City of Sarasota. Crews have disinfected the affected area. 

Water samples are being taken along Sarasota Bay near the discharge locations. 

More than 4.3 inches of rain have been recorded in Sarasota in the past 30 hours.  

Between the county and the city's sewage issues, city officials point out that these spills and overflows are common during major storms.   

Residents are cautioned to avoid direct contact with street flooding during any rain event due to the possibility of cross contamination between wastewater and stormwater.

What happens if you need to repair your home or business because of Debby?

You'll still need a building permit, and Florida Building Code allows for next-business-day permit submittals.

The permits need to be submitted to the county's building/permitting office. Emergency repairs do not include voluntarily replaced components, but major work that helps to keep the house or business secure, dry and safe, according to the county.

Officials of the county's building/permitting and zoning offices also remind residents and businesses that all such work must be done by licensed contractors, if applicable. Illegally performed work should be reported to the Sarasota County Call Center at 941-861-5000.

At Bayfront Park by O'Leary's Tiki Bar, several boats and yachts have washed to shore along with other debris on Monday. Videos submitted by residents and professionals on YouTube show flooded streets on Lido and Siesta keys and Florida Highway Patrol has blocked off intersections along U.S. 41 where road is under water.

A roof at a vacant building on Main Street collapsed this weekend, The Herald-Tribune reports. Debris from the damage is scattered across the sidewalk at 1662 Main St. where Louis Custom Tailor once operated. A Sarasota inspection noticed on the window says the collapse was due to a clogged drain.

At Harts Landing, fishing piers and walkways were flooded, WWSB reports: 

Across Ringling Bridge at Harts Landing, Sarasota Bay also flooded onto shore. The high tide proved too high for some parking areas and pedestrian walkways.

Florida Power and Light is also reporting 153 power outages throughout Sarasota as of 11 a.m and as of 9 p.m. Monday, the number remained about the same. About 90 customers on Myakka Road, just south of Fruitville Road were without power.

Additional flooding, tornado warnings or other urgent updates can happen as Tropical Storm Debby churns across the Gulf of Mexico, the county advises.