Manatee County early Milton damage estimate nears $250M

Staff members in Manatee County have completed more than 75% of initial “windshield assessments” of Hurricane Milton damage and estimated nearly $245 million in damage so far.

The assessments include both residential and commercial properties in unincorporated Manatee County. Currently the islands and cities are beginning to conduct their own assessments, officials say.

So far, there have been 44 residential and two commercial structures that have been destroyed in unincorporated Manatee County, according to officials.

A breakdown of the types and extent of the damage as of Oct. 13 includes:

Residential

• 44 residential structures destroyed
• 2,098 residential structures major damage
• 1,710 residential structures minor damage
• 3,293 residential structures affected
• $223,816,993 in residential damage overall

Commercial

• 2 commercial structures destroyed
• 181 commercial structures major damage
• 54 commercial structures minor damage
• 130 commercial structures affected
• $21,504,325 in commercial damage overall

The estimated residential and commercial damage totals $245,321,318. Manatee County staff members anticipate completing the remaining windshield assessments Oct.14.

Overall damage from Hurricane Milton is projected to be between $30 and $50 billion, according to an estimate from Fitch Ratings.