Evacuation Guidelines
- Implement your family evacuation plan.
- Be sure your vehicle is maintained with a full tank of gas and if possible keep extra gas on hand in the proper containers.
- Get your Survival / go-bags
- If you do not own a vehicle, make plans well ahead with family members, friends or neighbors so that you have a definitive escape.
- Wear loose comfortable clothing that provides an element of protection including the right footwear for the environment and some type of hat or cap.
- Lock down the homestead and unplug TV’s, radios and small appliances. You may want to leave your refrigerator plugged in depending upon the risk of flooding.
- Be sure you tell a friend, neighbor or relative that you are leaving and what your intended destination is.
- Make sure you have a battery or crank powered radio to listen for storm updates and changes in road conditions.
- Do not wait until the last minute to leave. Roads will be congested and you do not want to get stuck in traffic when the higher gale force winds and accompanying weather are approaching.
- Follow the evacuation routes laid out by your community leaders but always have a contingency route that you are very familiar with.
- Watch for flooding and washed out bridges and overpasses.
Evacuation Plans
If evacuation becomes a necessity, the communities in which you live will probably be providing information to the public via local news, weather and radio stations. They may also use other methods to communicate danger such as sirens. In smaller communities, a chain calling method may be used in which one caller initiates the chain of telephone sequence.
The circumstances may dictate that you and your family are threatened or in danger and would need to leave your home, school, or workplace to escape the hazard. The amount of time you have to escape will depend upon a number of factors including the type of threat, how much advanced warning you have as well as current transportation issues such as road congestion, routes available, etc. It is therefore essential that you plan well in advance for these potential hazards and have your disaster kits and go-bags ready at all possible egress and transportation points.
WHEN SHOULD YOU EVACUATE?
Note: Ask local authorities about emergency evacuation routes and see if maps may are available with evacuation routes marked.
- If you are told directly by authority or via the local. Be sure to pay attention as they may have information that would require you to change your evacuation route or plan.
- If you feel you threatened or in danger—leave. Use your instincts, the worst case scenario then is that you took a little trip.
- If you live near the ocean or coast.
- If you live in an area prone to flooding or an area that is adjacent to a river or body of water that could pose danger.
- If you live in a high rise building.
WHAT SHOULD YOU DO IF YOU CANNOT EVACUATE?
- Find a safe area wherever you are. Try to put some barrier between you and the hurricane by getting to the lowest level area and an interior space such as a hallway or closet or even a bathroom (with no windows).
- Close all blinds and curtains.
- Lock and secure all external doors.
- If possible make a shelter within your shelter by getting a table into the area you will stay and get under it. (Make sure you are not using a table with glass).
- Keep all emergency supplies nearby such as cell phone, cordless phone, food, water, first aid items and a battery or crank radio to listen for weather updates.
- Unplug ALL of you electrical utilities.
- Back up all your computer hard drives and unplug them from the computer and electrical source.