Buffalo native riding out Helene in Sarasota

Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Gulf coast residents in Florida hunkered down Thursday as Hurricane Helene's storm surge punished the region before making landfall.

Ray Collins is a former Channel 4 news anchor who lives in Sarasota, which is South of Tampa.

"Where I live, in a townhouse complex, I'm on the 2nd and 3rd floor, so I'm good," Collins told WBEN on Thursday morning.

He described it as being similar to a holiday. "People are off the roads, hoping their power stays on. There are some evacuations. Schools, businesses and many stores are closed. Shelters are open," he added.

Collins noted that the greatest concern is further north around the panhandle and Big Bend area.

"I don't want to downplay it. There is serious concern here."

One reason for the concern is that Sarasota is coming off a very wet summer. 50 inches of rain fell between June and August. The ground is very saturated and flooding is a real possibility from an 8 foot storm surge.

"People on the barrier islands," he said, "Long Boat Key, Anna Maria, and Siesta Key are under mandatory evacuations. While they say mandatory, you can still stay home. They are not dragging you out."

In nearby St. Armand's Circle, a commercial tourism district, stores have boarded up their windows and lined up sandbags.

Collins has gone through multiple hurricanes. But said the one that still sets the others apart was Andrew in 1993. It primarily hit Miami, but was so destructive that it caused architecture laws to change. Houses could not be
built along the coast unless they were elevated.