North Port emergency manager urges written evacuation plans, outlines post-storm response

Stacy Alozio, Emergency Management Coordinator for the City of North Port, told the City Commission on June 5 that residents should prepare written evacuation plans with multiple routes and clear contact points to help families reunite after storms.

“It's important to have an evacuation plan ahead of time, and it's very important to write it down,” Alozio said. She told residents to consider four evacuation options: stay home if not in an evacuation zone and if the dwelling is sound; go to family or friends outside the evacuation area; go to a hotel; or go to one of the county evacuation centers.

Alozio said Sarasota County operates 12 evacuation centers and urged residents to pick alternate routes because main roads such as I-75 can become gridlocked during evacuations. “You should have multiple routes to get to the location you're planning to go to just because traffic wise, traffic on 75 might be gridlocked,” she said.

A separate emergency-management update to the commission addressed post-storm first-responder operations. The emergency manager explained that during and immediately after storms, agencies may pull first responders off roads for safety and that crews will triage calls and prioritize urgent incidents. “We will have a backlog of calls that have come in during the storm that we will prioritize based on urgency,” the manager said, noting crews will clear hazards to restore access.

The presentation combined preparedness guidance with operational constraints residents should expect after a storm: delayed nonurgent responses, prioritized routing of emergency resources and potential roadway flooding or debris. No formal action or new policy was taken at the meeting; the remarks were informational and intended for public awareness.