St. Lucie Officials Urge Residents to Prepare Now as Hurricane Season Nears

With hurricane season six weeks away, St. Lucie County emergency officials gathered at the Port St. Lucie Botanical Gardens this week to deliver a blunt message: the time to prepare is now — not when a storm is already churning in the Gulf.

The event drew residents seeking guidance on everything from generator safety to pet shelter rules. St. Lucie County Emergency Management Division Manager Oscar Hance, Fire Department Division Chief Donny Stefani, and Emergency Operations Manager Shane Ratliff, FPEM, all took the stage.

Forecasters are predicting a below-average 2026 hurricane season, owing to an El Niño pattern developing in the Pacific Ocean. Warmer-than-normal Pacific waters suppress Atlantic trade winds, which typically fuel hurricane formation. But officials cautioned that a quiet seasonal outlook is no reason to let your guard down — pointing to Hurricane Milton as a stark reminder. Milton intensified from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane in less than 24 hours, with winds surging 92 miles per hour. Its effects were felt across the Treasure Coast.

Among the most urgent warnings: storm surge, flooding, wind damage, and tornadoes remain the primary threats to St. Lucie residents in any hurricane scenario.

Officials stressed several actions residents should take immediately.

Read your insurance policy now, not after a storm. Document the current condition of your home — photograph every room, every roof edge — so you can prove pre-storm damage didn't exist. Without that record, insurance claims become battles.

If you have a pet, confirm you have current vaccination and registration paperwork. Without it, shelters can turn your animal away. St. Lucie County operates two pet-friendly shelters; residents can locate the nearest one at readystlucie.org, Hance noted.

Generator safety drew particular emphasis. In Florida, plugging a generator directly into a wall outlet is illegal. Generators must remain outdoors at all times — carbon monoxide poisoning kills silently in enclosed spaces. After any storm, shutters must come down promptly; those left in place become fire hazards and block emergency responders from reaching residents in crisis.

Officials also urged residents to confirm emergency wireless alerts are enabled on their phones. Go to Settings, then Notifications, then scroll to the bottom. Several people failed to receive alerts during Milton — a gap that proved fatal in some cases, public records indicate.

Residents who missed this week's event have another opportunity: the City of Port St. Lucie's Hurricane Expo takes place June 6 at the Florida Mid Center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with vendors on hand to assist with shutter installation and other storm-readiness needs.

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