Here is the latest update on Virginia evacuations for Hurricane Florence, along with maps, zones, and routes, including details from Know Your Zone.
Know Your Zone/Virginia
Virginia Evacuation Routes and Zones
A state of emergency has already been issued in Virginia in anticipation of Hurricane Florence, and evacuations have already been ordered for Zone A. The storm is a major Category 4 and may be close to that strength when it makes landfall on the U. S. coast. The storm is currently expected to make landfall around Thursday, but hurricane paths are always a bit unpredictable. Read on for details about evacuation zones and maps for Virginia in 2018, as Hurricane Florence approaches, so you can be prepared. This is a developing story.
Gov. Ralph Northam issued a mandatory evacuation for Zone A, including the Eastern Shore and Hampton Road areas, beginning Tuesday at 8 a.m. This involves more than 245,000 people, WTOP reported. Keep an eye on your local news, however, because evacuation zones might be changed or expanded.
Some residents were having trouble locating their zone information because the KnowYourZone website is periodically down. Below you’ll find a direct map to the Virginia evacuation zone map, along with other details from Virginia’s emergency website.
As of 5 p.m. on Monday, Florence had winds of 140 mph and was growing in size and strength, the National Hurricane Center reported. Right now it’s projected to land near the Carolinas on Thursday, but that could change.
Virginia ARCGIS Virginia Evacuation Zone Tool
You can view Virginia’s interactive map here to find out exactly which evacuation zone you’re in. Just type in your address to see your zone on the map. This link may still work if Virginia’s emergency website is down.
Virginia has four zones: Zone A, Zone B, Zone C, and Zone D. These are all along coastal Virginia. Blue areas are Zone A, green are Zone B, yellow are Zone C, and pink are Zone D.
Zone A are the addresses most at risk and Zone D are the areas least at risk, Daily Press explained .
The zones serve the Hampton Roads, Middle Peninsula, Eastern Shore, and Northern Neck areas, Virginia’s Know Your Zone website points out. (See the cached version of the site here if it’s down for you.)
According to Know Your Zone: “Twenty-three localities participate in the (zone) program. They include the cities of Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Poquoson, Portsmouth, Suffolk, and Virginia Beach; counties of Accomack, Essex, Gloucester, Isle of Wight, James City, Lancaster, Mathews, Middlesex, Northampton, Northumberland, Richmond County, Surry, Westmoreland, York, and the town of Chincoteague.”
Here’s a closer look at the zones:
Virginia ARCGIS Virginia Evacuation Zone
Virginia ARCGIS Virginia Evacuation Map
Remember: y ou can view Virginia’s interactive map here to find out exactly which evacuation zone you’re in. Just type in your address to see your zone on the map.
By the way, Virginia’s hurricane preparedness guide is down periodically, but you can still read the archived version here. Here is what the guide says about the Know Your Zone information:
“Know Your Zone serves roughly 1.25 million residents who live in Coastal Virginia, the region of the state most vulnerable to hurricanes and other tropical storms. Twenty-three localities participate in the Know Your Zone evacuation initiative. Tiered evacuation zones were developed in close coordination with local emergency managers throughout Hampton Roads, the Northern Neck, the Middle Peninsula and the Eastern Shore based on the most up-to-date engineering data for the region. Zones are designated A through D. They provide residents with clarity on whether they should evacuate in an emergency or shelter at home, based on their physical street address and the nature of the emergency event. When a serious storm is expected to threaten or impact Virginia’s coastal regions, state and local emergency agencies will work with local news media outlets, as well as social media channels, that will then broadcast and publish evacuation directives to the public.”
“Find your evacuation zone at http://www. KnowYourZoneVA.org. The website displays a detailed, interactive, color-coded map showing each evacuation zone. Residents can use the map to view their region or zoom in to their residential neighborhood and street. Users can enter their physical address in the search bar to view and confirm their designated evacuation zone. Residents without Internet access should contact their local emergency management office or call 2-1-1 for assistance.”
“Residents not residing in a pre-identified evacuation zone should listen to local evacuation orders from local and state emergency agencies to determine if and when to evacuate.”
The guide also states: “All you have to do is Know Your Zone. When a storm is approaching, emergency managers will determine which zones are most at risk considering the intensity, path, speed, tides and other meteorological factors. Emergency managers at the state and local level will work with local media and use social media and other tools to notify residents of impacted zones what they should do to stay safe. Depending on the emergency, being safe might mean staying at home, a short trip to higher ground, or traveling to a different region of the state.”
Virginia’s hurricane preparedness and Know Your Zone guide lists the following regarding evacuation routes. The websites are periodically down:
“If officials order an evacuation for your area, use one of these designated routes. Become familiar with these routes and plan to leave early to avoid major traffic delays.”
PENINSULA
“During severe weather, the Jamestown-Scotland Ferry is removed from service and should NOT be considered part of your evacuation plan.”
SOUTHSIDE
“The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel is NOT an evacuation route. For closure information, visitwww.cbbt.com.”
EASTERN SHORE
“All Eastern Shore residents will use U. S. Route 13 North toward Salisbury, Maryland.”
Virginia’s emergency preparedness webpage also notes that Virginia Beach residents can take any of the following evacuation routes:
If you’re wondering about highway reversal, here’s what Virginia’s emergency webpage says about this. Note that the information below is only relevant if the governor issues a lane reversal of I-64:
“ Only the governor can issue the order for a lane reversal on I-64. The I-64 reversal plan begins in Norfolk, just east of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel (HRBT), at mile marker 273 and ends at I-295. If the governor orders a lane reversal, no traffic will be allowed to travel east between mile markers 273 and 200.
