Some Alabama Hurricane Shelters

MONTGOMERY - In an effort to better assist the residents living along the Alabama Gulf Coast during inclement weather, some Alabama Community College System (ACCS) facilities can be utilized when needed as emergency shelters for mandatory hurricane evacuations. As the result of a Memorandum of Understanding between the State of Alabama; the ACCS; and the American National Red Cross, these shelters represent a cooperative partnership.

The trigger for the use of these facilities will be the directive from the Governor to Chancellor Bradley Byrne of the   ACCS. In order to facilitate this effort, the ACCS facilities have been divided into three tiers for use as shelters. The utilization of the tiers will allow a phase in activation response based on the projected magnitude of the event, and mandatory evacuation requirements.

Conditions which may require the directive from the Governor to Chancellor Byrne are a named storm with a projected strike cone on the Gulf Coast affecting Alabama within 72 hours of landfall. This advance directive is necessary in order to execute response plans, stand up shelters, and evacuate residents prior to storm landfall.

Failure to meet these conditions could result in residents not being sheltered prior to the event, or shelters which are not functioning completely as designed. As with all emergency response plans, timely execution is the major contributing factor to the success of the plan.

Upon direction of Chancellor Byrne, a phased activation is planned. For category three hurricanes and below, Tier 1 colleges could be activated immediately while some Tier 2 and Tier 3 colleges strategically located along or near evacuation routes may be activated to standby status and fully activated if needed. In the event of a category four hurricane, Tier 1 and Tier 2 colleges could be activated immediately while some Tier 3 colleges strategically located along or near evacuation routes could be activated to standby status and fully activated if needed. In the event of a category five hurricane, all colleges in all tiers could be fully activated immediately. Procedures will be coordinated with those of the Alabama Emergency Management Agency.

Local college shelters will serve evacuees until filled to capacity according to the shelter's identification plan initiated by the Alabama Emergency Management Agency. Some college campuses will not be used because of their vulnerability to weather damage or other circumstances.

"We are pleased to be able to assist in times of great need for the benefit of the people in Alabama who support us all year long," stated Chancellor Byrne.

Should further weather conditions warrant an alert by the Governor, the ACCS is prepared to respond promptly in sheltering hurricane evacuees.

Provided are a list of Red Cross Certified Community College Shelters:

Tier 1 colleges

Alabama Southern Community College-Thomasville Campus

Chattahoochee Valley Community College

Faulkner State Community College

Lurleen B. Wallace Community College

Reid State Technical College

Southern Union State Community College

Wallace Community College-Dothan

Tier 2 colleges

Central Alabama Community College

Gadsden State Community College

Jefferson State Community College

Lawson State Community College

Marion Military Institute

Shelton State Community College

Wallace State Community College-Selma

Tier 3 colleges

Athens State University

Bevill State Community College

Calhoun Community College

Drake State Technical College

Northeast Alabama Community College

Northwest-Shoals Community College

Snead State Community College

Wallace Community College-Hanceville