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Charlotte County emergency director urges residents to prepare as hurricane season nears
Summary
Emergency Management Director Patrick Fuller told commissioners May 13 that the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season begins June 1 and stressed preparedness steps for residents, shelter planning, special‑needs registries and state coordination for medical response and communications.
Patrick Fuller, Charlotte County Emergency Management, told the county commission May 13 that the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season is approaching and urged residents to prepare now.
“We are a little less than three weeks out from the official start of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season,” Fuller said, noting the season runs June 1–Nov. 30 and the National Hurricane Center begins issuing advisories May 15. Fuller described current basin conditions as neutral for El Niño–Southern Oscillation, warned that Gulf waters remain warm and flagged the risk of rapid intensification.
Fuller reviewed operational readiness for the county: 505 residents are registered on the special‑needs registry for electrical‑dependent or cognitively impaired individuals who may need assistance in a storm; county staff conduct annual reviews of health‑care facility emergency plans; and shelter training and EOC exercises are under way to expand the bench of trained staff. He said information hubs (printed, distributed resources at libraries and recreation centers) remain planned fallback points if digital communications fail.
On communications and medical support, Fuller said county staff pre‑identified locations and discussed increased medical support and deployable assets with the Florida Division of Emergency Management. He noted FirstNet devices are in county inventory and that the county maintains redundancy such as satellite phones and deployable cellular assets in coordination with the state.
Commissioners pressed Fuller on pre‑authorization for medical teams, use of an elevated former FDOT rest area as a staging site, and the status of mitigation programs such as Elevate Florida. Fuller said Charlotte County was third in statewide applications for Elevate Florida mitigation funds and that the state’s engineering and benefit‑cost review will determine eligibilities.
Fuller repeatedly urged residents to sign up for Alert Charlotte and to prepare emergency kits and evacuation plans in advance: “Alert Charlotte is still a system that we rely upon and want our residents to register for,” he said.
Next steps: Emergency Management will continue outreach, conduct EOC and shelter exercises in June, refine information‑hub planning and maintain coordination with the state on deployable medical and communications assets.
