Dorian

[LSUmiss]

In Tampa they're two different things. You get your FEMA flood zones based on their maps (V/VE, A/AE, or X) and then the county designates evacuation zones as well. I believe they correspond to the possible storm surge/inundation levels and areas vulnerable due to structural issues (I think all mobile homes are automatically assigned A, for example). We have zones A-E, with A being the first to be evacuated.

Fingers crossed you don't have to leave either! It's just no fun at all with a family and pets.

Gotcha. We don’t have that. They just tell us by parish or area who needs to go first. If it gets to my area, it means whole city is being advised to go. But, pretty much for a 2 or above we are out no matter what b/c it’s so miserable sitting around after with no power.

 

[pearlieq]

The water and bread aisles at our local Publix are completely empty!

But is the pumpernickel bread gone? You don't really have to worry until the pumpernickel bread is gone.

Don't be too scared. It might not be fun, but you're very, very likely to be safe inland. Water is the biggest danger. If you're safe from that, you're probably going to be ok. You may have to deal with some damage to the house and/or an extended power outage, but all your neighbors will be in the same boat and you'll get through it together.

We rode out Irma in Lakeland and it went almost directly over us at 100mph. It was loud, but it only lasts a few hours. Aside from the power going out, everyone was OK and life resumed pretty quickly.

Wishing the best for you and yours!

 

[LSUmiss]

There is a spigot near the pump. We simply attach a hose which we lay along the edge of the road near the sewer. We turn in the spigot and water empties. The pump must be running to do so. To take it down a couple of inches usually takes about 30 minutes. It's really very easy.

Ours has that type of thing attached to an underground pipe that drains into the street into the drain. We just have to turn on the spigot or whatever it is.

 

[HopperFan]

Our FEMA zone has nothing to do with evacuations and even within our zone there are a very wide range of insurance requirements, which are determined by actual address and elevations.

We do have Evacuation Zones. We are "A" which is the first to evacuate. They are based on who needs to get out first, and hope is if you evacuate in your zone order then traffic might move better. Ours will be mandatory.

We are not there but we have now installed cameras (one faces NE towards beach and other faces SW towards inland) so we can check in and see the weather. Keeping our fingers crossed and good luck to everyone.

 

[LSUmiss]

Our FEMA zone has nothing to do with evacuations and even within our zone there are a very wide range of insurance requirements, which are determined by actual address and elevations.

We do have Evacuation Zones. We are "A" which is the first to evacuate. They are based on who needs to get out first, and hope is if you evacuate in your zone order then traffic might move better. Ours will be mandatory.

We are not there but we have now installed cameras (one faces NE towards beach and other faces SW towards inland) so we can check in and see the weather. Keeping our fingers crossed and good luck to everyone.

That seems a tad confusing to keep up with your zone, but I guess ppl know?

 

[luvflorida]

But is the pumpernickel bread gone? You don't really have to worry until the pumpernickel bread is gone.

Don't be too scared. It might not be fun, but you're very, very likely to be safe inland. Water is the biggest danger. If you're safe from that, you're probably going to be ok. You may have to deal with some damage to the house and/or an extended power outage, but all your neighbors will be in the same boat and you'll get through it together.

We rode out Irma in Lakeland and it went almost directly over us at 100mph. It was loud, but it only lasts a few hours. Aside from the power going out, everyone was OK and life resumed pretty quickly.

Wishing the best for you and yours!

By gosh, I think even the pumpernickel bread was gone! I didn't see any loaves of bread, so I ended up buying a package of hot dog rolls, figuring we could make tuna salad sandwiches with them.

We are in Clermont (the hilly part of Florida!) not too far from Disney. I'm not liking the maps showing the hurricane heading this way! Of course, no part of Florida wants to see the path coming toward their town!

I appreciate your encouraging post!

 

[HopperFan]

That seems a tad confusing to keep up with your zone, but I guess ppl know?

No reason to keep up with your FEMA zone. You either bought insurance or you didn’t. Evacuation zone is easy and you pretty much should know by your location when you need to leave or just go if they say mandatory.

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

But is the pumpernickel bread gone? You don't really have to worry until the pumpernickel bread is gone.

Don't be too scared. It might not be fun, but you're very, very likely to be safe inland. Water is the biggest danger. If you're safe from that, you're probably going to be ok. You may have to deal with some damage to the house and/or an extended power outage, but all your neighbors will be in the same boat and you'll get through it together.

We rode out Irma in Lakeland and it went almost directly over us at 100mph. It was loud, but it only lasts a few hours. Aside from the power going out, everyone was OK and life resumed pretty quickly.

Wishing the best for you and yours!

At the Walmart Neighborhood Market by my house, day before yesterday all that was left....rye bread, cinnamon raisin bread and a couple of loaves of gluten free. I snagged the last whole wheat loaf, along with the last bags of hamburger and hot dog buns.

 

[LSUmiss]

No reason to keep up with your FEMA zone. You either bought insurance or you didn’t. Evacuation zone is easy and you pretty much should know by your location when you need to leave or just go if they say mandatory.

No I get that. I don’t know my fema zone either. I’m saying I think it might be confusing to keep up your evac zone. But I guess if you’re used to it it’s not. Here I don’t have to keep up with a zone, they tell you by area/parish who needs to go.

 

[Eeyore daily]

No I get that. I don’t know my fema zone either. I’m saying I think it might be confusing to keep up your evac zone. But I guess if you’re used to it it’s not. Here I don’t have to keep up with a zone, they tell you by area/parish who needs to go.

It's similar in concept to that.

 

[wgeo]

Here just for fun - is what an Evacuation Map looks like. For example during Irma, they required that Zone A and B evacuate (iirc) and recommended that C and D evacuate. For everyone else they said, hunker down in place. As you can see there is huge areas that aren't that far from the water that are not actually in evacuation zones. So for people in northern states that may be wondering why everyone doesn't just go - it's because many many people are told it would be better/safer to stay in their houses.

 

[belleatdisney]

I am a chicken from the North so if I were down in the impact area I would probably be packing up and headed inland/ north today. Is true the WDW is a good place to be in a hurricane (barring a direct hit of course)?

 

[pearlieq]

At the Walmart Neighborhood Market by my house, day before yesterday all that was left....rye bread, cinnamon raisin bread and a couple of loaves of gluten free.

Yes! In the evacuation order of bread, cinnamon raisin is the second to last. I think it goes:

White bread
Wheat bread
Buns
English Muffins/Bagels
Raisin Bread
Pumpernickel

 

[pearlieq]

As you can see, we're only moderately panicked right now.

 

[pearlieq]

No I get that. I don’t know my fema zone either. I’m saying I think it might be confusing to keep up your evac zone. But I guess if you’re used to it it’s not. Here I don’t have to keep up with a zone, they tell you by area/parish who needs to go.

It's one of those things you just learn once and then know about your house. Plus, once a storm is on the way it's all anyone, live and on the news, talks about, so if you didn't know you'll soon find out!

 

[NotUrsula]

It's really easy to find out your Evac Zone; each county links to an online interactive map which is very user-friendly. IMO, it really works much better than Louisiana's parish-wide announcements. The Florida system takes topographic maps into account as well, so if you are on high ground, you'll be exempt. My DS lives in Pinellas, well less than a mile from the water, but his place is on high ground, and is not in an evac zone for that reason.

PS: I grew up in Terrebonne

 

[fla4fun]

It's really easy to find out your Evac Zone; each county links to an online interactive map which is very user-friendly. IMO, it really works much better than Louisiana's parish-wide announcements. The Florida system takes topographic maps into account as well, so if you are on high ground, you'll be exempt. My DS lives in Pinellas, well less than a mile from the water, but his place is on high ground, and is not in an evac zone for that reason.

I used to live in Pinellas County as well, and we were in similar circumstances- less than a mile inland but not in an evacuation zone. We only had one real scare while we lived there, when hurricane Elena sat out in the Gulf for several days before going away. I don’t remember our exact elevation but it seems like it was something like 100 feet above sea level. If there had been a surge, we would have ended up as an island, as there was lower land in all directions.

 

[hereyago]

Everyone who may feel the wrath, stay safe!

 

[Haley R]

We’re over in Melbourne. We’ve only lived down here for 2 months and I’m getting really nervous about this storm. Everyone around us has said not to worry and they’re all staying. We’re not in an evacuation zone or a flood zone but this storm system looks nasty. I would pack up and go to wdw but we have cats. Leaving the house also worries me. This is all very stressful

 

[dachsie]

@Haley R Call Disney and see if you can bring your cats and get out of there. If you cant stay at Disney, you can find somewhere else. Please be safe. You do not want to ride your first hurricane in Florida as a Cat 4. It's not worth your life. I grew up in Louisiana and live in TX now, I have been thru many including Andrew and lived in Houston during Allison which was just a TS. Don't let your neighbors tell you its ok to stay. Be safe and smart.