Shelter From the Storm LARGO (WUSF) - Many people in Pinellas County have seen the map - two islands poking out of a storm-tossed sea. That's what the state's most densely-populated county would look like if "the big one" were to hit the peninsula dead-on.

What to do in advance of such a catastrophic event has long been on the minds of the county's emergency operations planners. There aren't enough shelters to handle the large population. And as the run-up to Hurricane Charley showed in 2004, evacuations mean miles-long lines just to get past the bridges over Tampa Bay.

So the county has opened up another front - having people on high ground open their homes. Or at least a part of their homes. It's called the host home program.
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