Have A Place To Go

HAVE A PLACE TO GO

Develop a family hurricane preparedness plan before an actual storm threatens your area. No place in Florida is further than 65 miles from the coast, therefore, the entire state is extremely vulnerable to the effects of hurricanes.

If your family hurricane preparedness plan includes evacuation to a safer location for the reasons specified above, then it is important to consider the following points:

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.

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 (such as Orlando and Tallahassee) are likely to be filled very quickly in a large, multi-county hurricane evacuation event.

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.

If possible, make arrangements to stay with the friend or relative who resides closest to your home and who will not have to evacuate. Discuss with your intended host the details of your family evacuation plan well before the beginning of the hurricane season.

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 anywhere in the State of Florida. 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 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 disaster supply kit with you to the shelter.

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

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Consider less obvious evacuation routes to reach your destination. Evacuation routes such as the Florida Turnpike, I-95, I-75 and I-10 are likely to be very congested during an evacuation. Plans to one-way portions of these highways will probably not significantly decrease traffic congestion or reduce evacuation travel times along these evacuation routes.

Become familiar with your chosen evacuation route by periodically driving it while weather conditions are favorable.
Don't wait until the actual evacuation to acquaint yourself with the road. This evacuation route rehearsal will also provide you with other available options and detours should the road become blocked or overly congested during an evacuation.
A one way (or reverse lane) plan for an interstate or limited-access highway in your area is NOT a license to delay your family’s evacuation. Leave as soon as you hear that your household is ordered to evacuate by local officials.
A highway that has been converted to a one-way operation will probably not significantly reduce the amount of time necessary to reach your intended destination or the amount of traffic congestion that you will encounter on that roadway, especially if you wait.
DO NOT get on the road without a place to go.

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