TAMPA, Fla. — Hundreds of staff members and volunteers descended on the Florida Aquarium in Tampa over the weekend to help secure the property and batten down the hatches.
Ahead of Hurricane Helene's expected landfall, the facility announced it would be closed for the entirety of Thursday. The aquarium plans to reopen Friday at 9:30 a.m., depending on post-storm recovery.
"The Florida Aquarium has a comprehensive hurricane preparedness plan to ensure the safety and well-being of its nearly 20,000 aquatic and terrestrial animals, staff, guests and facilities," an aquarium spokesperson said in a statement.
"Since the weekend, hundreds of staff and volunteers have been working nearly around the clock securing the property, both the Downtown Tampa location and the Apollo Beach conservation campus, taking down tents and other objects that could be impacted by the wind, ensuring all animals have adequate food, oxygen, and medical supplies, preparing meals, and moving some animals to temporary habitats on higher levels of the Aquarium."
The Aquarium also said a team of around two dozen engineers and animal care staff will be at the aquarium during Helene to ensure care for animals, monitor life support systems and address any damage in real time.
"Our goal is to make sure that the animals don't even know there's a storm," said Senior Vice President of Animal Care & Health Tim Binder. "They're fed normally, habitats are maintained normally, and the only thing that they're missing in their day-to-day is the routine of people being around them."
The aquarium is officially the only Florida aquarium to earn a StormReady® certification from the National Weather Service. The distinction marks entities that have developed plans to handle extreme weather and monitor local weather conditions.
