What if a hurricane hits 'Alligator Alcatraz'? Florida drawing up evacuation plan

Alex Harris, Miami Herald on Jun 25, 2025

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MIAMI — Construction is underway for an immigrant detention center in the heart of the Everglades, where Florida says it plans to stash detainees in tents as soon as next week.

If they stick to that schedule, detainees will begin arriving in the hottest part of the year for Florida — and the middle of hurricane season. Forecasters have called for an above-average season, with 13 to 19 named storms between now and November 30,

Florida’s Department of Emergency Management, which is overseeing the facility, told the Miami Herald it’s “fully prepared for any storm that may threaten our state,” but that the formal plan for the facility is not completed yet.

“Hurricane planning is happening concurrently with site development planning,” spokesperson Stephanie Hartman said in a statement.

“We will evacuate the facility if a tropical cyclone with windspeeds higher than the temporary facility’s wind rating is forecasted to impact the area. We are coordinating with several partners on potential locations for relocation, but ultimately it will be scenario dependent based on facility population and the projected storm path.”

The facility is designed to hold as many as 5,000 people when it’s at full capacity. Detainees will be kept in “soft-sided temporary facilities” initially before transitioning to “possibly hardened buildings potentially erected at a later date.”

Staff will be housed in old FEMA trailers from previous storms in Florida.

The area is highly vulnerable to flooding, even without a tropical storm or hurricanes. Campgrounds west of the site along the Tamiami Trail routinely flood during the South Florida rainy season.

Curtis Osceola, senior executive policy advisor for the Miccosukee Tribe, said tribal housing in the area is “brick and mortar” with air conditioning. The kind of housing that can withstand the hurricanes that frequently pound Florida and the heat waves that bake the state.

“If something does happen, there’s going to be a lot of lives at risk,” he said. “We’re concerned about the safety of everybody there.”

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—Miami Herald staff writer Syra Ortiz Blanes contributed to this article.