How do I sign up a senior for a special needs shelter?

Register on the Florida Special Needs Registry (snr.flhealthresponse.com) or call your county emergency management office: Citrus 352-249-2753, Hernando 352-754-4083, Pasco 727-847-8137. It's for people who need help evacuating, need transport, or use electric medical equipment. Renew every year.

Does registering guarantee a spot in the shelter?

No. Registration puts you on a confidential list so the county knows your needs. Your county then contacts you about sheltering and transport. In Pasco, applications stop about five days before a storm, so sign up early.

What should be in a hurricane kit for someone on oxygen or medical equipment?

A 7-to-14-day medicine supply, your oxygen concentrator with an extension cord and any e-tanks, backup batteries for equipment and hearing aids, a written medication and medical-contact list, and a backup power or delivery plan confirmed with your oxygen supplier. Bring these if you go to a shelter.

How do I keep power for medical equipment during an outage?

Call your equipment supplier about backup batteries, and enroll in your power company's medically essential program, such as Duke Energy's Medically Essential Program. It gives advance outage notice but does not promise uninterrupted power, so you still need your own battery or generator backup.

How do I find my evacuation zone?

Look it up by your street address on your county's emergency management website. Zones are lettered (Pasco uses A through E, with A leaving first). If told to evacuate, leave early -- the safest place is usually a family member's or friend's home inland.

Should an older adult ride out a storm at home?

If you're in an evacuation zone, a mobile or manufactured home, or depend on electric medical equipment, plan to leave. Homes here also face flooding, so a sturdy inland house out of the flood zone is safer than staying put.

Hurricane Prep for Seniors on the Nature Coast: Registry, Kit, Power & Evacuation

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Palm trees bending in strong wind under a stormy gray sky

Photo: Guilherme Christmann / Pexels.

The Gulf coast gets storms, and a little planning now saves a lot of fear later. Here's a plain plan for an older adult: sign up for help ahead of time, pack a kit built around your medications, plan for power and oxygen, and know your evacuation zone before a storm is ever named.

Last reviewed: August 10, 2026

The short version:

Sign up for your county's special needs registry now. It tells first responders you may need help or transport. Register at the Florida Special Needs Registry or call your county (numbers below). You must renew every year.
Registering is not a shelter reservation. Your county contacts you about sheltering. A special needs shelter is basic and crowded -- a safe place, not a hospital or hotel.
Pack around your medicine. Keep a 7-to-14-day supply plus a written list of your medications, doses, doctors, and pharmacy.
Plan power and oxygen before the storm. Call your oxygen or equipment supplier about backup batteries, and sign up for your power company's medically essential program. Neither guarantees the lights stay on, so have your own backup.
Know your evacuation zone. Look it up by your address on your county's site, and plan to leave early -- ideally to family or a friend inland, not a shelter.

Common questions

How do I sign up a senior for a special needs shelter?: Register on the Florida Special Needs Registry or call your county emergency management office (Citrus 352-249-2753, Hernando 352-754-4083, Pasco 727-847-8137). It's for people who need help evacuating, need transport, or use electric medical equipment. Renew every year.
Does registering guarantee a spot in the shelter?: No. Registration puts you on a confidential list so the county knows your needs. Your county then contacts you about your sheltering and transport options. In Pasco, applications stop about five days before a storm, so sign up early.
What should be in a hurricane kit for someone on oxygen or medical equipment?: A 7-to-14-day medicine supply, your oxygen concentrator with an extension cord and any e-tanks, backup batteries for equipment and hearing aids, a written medication and medical-contact list, and a plan you've confirmed with your oxygen supplier for backup power or delivery. Bring these with you if you go to a shelter.
How do I keep power for medical equipment during an outage?: Call your equipment supplier about backup batteries, and enroll in your power company's medically essential program (for example, Duke Energy's Medically Essential Program). It gives advance outage notice but does not promise uninterrupted power, so you still need your own battery or generator backup.
How do I find my evacuation zone?: Look it up by your street address on your county's emergency management website. Zones are lettered (Pasco uses A through E, with A leaving first). If you're told to evacuate, leave early -- the safest place is usually a family member's or friend's home on higher ground inland.
Should an older adult ride out a storm at home?: If you're in an evacuation zone, a mobile or manufactured home, or you depend on electric medical equipment, plan to leave. Homes here also face flooding, so a sturdy inland house well out of the flood zone is safer than staying put.

Four steps, done ahead of time. The registry and your power/oxygen plan both take days to set up.

Step 1: Sign up for the special needs registry

Florida keeps a special needs registry so emergency workers know who may need extra help before, during, and after a storm. It's meant for people who need help evacuating, need a ride, or use electric-powered medical equipment like oxygen, a nebulizer, or a feeding pump. You can sign up statewide at the Florida Special Needs Registry, or call your county directly.

Two things to remember: you must re-register every year, and registering is not a reservation. It puts you on a confidential list; your county then reaches out about your sheltering and transport. Sign up now -- in Pasco, new applications stop about five days before a storm arrives.

Step 2: Build a kit around your medications

For an older adult, the kit is less about batteries and more about medicine and medical needs. Pack these, and keep them somewhere you can grab fast:

A 7-to-14-day supply of every medication, in the original bottles, plus a written list of drugs, doses, allergies, your doctors, and your pharmacy
Oxygen and medical equipment -- concentrator with an extension cord, e-tanks, CPAP, nebulizer, and backup batteries
Spare hearing-aid and device batteries, glasses, and any mobility aid (cane, walker, wheelchair)
Water and food -- at least one gallon of water per person per day for 3 to 7 days, plus non-perishable food and any special-diet items
Documents in a zip-lock bag -- ID, Medicare and insurance cards, medication list, and advance directives
Flashlight, a battery or hand-crank radio, phone chargers and a power bank, and cash

If you go to a special needs shelter, plan to bring your own bedding, a change of clothes, hygiene items, and food or snacks for the first day. One caregiver or companion may come with you.

Step 3: Plan for power and oxygen

If you depend on electricity for oxygen, a CPAP, or other equipment, plan for an outage before the storm:

Call your oxygen or equipment supplier and ask about backup batteries and their emergency-delivery plan.
Enroll in your power company's medically essential program. In this area that's usually Duke Energy's Medically Essential Program (some rural areas are served by an electric co-op such as Withlacoochee River Electric). It needs a doctor's certification, renews yearly, and gives you advance notice of outages.

Important: being on a medically essential list does not guarantee your power stays on. The utility says so plainly. You are responsible for your own backup -- a charged battery bank, a generator you know how to run safely, or a plan to leave for somewhere with power.

Step 4: Know your zone and plan to leave early

Look up your evacuation zone by your street address on your county's emergency management website. If officials call for your zone to leave, go early, before roads fill and weather turns. The safest place is usually a family member's or friend's home inland, out of the flood zone -- not a shelter. Homes on the Nature Coast face storm-surge and river flooding, so don't count on staying put in a low-lying or mobile home.

Who to call in Citrus, Hernando & Pasco

Register and ask about evacuation and shelters through your county. Numbers below are from each county's own official site (August 2026).

County	Special needs registry / emergency management	Find your zone
Citrus	Emergency Operations Center 352-249-2753; DOH-Citrus 352-527-0068. Special needs shelter: Forest Ridge Elementary, Hernando, FL.	Citrus disaster info ↗
Hernando	Emergency Management 352-754-4083; recorded storm line 352-754-4111. Register online at specialneeds.hernandocounty.us.	Hernando EM ↗
Pasco	Emergency Management, Elena Divino 727-847-8137; county customer service 727-847-2411. Zones A–E.	Pasco special needs ↗

Statewide backups: the Florida Special Needs Registry, FloridaDisaster.org for storm updates, and Ready.gov's guide for older adults.

Sources

Florida Department of Health / Florida Division of Emergency Management -- Special Needs Registry. https://snr.flhealthresponse.com/ and https://www.floridadisaster.org/snr/
Florida Department of Health in Citrus County -- Special Needs Shelter. https://citrus.floridahealth.gov/programs-and-services/emergency-preparedness-and-response/special-needs-shelters/index.html
Hernando County -- Special Needs (Emergency Management). https://www.hernandocounty.us/public-safety/emergency-management/emergency-preparedness/special-needs/
Pasco County -- Special Needs (Emergency Management). https://www.pascocountyfl.gov/services/emergency_management/special_needs.php
Duke Energy -- Medically Essential Program (Florida). https://www.duke-energy.com/home/billing/special-assistance/medically-essential?jur=FL01
Ready.gov -- Older Adults. https://www.ready.gov/older-adults

Please read: Nature Coast Senior Home is an independent guide, not a government or emergency agency. This is general information, not emergency instructions. Phone numbers, registry rules, zones, and shelter details change -- always confirm with your county emergency management office and follow official orders during a storm. In a life-threatening emergency, call 911. We don't collect or sell your information.

Hurricane prep for seniors on the Nature Coast