President Trump and Florida Governor DeSantis said on July 1 that Alligator Alcatraz should be open by the next day.
But is the temporary detention center for migrants ready to take on a hurricane?
What is Alligator Alcatraz in the Florida Everglades, south of Naples?
The detention camp 44 miles south of Naples off U.S. 41 is scheduled to hold up to 3,000 detainees, who also are supposed to be monitored by about 1,000 staff members and more than 200 cameras.
Where is Alligator Alcatraz in Florida Everglades south of Naples?
It’s in the long-protected Big Cypress National Preserve just outside the Collier County community of Ochopee, where a rarely used airstrip and training base was being converted into an air-conditioned overflow site for largely immigrants Trump wants to deport. Fellow Republican, Gov. Ron DeSantis, said the state is using emergency powers to seize the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport away from Miami-Dade local county government.
What is the weather like around Alligator Alcatraz in Florida?
Violent storms are part of the environment in the region, with most of the 60 inches of annual rain over at Everglades National Park falling from about mid-May to November, which also takes in a majority of hurricane season (June 1-Nov. 30).
How much wind is Alligator Alcatraz supposed to handle?
State Division of Emergency Management Executive Director Kevin Guthrie said the untested site constructed in eight days can withstand Category 2 winds of 110 mph, significantly less than the three major storms that impacted Southwest Florida the past three years.
What were max winds for three last major hurricanes to affect SWFL?
Does hastily constructed Alligator Alcatraz have a hurricane plan?
“We have a hurricane plan,” Guthrie said. “We will not wait for a Cat. 2. We will follow our normal evacuation procedures as we do for any other facility statewide. (This) has been a perfect state logistics exercise for this hurricane season. Everything we did here in the last eight days, God forbid, if we have a hurricane, we’re going to do it again. This was a dress rehearsal for us.”
Based at the Naples Daily News, Columnist Phil Fernandez (pfernandez@gannett.com) grew up in Southwest Florida and has led Pulitzer Prize-winning efforts. He writes In the Know for the USA TODAY Network. Subscribe to our Breaking Ground growth and development newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Built in 8 days, can Alligator Alcatraz in Everglades take on hurricane? Not a major one
Reporting by Phil Fernandez, Naples Daily News / Naples Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
