100 Days Until Hurricane Season

The 2024 Statewide Emergency Shelter Plan confirms what we already know: Southwest Florida is deficient in hurricane shelters, and it is projected to remain deficient until at least 2029. 

The Florida Division of Emergency Management is responsible for preparing a Statewide Emergency Shelter Plan (SESP).

The SESP serves as a guide to determine the need for new school facilities to be designed and built as hurricane evacuation shelters. The SESP is submitted to the Governor and Cabinet for approval by January 31 of each even-numbered year.

According to the Plan: 
 
Based on currently available information, Regional Planning Council regions Southwest Florida and South Florida continue to have a deficit of General Population shelter space through 2029. Special Needs regional hurricane evacuation shelter space deficits in RPC regions Emerald Coast, Apalachee, Northeast Florida, East Central Florida, Central Florida, Southwest Florida, and Treasure Coast are also projected to continue through 2029.
 
Florida perhaps faces a greater potential for the occurrence of natural hazards than any other state. Florida ranks first in hurricane occurrences and is the most vulnerable to the devastating effects resulting from coastal storms.
 
Although ManaSota-88 and other public interest groups have warned of the catastrophic losses that would occur from a major storm, both state and local governments have continued to permit and subsidize development in low-lying coastal areas.
 
Due to the lack of shelter space during hurricane evacuation, the Manatee and Sarasota County Commission should enact a temporary development moratorium on all lands located in the coastal high-hazard area. 
 
A temporary development moratorium can be legally adopted if it furthers and logically relates to stated legitimate interests or concerns. Protecting the county’s residents from the impacts of a significant storm event is certainly a legitimate interest or concern. 
 
A temporary building moratorium in the CHHA should be enacted until adequate hurricane shelters and evacuation plans exist.
 
The significant shortage of evacuation routes and shelters, coupled with the tremendous increase in the number of people living in hurricane-prone areas, has contributed to a critical public safety problem. The inability to evacuate within the limits of viable warning times creates a danger to the lives and property of the citizens of Florida. Roads leading from hurricane-prone areas are woefully inadequate to safely move residents out of harm’s way. The increase in population and the continued coastal development over the past few decades leave the residents of our area extremely vulnerable to the devastating effects of hurricanes. 
 
A temporary building moratorium for the CHHA is necessary for county planning staff to review and submit amendments to the Comprehensive Plan and the Land Development Code.
 
Additionally, ManaSota-88 urges the Manatee & Sarasota School Boards not to seek exemptions to Section 235.017, Florida Statutes, which require core facilities in new school buildings be built sufficient to function as public hurricane shelters. 
 
We strongly support coordination with the state to retrofit existing school facilities which have been found to be unsafe to function as hurricane shelters. ManaSota-88 would support any action or cooperation which may be taken by the school districts in the retrofitting of school facilities to function safely as hurricane shelters.
 
We are remarkably unprepared to protect public lives in the event of a major hurricane, and highway evacuation is not always a viable option due to the extremely long evacuation times. Hurricane shelters provide an alternative for those that cannot safely evacuate in the event of a major storm event. 

Glenn Compton is the Chairman of ManaSota 88, a non-profit organization that has spent over 30 years fighting to protect the environment of Manatee and Sarasota counties.