Hurricane Irma Florida: Sarasota Residents Feeling Overall Relief

SARASOTA, FL — After deadly Hurricane Irma smashed into the Florida Keys on Sunday as a Category 4 storm with 130 miles per hour winds, Sarasota residents are feeling a sense of relief.

Florida native Stefany Holmes is from the Siesta Key area and staying with relatives in Sarasota. The lights are on despite rain and winds that approached 100 mph, and she said there is an immense sense of relief in Sarasota right now.

"It was a big deal," she told Patch. "This was gigantic. For a native like me to be as worried as I was... this was huge. It affected everyone in the state and this state really came together. Sarasota residents are feeling so fortunate and know that those communities south of us took quite a beating and have a lot of recovery ahead of them."

Watch: Up Close Views Of Powerful Irma

The empty bays are very dramatic and residents are starting to survey the damage and clean up as best as they can, Holmes said. (For more information on Irma's aftermath and other Sarasota stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

Siesta Key is a barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico that's well known for its sandy beaches.

Along the Gulf Coast, two manatees became stranded when Irma sucked the water out of Sarasota Bay, in Manatee County. Several people posted photos of the mammals on Facebook amid reports rescuers were able to later drag them to deeper water.

PHOTOS: People tend to a manatee stranded in mud as the water receded in Sarasota, Florida

(Credit: Marcelo Clavijo) pic.twitter.com/qra5jqyw49
— NBC News (@NBCNews) September 11, 2017

Moderate winds along bayfront in Sarasota and already road debris. Please stay off roads unless absolutely necessary pic.twitter.com/jesAHiNjmc
— Tom Harmer (@TomHarmerSRQ) September 10, 2017

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Patch Editor Autumn Johnson (Patch National Staff) contributed to this report.

Photos of Sarasota courtesy Stefany Holmes