Hurricane Season 2025: What to know about Evacuation Zones
The Brief
During a hurricane, local emergency officials may order the evacuation of certain zones.
Evacuation zones indicate areas that will be affected by storm surge.
Bay Area counties and the Florida Division of Emergency Management have websites that allow residents to type their address into an interactive map to find their evacuation zones.
TAMPA, Fla. - Part of hurricane preparedness means knowing your evacuation zone.
Dig deeper
During a hurricane, local emergency officials may order the evacuation of certain zones, which are mapped by the National Hurricane Center. Evacuation zones indicate areas that will be affected by storm surge.
RELATED: Hurricane season begins June 1: Here's what to know
These zones are assigned a letter: Zone A is typically the most vulnerable and the most likely to evacuate first.
Bay Area counties and the Florida Division of Emergency Management have online websites that allow residents to type their address into an interactive map to find their evacuation zones.
Once news of a hurricanes comes, local emergency officials will announce which zones – if any – should evacuate.
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What they're saying
"If given an order for evacuation in any zone that you're in, you should adhere to that order and evacuate. You need to evacuate at least a safe distance. You don't have to go out of state. We would prefer that you go to a safe [place], someplace closer to you: A neighbor, a cousin, a family member, someone close to you. Someone that you feel safe with," Erik Challenger, emergency management coordinator for Hillsborough County Fire-Rescue's office of emergency management, told FOX 13. "To a hotel as well. Any type of hotel – two or more stories that is category rated for a hurricane."
What you can do
Click here to look up your evacuation zone.
The Source
The information in this story was gathered by FOX 13's Ariel Plasencia.
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