Hurricane Idalia: Florida evacuates 4,000 prisoners from 35 facilities
Inmates moved: Florida corrections officials moved 4,000 prisoners from 35 facilities as Hurricane Idalia moved up the coast. (Allan Swart/iStock )
By Bob D'Angelo, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida prison officials evacuated 4,000 prisoners from 35 facilities statewide as Hurricane Idalia barreled up the west coast of the state on Tuesday.
According to a news release from the Florida Department of Corrections, inmates from some of the state’s smaller prisons, work release centers and work camps were moved to more secure lodgings equipped to handle a storm that could be a Category 3 hurricane by the time it makes landfall on Wednesday.
Notably impacted was the Cross City Work Camp in Dixie County, which is located in Dixie County in the state’s Big Bend area, the Tampa Bay Times reported. Inmates from the Tallahassee Community Release Center in the state’s capital were also impacted, according to the newspaper.
Officials were preparing to deliver extra food and water to prisons in the hurricane’s path, the Department of Correction stated in its news release.
The Lake City Correctional Facility in Columbia County, located halfway between Jacksonville and Tallahassee, is operated by CoreCivic, a Tennessee-based private prisons contractor, WTSP-TV reported. The company also manages the Citrus County Detention Facility in Lecanto, located about 76 miles north of Tampa.
CoreCivic spokesperson Brian Todd said both facilities had backup generators and the company will coordinate with local emergency response agencies, according to the television station.
State prisons that might be impacted by Idalia also suspended visitation for several days, the Times reported. They were located in Bradford, Hardee, Jefferson, Madison, Marion, Madison, Sumter, Suwanee, Union and Volusia counties, corrections officials said.
Levy County, whose jail contains 150 inmates, does not plan to evacuate the facility.
“We have withstood lots of rainfall in the past,” jail spokesperson Lt. Scott Tummond said. “I don’t see anything being any different in this event, other than we’re looking at much higher wind speeds if we take a direct hit. The structure is hardened and capable of withstanding, I think, a (Category) 5 hurricane. So, the infrastructure of the building itself is probably the safest place in the county.”
Tummond added that generators were in place of expected blackouts.
Idalia impact: A resident posted a sign at a home in Cedar Key, Florida, as Hurricane Idalia threatened the area. (Christian Monterrosa/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Idalia impact: American flags are placed on boarded windows ahead of Hurricane Idalia in Cedar Key. (Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Idalia impact: The U.S. Post Office in Cedar Key, Florida, is boarded up in anticipation of Hurricane Idalia. (Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Idalia impact: The beach is deserted at Cedar Key as Hurricane Idalia moved up Florida's west coast on Tuesday. (Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Idalia impact: Strong winds hit the Gulfport area in Pinellas County on Tuesday. (Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Idalia impact: Debris flies off a roof ahead of Hurricane Idalia in Fort Myers on Tuesday. (Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Idalia impact: High tide hits Fort Myers Beach ahead of Hurricane Idalia on Tuesday. (Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Idalia impact: Water rises above the docks at Fort Myers Beach as Hurricane Idalia approaches on Tuesday. (Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Idalia impact: High tide roars in at Fort Myers Beach ahead of Hurricane Idalia on Tuesday. (Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Idalia impact: Palm trees sway in the wind at Fort Myers Beach ahead of Hurricane Idalia on Tuesday. (Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Idalia impact: Waves crash on Fort Myers Beach during high tide on Tuesday. (Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Idalia impact: People enjoy the beach in the Tampa Bay area on Tuesday as dark clouds gather. (MIGUEL J. RODRIGUEZ CARRILLO/Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo/AFP)
Hurricane Idalia Barrels North as Florida Girds for Disaster Residents on Clearwater Beach walk along the shore as Hurricane Idalia moved up the west coast of Florida on Tuesday. (Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Idalia impact: A sign informs travelers that Tampa International Airport is closed on Tuesday as Hurricane Idalia approached the area. (MIGUEL J. RODRIGUEZ CARRILLO/Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo/AFP)
Idalia impact: A surfer navigates the waves at St. Petersburg Beach as Hurricane Idalia moved up Florida's west coast on Tuesday. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Idalia impact: Residents brace for strong winds in St Petersburg as Hurricane Idalia churns in the Gulf of Mexico. (Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Idalia impact: Sandbags guard a colorful building in St. Petersburg as Hurricane Idalia approaches the area. (Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Idalia impact: A news reporter walks onto a dock ahead of Hurricane Idalia in Cedar Key. (Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images)