Alabama officials offering aid to Florida evacuees

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency is prepared for Florida evacuees who come to the state.

State trooper Kendra McKinney has seen an increase in travelers near the Wiregrass.

“It has been a lot of people on 231, 431,” McKinney said. “You’re getting it from both sides. You got it from Florida, you got it from Georgia, so it’s just going both ways there”

ALEA will have state troopers on patrol to enforce the law and offer assistance.

The state can reverse southbound lanes of Interstate 65 to create a larger, one-way route for evacuees, but McKinney said that is unlikely at this time.

“I think it’s safe to say, as of now, our interstate is still flowing as it usually does,” she said.

With evacuees on the road and emergency crews ready to move in, ALEA is urging caution behind the wheel.

In anticipation of Florida evacuees coming to Alabama, state and local officials are working to make sure they can more easily find hotel rooms.

Evacuees needing sanctuary can call 211 for information.

Gov. Kay Ivey also announced that the Alabama Tourism Department has created this QR code for evacuees to scan to find available hotel rooms.

Additionally, the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce has created a webpage that lists hotel vacancies in the River Region.

Alabamians are doing what they can to help their neighbors in need.

“We want to let our sister states next to us, our adjacent states that are close to us, know that we’re always here to render aid when needed,” McKinney said.

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