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Hurricane Season Begins: Does Century Still Have A Shelter?
June 1, 2009
Today marks the first day of the 2009 Atlantic hurricane season, but the future of a public shelter in Century is unclear following the closure of Carver/Century K-8 School.
Carver/Century K-8 School served as Century’s only public shelter, with a capacity to house up to 547 people in the event of a hurricane or other emergency. The Escambia County School Board voted to close the school at the end of this school year, and school staff is working this week to pack up the contents of the school in order to move school furnishings to Bratt Elementary and Ernest Ward Middle schools.
Century Mayor Freddie McCall said he has asked Superintendent Malcolm Thomas if the town and the American Red Cross would still be allowed to use the building for a public shelter, but McCall said that so far he has not received an answer.
The mayor said there are no other buildings in Century with a sufficient size and wind rating that could be used for a public hurricane shelter.
The next nearest Escambia County public hurricane shelters to Century are located at Northview High School and Molino Park Elementary. Northview has a hurricane shelter capacity of 1,260. Molino Park has space for 2,225 evacuees.
Molino Park is 20 miles from Century, and Northview is about nine miles away. Those distances would present a great problem for persons needing to evacuate from Century, McCall said, because many do not have adequate, dependable transportation.
In addition, the mayor said Century has a greater need for a public hurricane shelter than some communities simply because of the number of substandard housing units in his town.
Pictured above: The future of a hurricane shelter in Century is uncertain. NorthEscambia.com graphic, click to enlarge.
Comments
2 Responses to “Hurricane Season Begins: Does Century Still Have A Shelter?”
We rode-out Ivan in my mother-in-laws house because we thought it was stronger and had fewer trees around it. It was a 7 hour nightmare. But we didn’t have any medical problems or mobility problems. Our church gave out blankets and stuff to help people keep warm during some of the bad-cold days this last winter because we knew some people didn’t have enough heat in their house for one reason or another.
Now, as Benny Barnes said at the Century Visioning meeting, “Century needs a disaster/emergency alarm system . . .” and I believe that every community in North Escambia (including Century) needs a good, comprehensive disaster plan and an alarm system. North Escambia should come together on this, and get ‘er done.
There are lots of resources for developing such plans, like the Red Cross, FEMA, and many church organizations – it just has to become a priority, and a leader must step forward with a commitment to see it done right and to see it through. Heaven knows Pensacola does not have a disaster/emergency alarm system at all – Crestview does have one, as do many other communities.
Thank you North Escambia!
I’m sure the school district will sell the now closed Carver-Century K-8 complex to the town, then the town could operate its own shelter. But of course that’ll take effort; its much easier to have someone else do it for you. By the way, what is the town going to do with the Van Nevels building? Could it be upgraded to serve as a shelter? Anyway, there’s nothing like waiting until the last minute to start crying the sky is falling. Come on Century, get ahead of the eight ball!