Emergency managers understand that evacuation is a major inconvenience but their first responsibility is ensuring the safety of the citizens that live in their area. If you are asked to evacuate, rest assured the decision was not made lightly. Please listen to your emergency managers and evacuate when they ask you to.

Emergency managers may ask citizens to evacuate for many reasons:

1. Obviously, if you're not  in the path of the storm, you are less likely to be injured by the effects of the storm.

2. During a storm emergency personnel will be busy with numerous other tasks that may prevent them from reaching you if you have a medical emergency.

3. Fire trucks and ambulances were not designed to be safely operated in high winds.

4. If the power goes out it may be difficult or impossible to reach you if you live in a high-rise.

5. It may not be possible to fight a fire if your water system is damaged or operating a reduced pressure.

6. If regular and cellular telephone systems are damaged, it may not even be possible for you to call for emergency assistance.

For these and many other reasons, evacuate when you are asked to.

Having a Place to Go

Hopefully, you will have already developed a family hurricane preparedness plan that includes identifying a place to go before an actual storm threatens your area. If not, the same guidelines apply. Unfortunately, you will have less time in which to create and execute your plan. Remember, if you're asked to evacuate by your local emergency managers, then it is important evacuate as quickly as possible:

1. If ordered to evacuate, do not wait or delay your departure. If possible, leave before local officials issue an evacuation order for your area. Even a slight delay in starting your evacuation will result in significantly longer travel times as traffic congestion worsens.

2. Select an evacuation destination that is nearest to your home, preferably in the same county, or at least minimize the distance over which you must travel in order to reach your intended shelter location. In choosing your destination, keep in mind that the hotels and other sheltering options in most inland metropolitan areas are likely to be filled very quickly in a large, multi-county hurricane evacuation event.

3. If you decide to evacuate to another county or region, be prepared to wait in traffic. The large number of people in this state who must evacuate during a hurricane will probably cause massive delays and major congestion along most designated evacuation routes; the larger the storm, the greater the probability of traffic jams and extended travel times.

4. Sometimes smaller roads are less congested and may be more passable than larger highways. Consult a hurricane evacuation map (see below) to determine the best route. (Note: Maps marked with an asterisk not available. Available maps in Adobe® Acrobat® format - get Adobe® Reader here.)

   All Florida	Charlotte	Gilchrist	Jefferson	Monroe	Sarasota
   Panhandle	Citrus	Glades	Lafayette	Nassau	Seminole
   North FL	Clay	Gulf	Lake	Okaloosa	St. Johns*
   Central FL	Collier	Hamilton	Lee	Okeechobee*	St. Lucie
   South FL	Columbia	Hardee	Leon	Orange	Sumter
   Alachua	De Soto	Hendry	Levy	Osceola	Suwannee
   Baker	Dixie	Hernando	Liberty	Palm Beach	Taylor
   Bay	Duval	Highlands	Madison	Pasco	Union
   Bradford	Escambia*	Hillsborough	Manatee	Pinellas	Volusia
   Brevard	Flagler	Holmes	Marion	Polk	Wakulla
   Broward	Franklin	Indian River	Martin	Putnam	Walton
   Calhoun	Gadsden	Jackson	Miami-Dade	Santa Rosa	Washington

5. If possible, make arrangements to stay with the friend or relative who resides closest to your home and who will not have to evacuate.

6. If a hotel or motel is your final intended destination during an evacuation, make reservations before you leave. Most hotel and motels will fill quickly once evacuations begin. The longer you wait to make reservations, even if an official evacuation order has not been issued for your area or county, the less likely you are to find hotel/motel room vacancies, especially along interstate highways and in major metropolitan areas. If you make more than one reservation, please make sure to cancel any unneeded reservations.

7. If you are unable to stay with friends or family and no hotels/motels rooms are available, then as a last resort go to a shelter. Remember, shelters are not designed for comfort and do not usually accept pets. Bring your hurricane survival kit with you to the shelter. Find pet-friendly hotels and motels.

8. Make sure that you fill up your car with gas before you leave.

Last Minute Preparations

Ideally, you will have already developed a family hurricane preparedness plan, you will have your hurricane survival kit, and you will have prepared your home before a storm necessitates your evacuation.

If not, since such little time remains and your personal safety may be at risk, it may be impossible to work through the entire preparation process. If so, you must prioritize the most important aspects of the planning process, and you must do so quickly. The same general steps apply, but you will have to decide what is most important in your specific situation. Review the general hurricane preparation steps, prioritize your tasks, accomplish what you can accomplish, and evacuate as rapidly as possible.

Since you are evacuating, you will need to take your valuables with you. A small portable fire proof safe makes a handy, safe repository for jewelry and documents.

If you you have been ordered to evacuate immediately, pull together as much of your hurricane survival kit as possible and evacuate now.