More than 4,000 prisoners evacuated ahead of Hurricane Dorian as family members worry

As Hurricane Dorian moved past the Bahamas and up the Florida coast, the Florida Department of Corrections has moved more than 4,000 inmates to other facilities to avoid risks from the weather.

In total, about 4,407 inmates from 23 facilities were moved as of Tuesday morning, said Michelle Glady, a spokeswoman for the prison system. In most cases, people were moved to larger, nearby facilities, though Glady could not provide details.

During Hurricane Michael last year, nearly 3,000 inmates were evacuated from Panhandle prisons after the storm damaged area facilities. One of them, Gulf Annex, reopened to inmates only this summer.

An inmate at Polk Correctional Institution said he’d been made to work on fixing up toilets, urinals and sinks to prepare for incoming inmates from Largo Road Prison. He said the evacuated men are being kept in an old warehouse that was defunct before the maintenance. He said inmates are sleeping in mats on the floor.

One of the evacuated facilities is Tomoka Correctional Institution, which boarded up windows to prepare the building for hurricane winds on Thursday. Inside, inmates complained of excessive heat, according to family members. One woman said her husband compared the interior to a 400-degree oven.

Holes were drilled in the boards to facilitate ventilation, according to multiple family members of inmates. Guards let the men shower more frequently than usual because of the heat, family members said.

Tomoka, which is near Daytona Beach, does not have central air conditioning. Glady said the building was designed in a style to facilitate cooling breezes and that the regular ventilation system was working.

Marcia Adkins worried about her younger brother, who was evacuated from Tomoka to Columbia Correctional Institution, where she said he’s been threatened by gang members before. During his stay there, she emailed the warden and governor to get him moved for his safety, she said.

She said she was confused because inmates from Tomoka went to multiple facilities. Though she is thankful he evacuated Tomoka, when she saw his new location she began to worry about her brother, who is small and skinny, she said.

“I was nervous because he left there for a reason,” Adkins said.

Glady said FDC’s emergency response program plans “ensure we house inmates appropriately, taking into consideration any and all housing restrictions or protection needs,” she wrote in an email.

Family members and friends of inmates can check on their location using the FDC’s website. Locations are updated about 24 hours after people are moved, Glady said. She said the prison system is giving all inmates five free e-stamps with no expiration date and two free 15-minute phone calls to be used by day’s end Thursday.

Along with generators at major locations, FDC has additional portable generators to hand out if needed, Glady said.

A full list of the announced evacuated facilities, as of Tuesday afternoon, can be found on the FDC website.

This story was originally published September 2, 2019 at 3:31 PM.