Sarasota County's two top emergency management officials addressed neighborhood association leaders on Tuesday, July 14, on the topic of hurricane preparedness and the county's response to the 2024 season, which included Hurricane Milton's direct hit in October 2024.

Rich Collins, director of Emergency Services, and Sandra Tapfumaneyi, chief of emergency management, presented at the monthly meeting of the Council of Neighborhood Associations at Gulf Gate Library, 7112 Curtiss Ave., according to the Sarasota News Leader. The session ran from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

CONA President Lourdes Ramirez was scheduled to open the meeting with her account of challenges residents faced before, during and after recent storms, according to a CONA news release announcing the event.

Collins has more than 35 years of public safety experience and presented to the County Commission as recently as Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, on the expansion of the fire and rescue district to include Nokomis, according to county meeting minutes. Tapfumaneyi has served as the county's chief of emergency management since January 2024. She led the county's Emergency Operations Center through Hurricane Milton and previously managed Lee County's EOC during Hurricane Ian in 2022, according to her profile with the Governor's Hurricane Conference.

The 2024 season devastated the region. Hurricanes Helene and Milton combined caused roughly $113 billion in damages and more than 250 deaths nationwide, according to the New York Times. After Milton, the County Commission adopted resolutions on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, declaring a disaster area, authorizing debris collection on private roads and in gated communities, and temporarily suspending permit fees for storm-damage repairs.

Five days after the CONA meeting, on Sunday, July 19, Tropical Depression Two formed in the Gulf of Mexico, according to the National Hurricane Center. A tropical storm watch was issued for the Florida Panhandle from the Ochlockonee River to the Alabama border. If the system strengthens, it would become Tropical Storm Bertha. Forecasters said Saharan dust and wind shear would likely prevent it from reaching hurricane strength, with flash flooding cited as the biggest threat. Parts of west-central Florida could see up to 5 inches of rain, though the system's primary track is directed north of Sarasota.

NOAA has predicted a lower-than-average number of named systems for the 2026 season due to El Niño.

The next CONA meeting date has not been announced. Residents can find information at conasarasota.org.