NEW ORLEANS — For the first time in nearly two decades, city officials confirm a hurricane shelter is a possibility for people who can't evacuate for certain storms.
In an exclusive interview with our partners at The Times-Picayune New Orleans Advocate Nola.com, NOHSEP Director Collin Arnold shared the city’s informal game plan.
“We’ve continued to work on a plan for refuge, and I think we’re in a good place there,” NOHSEP Director Collin Arnold said.
Arnold told Nola.com he could have a major shelter up and running by next week, and the city has a few options for locations, including the Recreation Development Commission Centers and the Convention Center.
However, there appear to be a few missing pieces, including funding and the number of people the shelter can accommodate.
WWL Louisiana reached out to Arnold to ask him about the gaps, but he wasn’t available for an interview.
After reports of inhumane conditions inside the Superdome “shelter of last resort” during Hurricane Katrina, the city has shied away from opening a shelter.
In recent years, hurricanes have become stronger, faster, making it harder for people to evacuate in time for landfall.
“Any way we can get people to safety is better than nothing” National Weather Service Meteorologist Lauren Nash said. “It’s very difficult to evacuate so many people in such a short time period,"
The recent rapid intensification of storms is why experts say a safe place to go for those who can’t leave town, will save lives.
“The reality is, not everybody can get out,” Former FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate said. “So, there's always been this balance between opening shelters, while you're trying to get people to leave, and you don't want to give people the false sense that staying behind is their best option, but for a lot of people, that is their only option.”