In Manatee County, just south of the city of Tampa, all residents have been ordered to evacuate.
We don't issue evacuation orders lightly, says Jodie Fiske, who is responsible for public safety in Manatee, and urges residents not to "tempt fate" and stay, reports Newsweek.
In evacuation zone A, which is expected to be the hardest hit by the storm and therefore prioritized in the evacuations, is Manatee County Jail - a facility with around 1,200 inmates. They will stay, according to responsible officials.
Bunkers with sandbags
To Newsweek, prison administrators say the facility will bunker up with sandbags and other supplies. And if the floodwater gets too high, the inmates will be moved up to the second floor of the prison.
When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, hundreds of prisoners were abandoned, which was later criticized. Without food or water, as the staff had abandoned the facilities, they witnessed horrific scenes as the water rose up to their necks in their cells, according to a report from Human Rights Watch.
This time, however, staff have been ordered to ride out the storm with the inmates.
Too many to evacuate
Several other correctional facilities in affected areas of Florida are also defying evacuation recommendations and keeping the inmates on site. In Pinellas County, the facility is in evacuation zone B, which also means that all residents are recommended to seek shelter elsewhere. Bob Gualtieri, sheriff in Pinellas, tells New York Times that all 3,100 inmates and around 800 staff will stay.
With that number of inmates, it's not possible to evacuate people from there, and it's unnecessary since we can go up (to another floor), he says.
