Know Your Zone
In order to know when to evacuate for hurricane surge flooding, you must KNOW YOUR ZONE!
The greatest killer of people during hurricanes is storm surge – the dome of water pushed ashore by powerful hurricane winds. Entire buildings can be moved, and can cause more damage than the winds of a hurricane itself. Florida is extremely vulnerable to surge flooding because of its coastal and low-lying geography.
To stay safe from surge flooding, if you live in a zone that has been ordered to evacuate, get out. The best way to be prepared for a hurricane storm surge is to know your evacuation zone and plan your destination and travel routes ahead of time.
Know Your Zone - search by address to determine if you are in a designated evacuation zone.
Maps - access a map for those counties with designated evacuation zones.
Counties WITH Designated Evacuation Zones
For each county that has designated evacuation zones, please refer to these specific resources.
Counties WITHOUT Designated Evacuation Zones
The following counties DO NOT have designated evacuation zones. These counties may still issue evacuation orders, but these orders will NOT refer to designated evacuation zones and instead will refer to geographic boundaries or landmarks.
Evacuation orders are often issued for "low-lying areas". There are no maps to designate these areas. However, there are designated Flood Zones.
FEMA Map Service Center - search by address to determine if you are in a flood zone
Evacuation orders are not generally made using flood zone designations. However, those in flood zones should consider themselves in "low-lying areas" and susceptible to flooding from storm surge in coastal areas and heavy rain as well.
Evacuation Zones are designated by letter. Vulnerability may be assumed to increase as the designations go from Tropical Storm Zone to Zone F, with Tropical Storm Zone and Zone A as the most vulnerable. No other counties in the state have an F zone except the Northeast Florida counties, for now. Counties who use designated evacuation zones will use these letters when they order evacuations.
