TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida is heading into hurricane season with a new command center designed to keep the state running when disaster strikes.
The state's new $180 million Emergency Operations Center is now open in Tallahassee after years of construction. The facility replaces an older EOC that emergency leaders say had serious limitations during major storms.
WATCH BELOW: Florida's new EOC ready for hurricane season
TRACKING THE TROPICS: Hurricane Center | Hurricane Guide
Florida Division of Emergency Management Executive Director Kevin Guthrie said the old building had structural concerns and mismatched storm protections that made it unreliable for the strongest hurricanes.
"The old facility … had some structural issues," Guthrie said.
According to Guthrie, the previous EOC was only protected to a Category 3 level in some respects, meaning the state had to send backup teams to other locations when stronger storms threatened the Big Bend. He said that happened during recent hurricanes including Idalia, Debby, Helene and Milton.
"We're not gonna have to do that anymore, because this building is now the point of being able to take 200 mph winds," Guthrie said.
That level of protection is stronger than Hurricane Michael, the Category 5 storm that devastated parts of the Florida Panhandle in 2018.
The new facility is 208,000 square feet and more than doubles the size of the old operations floor. Guthrie said that extra space is about more than comfort — it is meant to improve coordination during disasters by putting key agencies and decision-makers in the same place.
"You've actually got people that can have white of eye conversations and get problems solved in real time," Guthrie said.
State emergency officials say the new EOC also includes updated technology, expanded communications systems and backup tools, including ham radio capabilities, to help Florida respond faster when storms or other disasters hit.
The real test will come when the next hurricane threatens the state. But Guthrie said the building was designed not just for this season, but for decades of emergencies.
"We now, today, have the facility that's going to continue to sustain us at a No. 1 level and then take us into the next three, four, five decades," Guthrie said.
The Atlantic hurricane season begins June 1 and runs through November. Emergency officials continue to urge Floridians to prepare early, build a disaster plan and not wait until a named storm is on the way.
