YIKES

Florida’s Largest Psychiatric Hospital ‘Cut Off’ by Hurricane Michael

The hospital’s 975 residents and approximately 325 staff members did not evacuate before the storm.

The largest and oldest psychiatric hospital in Florida was left “entirely cut off” from emergency responders after Hurricane Michael slammed into the Florida Panhandle Wednesday, The Miami Herald reports. The eye of the storm reportedly passed directly over Chattahoochee, where Florida State Hospital is located, and officials said the hospital had “no way to communicate with first responders or the outside world.” The 975 residents and approximately 325 staff that were staying inside did not evacuate before the storm. Department of Children and Families spokesman David Frady told the newspaper the hospital was “well-stocked” with emergency supplies, but the hospital received “pallets of food and water” from rescue groups via helicopter on Thursday after it suffered a water main break. Frady also told the Herald he was unsure when access to the area would be restored, but did say staff members who stayed through the storm had been relieved by other staffers. The only reported storm-caused structural damage to the facility was a broken window.