Construction of Florida’s new State Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee is well underway and is expected to be ready to respond to disasters by the start of the 2026 hurricane season.
The nearly $200 million facility is designed to withstand winds upwards of 200 mph, all while safely housing hundreds of first responders.
The new facility will have more than double the amount of space, and an operations floor that previously could hold around 80 members will now be capable of housing more than 200.
According to the Florida Division of Emergency Management, the current EOC was built after Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and struggles to properly accommodate the dozens of agencies that participate in a response.
During previous extreme weather events, when Tallahassee was in the center of a forecast cone - such as during Hurricane Idalia in 2023 - backup teams would stage in a less compromised part of the state in case headquarters operations were impacted.
“When our members deploy to the SEOC, they often report for weeks at a time to support Florida’s law enforcement community. The current ESF-16 and conference rooms are often cramped and this makes collaboration more difficult,” Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Mark Glass, said in a statement. “This new facility will provide much needed extra space so our FDLE members and those supporting the law enforcement function can work more efficiently and collaboratively.”
The closest Tallahassee has been to experiencing a storm that could potentially challenge the new center’s durability was during Hurricane Michael in 2018, which made landfall near Mexico Beach.
According to the National Hurricane Center, the Category 5 hurricane had sustained winds of around 160 mph, with higher gusts, making it the most powerful cyclone to impact the Sunshine State since Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
Due to Michael’s compact size, winds in Tallahassee only gusted to near Category 1 strength, but an eastward shift in the forecast track of just 60 miles would have resulted in significantly worse conditions.
Kevin Guthrie, director of FDEM, previously stated the new construction will mitigate safety concerns and allow crews to focus on preparations, rescues and recovery.
Officials said the center’s technological enhancements will allow for better coordination and communication among hundreds of state, federal and local partners who regularly converge on the capital city before a major event or disaster.
The EOC’s role extends beyond severe weather, activating as well for pandemics and large-scale events, such as when one of Florida’s major cities hosts the Super Bowl.
The center’s activation ranges from a Level 3, which is a monitoring phase to a Level 1, which is a full emergency response.
The EOC operated at Level 2 earlier this year due to a historic snowstorm that impacted the Florida Panhandle and was last activated at Level 3 before Hurricane Milton’s strike on the peninsula during the 2024 tropical cyclone season.
