Where does the evacuation zone data come from and what does it mean?
Hurricane evacuation zones are usually determined as part of your state’s Hurricane Evacuation Study (HES). While some states use storm surge zones as a guide, others use easily recognizable roadways such as interstates and highways to determine evacuation zones. The HES is conducted jointly by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and your state emergency management agency. Close coordination between these (and other) agencies facilitates more effective responses at the local level to hurricane emergencies. Depending on your proximity to the coast, you may or may not be located in an evacuation zone. The closer you are to the coast, the more likely it is that you will be located in an evacuation zone. If you are located in an evacuation zone, it is important to note that the particular zone you are in will not necessarily match the particular storm surge zone you are in. For
