When hurricanes approach Florida, residents mobilize for survival. Evacuation orders spur mass movements of people seeking safety, yet one population often remains trapped in harm’s way: the incarcerated.

During hurricanes like Milton and Helene, Florida’s correctional facilities have kept thousands of people in mandatory evacuation zones, relying on outdated, often minimal preparations instead of evacuations.

 

The Impact of Hurricane Milton on Florida’s Incarcerated

Hurricane Milton’s 160-mile-per-hour winds and 15-foot storm surge led to an urgent exodus of coastal residents. Yet incarcerated people in counties like Manatee, Pinellas, and St. Johns were forced to shelter in place as officials opted to keep jails and prisons on lockdown rather than relocate people to safety, according to Vox.

Instead, county jails in the storm’s path adopted piecemeal strategies to weather the hurricane. In Pinellas County, authorities said inmates would move from the ground to higher floors if waters rose. In nearby Manatee County, officials confirmed sandbags were their primary defense, despite its jail being within Zone A, a mandatory evacuation area vulnerable to severe flooding. “We do not issue evacuation orders lightly,” Manatee Public Safety Director Jodie Fiske told The Guardian, urging residents to flee the region while inmates remained locked inside their cells.

Some advocates argue that officials’ repeated decisions to shelter rather than evacuate inmates endangers lives, calling it an unacceptable risk amid worsening climate events. According to The Appeal, more than 28,000 incarcerated individuals were located in hurricane zones that faced partial or complete evacuation orders this season, yet only a fraction were relocated.

Florida Cares Executive Director Denise Rock expressed cautious approval of the state’s limited efforts to protect inmates ahead of Milton and Helene but noted that this year’s actions were a rarity and came after significant pressure from the public and advocacy groups.

Evacuation Resistance: Complexities or Neglect?

Officials often justify the decision not to evacuate jails and prisons by claiming the structures are “hardened” and designed to withstand hurricane conditions.

In Pinellas County, Sheriff Bob Gualtieri argued that moving the 3,100 inmates at the county jail was neither practical nor necessary, as the facility’s higher floors provided protection from flooding, reports The Intercept.

But critics say the logistical challenges cited by corrections officials—such as securing alternative facilities and transportation—should not outweigh the safety of incarcerated individuals.

“This is a moral failure,” Corene Kendrick, Deputy Director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s National Prison Project, told Vox, adding that incarcerated people have no control over their exposure to deadly conditions, unlike the general population.

Former FEMA head Craig Fugate echoed this sentiment, explaining that while emergency evacuations are complex, they are essential to ensuring the safety of all residents, incarcerated or not.

Forced Labor in the Aftermath

Ironically, while incarcerated people may be forced to ride out hurricanes, many states, including Florida, rely on prison labor for disaster recovery afterward. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently acknowledged this reliance, noting that low-security inmates are put to work clearing debris, filling sandbags, and rebuilding public spaces post-storm—tasks that save millions in contractor fees, Creative Loafing Tampa Bay reports. For their labor, however, many inmates earn as little as 14 cents per hour, if anything at all.

DeSantis’s comments drew criticism from advocates who argue this practice amounts to modern-day slavery, Vera Institute reports, a loophole in the Thirteenth Amendment that allows involuntary servitude as punishment for crimes.

Neglect During Disasters

Incarcerated people in Florida are not the only ones left behind during natural disasters. When Hurricane Helene hit the Carolinas earlier this year, incarcerated people at Mountain View Correctional Institution in North Carolina endured nearly a week without lights, running water, or toilets, as The Intercept reports. Conditions were so dire that inmates resorted to using plastic bags as makeshift toilets, trapped in cells as floodwaters rose.

Incarcerated people in the U.S. face heightened risks from climate events like hurricanes, with little to no federal oversight ensuring their protection. As the Vera Institute reports, the majority of states do not include policies to protect incarcerated people in disaster scenarios, despite the high concentration of inmates in climate-vulnerable areas.

The Path Forward

Calls for comprehensive reforms are growing louder. Advocates like Kendrick argue that the U.S. should set baseline standards for inmate safety during disasters. Proposals include mandatory evacuation plans for correctional facilities, the provision of essential supplies during shelter-in-place orders, and protections for incarcerated laborers.

With hurricanes and extreme weather becoming more intense, advocates are pressing for long-term strategies to address the vulnerability of incarcerated people, stressing the need for action before disaster strikes again.

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