As Irma fills storm shelters, the county opens more. A second one for pets is promised
Miami-Dade County opened three storm shelters Friday and reported four were already filled to capacity. Ten more should be open later today, including a second one that will accommodate pets.
The shelters are at Hialeah Gardens Senior High in Miami Gardens, Barbara Goleman Senior High in Miami Lakes, and Hialeah Middle School in Hialeah.
That adds to the four already open and able to accept more residents: Miami Carol City Senior High in Miami Gardens, Miami Central Senior High in Miami, North Miami Senior High in North Miami and North Miami Beach Senior High in North Miami Beach.
Four shelters have already filled up, including the only one accepting pets. But Michael Hernández, communications director for the county, said another pet-friendly shelter will be announced later Friday.
The shelters that have filled up are: Felix Varela Senior High in West Kendall, Terra Environmental school in Miami, the Youth Fair fairgrounds in Miami (which was the pet-friendly shelter) and South Miami Senior High.
About 5,000 people are in the shelters at last count, a fraction of the more than 650,000 people under evacuation orders by Miami-Dade throughout the county. Officials ask residents to stay with friends or family in safer homes, and to use shelters as the last resort for refuge.
Shelters do not provide bedding and have limited or no provisions. People heading there should bring food, water and medicine to last at least three days. Five days is better. And they should bring their own bedding, including pillows and blankets.
For more details, read this story on what to expect at a Miami-Dade shelter. One tip: bring a hand fan.
Miami-Dade’s bus system is running special shelter runs that are free. Click here to enter your address and find the closest pick-up spot.
The addresses to the shelters open and accepting people are:
▪ Barbara Goleman Senior, 14100 NW 89th Ave., Miami Lakes
▪ Hialeah Gardens Senior, 11700 Hialeah Gardens Blvd., Hialeah
▪ Hialeah Middle School, 6027 E. Seventh Ave., Hialeah
▪ Miami Carol City Senior, 3301 Miami Gardens Dr., Miami Gardens
▪ Miami Central Senior, 1781 NW 95th St., Miami
▪ North Miami Senior, 13110 NE Eighth Ave., North Miami
▪ North Miami Beach Senior, 1247 NE 167th St., North Miami Beach
This story was originally published September 8, 2017 at 11:22 AM with the headline "As Irma fills storm shelters, the county opens more. A second one for pets is promised."