Shelters

As the region prepares for Hurricane Milton to make landfall along the Gulf Coast, it is important to know the difference between pre-storm evacuation centers/shelters and post-storm shelters.Evacuation centers/shelters provide a place to stay for those who don’t feel safe in their own homes; for people who are displaced and those living in a mandatory evacuation zone.

The National Weather Service forecasts temperatures in the low 40s with wind chill dropping them to the 30s in Southwest Florida has prompted Charlotte and Lee county officials to make cold weather shelters available.

Temperatures likely in the 40s with wind chills to the 30s prompted a cold weather shelter to open in Charlotte County.

As many as 300 people will wake up Thanksgiving morning in a shelter in North Fort Myers. Many of those displaced by Hurricane Ian have been living in shelters for nearly eight weeks.

Florida has attempted to address some of these issues by setting up shelters where people with health conditions that require electricity for oxygen, dialysis and devices like ventilators can preregister to stay.

Evacuation orders have gone out for areas across Southwest Florida and shelters are opening in advance of Hurricane Ian’s approach. Here's information on evacuation orders and shelter locations in Manatee and Sarasota Counties.

A cold front moving across Florida Friday is expected to bring freezing temperatures to parts of Southwest Florida Saturday night into Sunday morning. Temporary cold-weather shelters for the homeless are opening across the region.

With near-freezing overnight temperatures forecast for the next several nights across Southwest Florida, cold weather shelters have opened in the region.…