A Times Editorial

Shelters needed

Emergency officials should realize imperfect sheltersare better than riding out storms in homes or cars.

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 7, 2000

Seven years ago, in the wake of Hurricane Andrew's destruction, the Florida Legislature vowed to increase shelter space for those fleeing a natural disaster. Here is what followed:

The Legislature provided no money to evaluate the adequacy of buildings to serve as shelters. Nonetheless, the state Department of Community Affairs adopted stringent Red Cross standards for shelters, then spent years writing its own version of those standards. Finally, lightly trained DCA employees scurried around applying the standards to current or potential shelters.

The bottom line: The state started the process needing 155,000 more shelter spaces. Today, the shortage has grown nearly tenfold, to 1.5-million spaces. In other words, the state has eliminated shelter spaces. With such "help," more than a dozen counties no longer have even one certified shelter.

More than ineptitude is at work here. The DCA, whose stated mission includes "reducing the effects of disasters," has abdicated its responsibility to a private organization, the Red Cross.

During an emergency, the Red Cross staffs most public shelters with volunteers, which saves the state money. But the Red Cross will not provide that service in a building that does not meet its strict national standards.

In a perfect world, that would be acceptable. But in Florida, many buildings that have served as shelters for years failed the Red Cross test. Some were too old, yet older buildings often make good shelters and have stood the test of time.

To make matters worse, DCA inspectors often made mistakes in evaluating buildings. An engineer hired by the St. Petersburg Times in Pasco County found that three buildings rejected by the state would actually be acceptable shelters, and one shelter approved by the DCA is, in reality, unsafe. Times staff writer Collins Conner reported that throughout the state, local officials have found such errors.

So Florida residents have started another hurricane season with dangerously inadequate shelter space. Yet during a hurricane, residents in vulnerable coastal areas would be much better off in imperfect shelters than riding out the storm in their homes or cars. The state should admit that fact and reopen shelters closed because of unreasonable standards or inspection errors, and the Red Cross should be more cooperative if it wants to play a useful role.

The long-term solution is to construct new schools and other public buildings to meet higher shelter standards or to retrofit older building to correct their shortcomings. While that is happening now, the process is poorly funded and, therefore, too slow.

Such fixes are being discussed at a meeting of representatives from state and local emergency offices and the Red Cross held yesterday and today in Orlando. Whatever the outcome of that meeting, state emergency officials should clearly state their responsibility and a sense of urgency in providing more shelter space.

This time, however, the Legislature and Department of Community Affairs should be sure that by fixing the problem, they don't make it worse.

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