By Miami Senior Advisor Care Team · October 3, 2026
Every year the same call comes in around the first named storm. A daughter in Atlanta or New Jersey realizes her father, who uses oxygen at night and lives alone in a Kendall townhouse, has no idea where he would go if the county ordered an evacuation. He has a generator-free home, a pharmacy that closes when the power goes out, and a neighbor he waves to but has never called. The family has spent years thinking about assisted living and never thought about the plan for the months or years before that move happens.
This guide is for families whose parent still lives at home in Miami-Dade, Broward or Palm Beach County. It explains the state’s Special Needs Registry, what a special needs shelter actually offers, what it does not, and how to build a practical hurricane plan around a person with mobility, medical or memory needs. It is general information, not emergency instruction: during an actual storm, follow your county emergency management office and local officials, because orders, shelter locations and zones change.
What the Florida Special Needs Registry is
Florida law directs county emergency management agencies to maintain a registry of people who will need assistance during an emergency because of a disability or medical need. The framework sits in section 252.355, Florida Statutes, and the registry is administered locally by each county, with the state providing an online registration system through the Florida Division of Emergency Management. Registration is free, voluntary and can be done by a family member or caregiver on the person’s behalf, as long as the information is accurate.
It helps to understand what registration is for. The registry is a planning tool. It tells the county who in the community may need transportation help, who may need to be checked on, and who may need a place in a special needs shelter. It is not a guarantee of a ride, a bed or a welfare check. Counties describe the registry as a way to prioritize limited resources, and that is how families should treat it: a necessary first step, not the whole plan.
Registration also has to be kept current. A parent who registered five years ago, before a stroke, a move or a change in oxygen equipment, may be listed with the wrong address or the wrong needs. A once-a-year update in May, before the season starts on June 1, is a good habit.
Who the registry is designed for
Counties generally describe the registry as intended for people who need help evacuating or who have medical or functional needs that a general population shelter cannot meet, and who do not have a caregiver able to help them. For older adults that often includes people who:
- Use electricity-dependent medical equipment, such as oxygen concentrators, ventilators, CPAP machines or electric hospital beds.
- Cannot evacuate on their own because of limited mobility, a wheelchair or walker, or lack of a vehicle.
- Need regular help with daily activities such as bathing, dressing, transferring or toileting.
- Live with dementia or other cognitive impairment and need supervision, even if they are physically well.
Eligibility criteria and the forms differ by county, and they are updated by emergency management staff, so confirm the current rules with the county office instead of relying on a blog post. The Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach emergency management offices each publish their registry information online, and 311 or the county’s main information line can direct you when you do not know where to start.
What a special needs shelter is, and what it is not
A special needs shelter is a public shelter staffed to support people who need a bit more than a cot and a bathroom. Depending on the county, that can mean electrical power for medical devices, health care staff who can monitor stable conditions, and a space designed to accommodate wheelchairs or beds. It is meant for people who are stable enough to be safe in a shelter environment.
It is not a hospital, and it is not a nursing home. Families are often surprised by these limits:
- Shelter staff do not replace a caregiver. Counties typically ask that a caregiver or family member come along and bring the person’s own supplies.
- Someone who needs hospital-level or skilled nursing care may be directed to a different arrangement. Registration and an intake review are how the county works that out.
- Space is limited, conditions are crowded, and privacy is minimal. For a parent with dementia, a loud, unfamiliar space can trigger agitation, as we discuss in our guide to sundowning and dementia in South Florida.
- Shelters open when officials order an evacuation and close when the threat passes. They are a short-term refuge, not a place to stay during a long recovery.
Counties usually ask people to bring a short list of items: medications in original containers, a few days of supplies, medical equipment and its power cords, copies of identification and insurance cards, bedding, and a list of doctors and emergency contacts. Check the current county list, but start gathering those items now.
Evacuation zones: the question to answer first
Before anything else, find out whether your parent’s home sits in an evacuation zone. South Florida counties assign addresses to lettered or numbered zones tied to storm surge risk, and an evacuation order is usually issued by zone. Many families assume that a home inland in Doral or Pembroke Pines is safe from evacuation and that a condo on the beach in Miami Beach or Hollywood is not. That is a reasonable starting guess, but the maps decide, and the maps change.
Each county provides an address lookup tool through its emergency management website. Look up the address, write the zone on a card and place it on the refrigerator and in your own phone. If the home is not in an evacuation zone, the question becomes whether it can safely shelter in place for several days without power, which is a very different problem for a person using oxygen, a lift or a bed that needs electricity.
A home in a flood-prone area may be safe from storm surge but still vulnerable to heavy rain flooding. Ground-floor condos and older single-story homes deserve extra thought. If your parent’s apartment is on a high floor of a building where elevators lose power, shelter in place can become a trap rather than a plan.
Building the family hurricane plan for a parent at home
Registration is one piece. A family plan fills in everything the county cannot promise. We suggest working through it in the spring, not in the week the cone shows up on the news.
Decide where your parent goes, and who takes them. The best option is almost always a relative or friend’s home outside the evacuation zone and away from the coast, with a bedroom and bathroom that work for your parent’s mobility. Talk to that host early. A shared guest room with no grab bars or an upstairs-only bathroom will not work for a parent who cannot manage stairs.
Plan the trip, not just the destination. Evacuating from Broward or Miami-Dade means long traffic delays, gas shortages and crowded hotels. For a parent who needs a wheelchair or portable oxygen, the car trip itself is a medical event. Know how long portable oxygen lasts, bring extra, and set out early. Many families leave a full day before an order, when possible.
Lock down medications and refills. Ask the prescriber and pharmacy about an early refill ahead of a storm, keep at least a week of every medication in a waterproof container, and keep an up-to-date medication list in the parent’s wallet and on your phone. Medications that require refrigeration, such as insulin, need a plan for cooling with ice packs when power is out.
Plan for power loss. Ask the oxygen or equipment supplier what backup they offer and whether they will deliver tanks before a storm. Ask the electric utility about medical-priority customer programs; Florida Power & Light, for example, has historically maintained a program for customers who use electricity-dependent medical equipment, though enrolling does not guarantee early restoration. Charge phones and battery packs ahead of time.
Document the paperwork. Keep copies of insurance cards, Medicare and Medicaid information, the power of attorney and health care surrogate documents, and the doctor list in a waterproof folder. If your parent receives home health care, ask the agency what its storm plan is and whether staff will be able to reach the home.
Name two local contacts. A neighbor and a nearby friend who can check on your parent matter more than a distant relative. Give them a key or lockbox code, a copy of the plan, and your phone number.
When a parent with dementia or heavy care needs is at the center of the plan
Hurricane preparation is hardest for families caring for someone with Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia. Changes in routine, noise and unfamiliar places are a recipe for distress, and wandering becomes a safety risk in a shelter or hotel. If this describes your parent, pack familiar items such as a favorite blanket or photos, keep a recent photo and ID on hand in case of separation, and ask the county whether the special needs shelter can accommodate a person with memory loss and a caregiver together.
Families in this position often find that the real question is not “where do we go for a storm?” but “should Mom still be living alone?” If getting through a storm requires a stack of workarounds, the gap between what your parent needs and what the home can provide may be larger than hurricane season alone. Our guide to signs it is time for assisted living can help you judge that, and a memory care community may be the right setting for someone whose cognition makes independent living unsafe.
If a long move is not yet right, in-home care can provide hands-on help day to day and make a storm plan easier, because an aide familiar with your parent may be able to help with the evacuation. And respite care in an assisted living community can be a way to place a parent somewhere safe, with generators and staff, for the weeks around a storm while a family caregiver rests.
What happens in assisted living and why some families choose it before the next season
Licensed assisted living facilities in Florida must maintain emergency plans and must follow state rules covering emergency management. Our post on the Florida assisted living generator rule explains what communities have to have in place, and the evacuation plan guide explains how to review a community’s plan before you sign a contract. For a family that has just spent a stressful week moving a parent from home to a cousin’s spare room and back, a community that handles the evacuation logistics can be a relief.
That is not a reason to rush a move. Moving a parent is a major decision, and weighing it against fear of the next storm is not ideal. But it is fair to treat hurricane season as one honest data point in a larger picture. If you are comparing options, our hurricane preparedness guide for senior living lists questions to ask on tours in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, and our Florida overview shows how care options compare across the state.
A short seasonal checklist for family caregivers
Use this as a calendar, adjusting for your parent’s needs:
- April to May: register or update the Special Needs Registry entry, confirm the evacuation zone, and talk to the host who will take your parent in.
- June 1 (season start): restock a seven-day supply of medications, water, shelf-stable food and batteries, and confirm backup power for medical equipment.
- August to October (peak): check the National Hurricane Center forecast every day, keep the car at least half full, and refill prescriptions early.
- When a watch is issued: call your two local contacts, finalize the travel plan, and start moving if you are in an evacuation zone.
- After the storm: check on your parent in person as soon as roads are safe, watch for heat exhaustion in homes without air conditioning, and report unsafe conditions to the county.
If you would like help working through options for a parent who lives alone, who needs more help than the family can give, or whose safety is a worry this season, contact our care team. Hablamos español, and there is no fee to families for placement help.