The Storm Plan You Need Before the Storm:

Every family in Jacksonville and the Lowcountry knows the August routine. Watch the tropics. Fill the tank. Move the patio furniture. Decide whether this is the one you leave for.

For a family caring for someone with dementia, that routine doesn’t work. The ordinary hurricane checklist assumes a person who can tolerate disruption, follow instructions under stress, and adapt to an unfamiliar place for several days. Dementia removes all three of those assumptions.

How should families prepare for a hurricane when a loved one has dementia? Plan earlier than you would otherwise, and plan for the disruption rather than the storm. People living with dementia are highly sensitive to changes in routine, environment, and caregiver. Preparation should focus on registering for special needs sheltering in advance, assembling a portable care profile and medication supply, and — critically — deciding your evacuation threshold before a storm is named.

We serve families on both sides of this: our Ortega, San Jose, and Ponte Vedra communities in the Jacksonville area, and Mount Pleasant Gardens in coastal South Carolina. Hurricane planning is part of our year, every year. Here is what we’ve learned that families can use.

Why disruption is the real hazard

For most households, the risks of a hurricane are wind, water, and power loss. Those matter here too. But for a person with dementia, the more immediate threat is the loss of the familiar.

Cognitive decline erodes the ability to form new memories and orient to new surroundings. A person who navigates their own home comfortably may be genuinely lost in an unfamiliar building within minutes — not confused, lost. Add crowd noise, fluorescent lighting, disrupted sleep, unfamiliar caregivers, and a schedule that no longer resembles yesterday’s, and you have assembled nearly every known trigger for agitation at once.

Families often describe a loved one “declining suddenly” after an evacuation. What they’re usually describing is an acute stress response layered on top of dementia — and it frequently takes weeks to settle, not days.

This is the reason to plan differently. You are not just planning to keep someone physically safe. You are planning to protect their stability.

Decide your threshold in August, not in the cone

The hardest decision in a storm is whether to go. Under time pressure, with a forecast changing every six hours and a loved one who may be resisting the whole idea, that decision gets made badly.

So make it now, in writing, before there is a storm to argue about:

• What evacuation zone are you in? Know the letter. Jacksonville and Duval County publish zones, as do Charleston County and the coastal SC counties.
• What triggers your departure? A specific zone being called, a specific category, or a specific hour — not “when it looks bad.”
• Where exactly are you going? A named destination, with a backup, and a route.
• Who else knows the plan? At minimum one person outside the household who can execute it if you can’t.

Write it on one page. Put a copy on the refrigerator and one in the go-bag.

Leaving early is almost always better than leaving late. For someone with dementia, a calm daytime departure ahead of traffic is a fundamentally different experience than a rushed nighttime evacuation into a nine-hour backup on I-95 or I-26. If you are going, go early enough that the trip itself isn’t the traumatic part.

Register for special needs sheltering now

Both Florida and South Carolina operate special medical needs shelter programs for residents who require assistance beyond what a general population shelter provides. Registration is done in advance, through your county emergency management office. It is not something you can reliably arrange as a storm approaches.

Eligibility criteria vary by county, and dementia alone may or may not qualify depending on the level of assistance required and other medical needs. Call and ask — the conversation itself will tell you a great deal about what’s available where you live.

Two honest observations from experience:

A shelter of any kind is a difficult environment for someone with dementia. Noise, lights, strangers, and cots are hard. If a safe private destination is available — family inland, a hotel that accepts your situation — that is usually the better option.

Register anyway. Having the option and not needing it costs nothing. Needing it and not having it is a genuinely bad night.

The portable care profile

This is the single most useful thing you can make, and it takes about thirty minutes.

Assemble a one-page document, printed and also photographed on your phone, containing:

• Full legal name, date of birth, and a current photo
• Diagnosis, stage, and prescribing physician’s name and number
• A complete medication list with dosages and timing
• Allergies and other medical conditions
• Emergency contacts, including who holds healthcare power of attorney
• What calms this person, and what upsets them — in plain language
• How they communicate, what they respond to, what they answer to
• Whether they wander, and what time of day is hardest

That second-to-last section is the one nobody thinks to include and everyone in an unfamiliar setting needs. If your mother is soothed by a particular hymn, or becomes distressed when approached from behind, or believes she is at work in the afternoons — write it down. A shelter nurse, an ER physician, or a relative you haven’t seen in three years cannot know these things and cannot guess them.

Keep the same page ready for a hospital visit. It works for both. We wrote more about that use in our article on hospital stays and sudden confusion.

What to pack, beyond the standard list

The general hurricane kit — water, non-perishables, flashlights, radio, documents — still applies. Add these:

• Two weeks of every medication, not the standard three-day supply. Pharmacy access after a major storm is unreliable.
• Copies of legal documents: healthcare surrogate or power of attorney, advance directives, insurance cards. If these aren’t in place, that’s a separate and urgent conversation, and our piece on advance care legal planning covers it.
• Familiar comfort objects. A specific blanket, a photo album, a worn cardigan. These are not sentimental extras — they are orientation anchors, and they do real work.
• Noise-reducing headphones, if tolerated. Shelter environments are loud.
• An ID bracelet or clothing label with name and a contact number. If your loved one is not already enrolled in a wandering-response program, look into it before the season, not during.
• Incontinence supplies, snacks they actually like, and a change of clothing — more than you think you need.
• A backup power plan for medical equipment, if any is in use.

Keep the routine you can

During and after the storm, protect the rhythm even when everything else is gone.

Meals at the usual times. Bedtime at the usual hour. The same person providing hands-on care wherever possible. Familiar music. If sundowning is already part of your day, expect it to intensify — our guide to managing sundowning applies doubly in a disrupted environment.

And when your loved one becomes distressed about where they are or why, meet the emotion rather than the facts. Correcting someone repeatedly during a frightening event escalates it. This is the heart of validation therapy, and a hurricane is when it matters most.

What to ask a memory care community about their plan

If your loved one lives in a community — or you’re touring during hurricane season — these are fair and important questions:

• Is the community in an evacuation zone? If so, what triggers evacuation, and where do residents go?
• What is the backup power arrangement? In Florida, assisted living facilities are subject to state rules on emergency environmental control (Rule 59A-36.025), which require an alternative power source capable of maintaining ambient temperature at or below 81°F for 96 hours, with fuel provisions. Ask how the community meets it.
• How are families notified, and through what channel if cell service fails?
• Are staff expected to shelter on site? Many communities plan for a ride-out team. Ask.
• How are medications and records secured for a possible evacuation?
• Has the plan been reviewed with local emergency management this year?

A community that answers these easily has thought about them. That, by itself, tells you something.

Frequently asked questions

Should I evacuate with a loved one who has dementia? It depends on your evacuation zone, your home’s safety, and your destination. If you are in a mandatory zone, yes — and leave early. If you can safely shelter in place, the reduced disruption is often better for the person with dementia.

How do I register for a special needs shelter? Through your county emergency management office, in advance of hurricane season. Requirements vary by county.

What should I pack that’s specific to dementia? Two weeks of medications, familiar comfort objects, ID identification, legal documents, and a written care profile describing what calms and what distresses your loved one.

Will a hurricane make dementia worse? The disease itself doesn’t accelerate from a storm, but the disruption commonly triggers agitation, confusion, and sleep disturbance that can take weeks to settle. Minimizing disruption is the goal.

What if my loved one refuses to leave? Avoid debate and reasoning. Simplify the message, give a short reason framed around something they care about, and lead with routine — packing a familiar bag, a favorite item, a calm departure. Enlist the person they trust most.

We plan for this every year

Emergency preparedness is part of what a specialized memory care community carries so families don’t have to carry it alone. If you have questions about how we approach hurricane season — at Mount Pleasant Gardens, Ortega Gardens, Ponte Vedra Gardens, or San Jose Gardens — we’re glad to walk you through it.

The Alzheimer’s Association also publishes disaster preparedness guidance for dementia caregivers at alz.org.

We invite you to learn more about how our comprehensive care can provide peace of mind for your family. Please contact us at 904-495-5496 or info@gardensmemorycare.com to discuss your loved one’s specific needs or to schedule a personal visit.

This article is general information for caregivers and is not medical advice. Please consult your loved one’s physician and your local emergency management agency regarding your specific situation.