- April 25, 2024
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Sarasota County announced today a new transportation plan in advance of hurricane season to get residents to an evacuation center if they need a ride before a storm.
During Hurricane Irma, many of the shelters that opened in the county were in the north, which presented issues for some south county residents who had to travel farther to get to a safe location.
The new plan will provide county residents and their pets with transportation to a general population hurricane evacuation center, a release from the county stated.
Transportation will be offered at designated rally points throughout the county, although rally points may change depending on the severity of a storm. The program will only be in effect if the county has designated a state of emergency and evacuation centers are open.
Residents who cannot drive or who don’t have another form of transportation must register for the program by completing this form. If you’re able to transport yourself to a rallying point, you don’t have to register, but those who do will receive an automated phone message about pick-up times and locations.
No more online registrations will be accepted when landfall is expected within 60 hours.
The transportation will be provided by Sarasota County Area Transit and school district buses. Passengers will not be able to specify what shelter they will be transported to. All transportation will cease when landfall is expected within eight hours.
The service will be free, but baggage is limited to two carry-on sized bags per person, and pets must be in a crate or carrier.
“We take the safety of our citizens very seriously and believe implementing the transportation plan is a way to ensure residents that do not have a reliable and safe method of transportation can get to the evacuation center if needed,” said Rich Collins, Emergency Services Director, in a release.
The transportation plan was one of multiple changes to come from the after-action review conducted by the county to find ways to improve how to handle disasters.
When Irma hit Sarasota in early September, 13 hurricane evacuation centers at county school buildings kept more than 20,000 people and 2,200 pets safe.
None of the centers in the county were in Venice, though mandatory evacuations were ordered throughout the county’s most vulnerable neighborhoods.
“Developing and implementing a transportation plan for the Venice area is the main thing,” said Sarasota County Director of Emergency Management Rich Collins in January, “because there’s no money for a new shelter.”
The after-action review yielded 93 recommendations for how the county should alter its hurricane strategy. Read the full report here.
Hurricane season begins June 1. According to Sarasota County Emergency Management Chief Ed McCrane, early projections expect about 13 names storms this season, including severe hurricanes and three major hurricanes. For more information on how to prepare, visit the county’s website here.
