When a storm threatens Central Florida, one of the first questions is whether an evacuation order applies to your address. Knowing your evacuation zone before that moment makes the decision faster and calmer. This guide covers how to find your zone, what the zone letters signal, and where official evacuation orders are announced for Dr. Phillips and the rest of Orange County. For more planning resources, see the Prepare page.
Step one: find your zone
Florida's Division of Emergency Management runs a tool called the Know Your Zone Map. To use it, you type in your address and the map shows the zone for that location. Do this for your home, and consider doing it for other places you spend time, such as a relative's house or a workplace, since an order is tied to a zone rather than to a person.
Write the result down and keep it somewhere easy to reach, such as with your other emergency paperwork or saved on your phone. Then you will not have to look it up while news coverage is moving quickly.
What the zone letter means
The state explains that Zone A is the most vulnerable and the most likely to evacuate first. In other words, the zone assigned to your address is a signal about the order in which areas may be told to leave. If your address is in Zone A, you can expect to be among the first asked to go. If your address falls in a different zone, that does not mean you can ignore official messages; it means you should pay close attention to which zones a given announcement names.
How you learn an evacuation applies to you
The Division of Emergency Management gives a direct instruction: monitor local news and pay attention to alerts from authorities. Evacuation orders are issued for specific zones, so listen for the zone letter that matches the one you found on the map. If your zone is named, follow the instructions given in the order.
Orange County alerts
Orange County offers two official tools that residents can use to receive messages.
OCAlert
OCAlert is the county's alert system. It sends timely alerts about severe weather and other emergencies by text, email, or phone, including evacuations. Because you can choose among text, email and phone, you can pick the method you are most likely to notice.
OCFL Alert app
The OCFL Alert app delivers evacuation routes and public service announcements. Having the app on your phone puts route information and official announcements in one place.
A simple preparation list
- Type your address into the Know Your Zone Map and note your zone.
- Remember that Zone A is the most vulnerable and the most likely to evacuate first.
- Sign up for OCAlert so evacuation messages reach you by text, email or phone.
- Install the OCFL Alert app for evacuation routes and public service announcements.
- Monitor local news and pay attention to alerts from authorities.
Share the plan
Once you know your zone, tell the other people in your household, and check on neighbors who may not use phones or apps. Everyone in the home should know the zone letter, where official orders are announced, and which alert tools are set up. A short conversation ahead of time is easier than sorting it out when an order is already in effect.
Where orders are announced
Official evacuation orders reach residents through local news and through alerts from authorities. In Orange County, those alerts include OCAlert messages by text, email or phone, along with the evacuation routes and public service announcements in the OCFL Alert app. Checking these sources, and knowing your zone, covers the essentials the state and county describe.
Who to contact
For zone lookups, use the state's Know Your Zone Map from the Florida Division of Emergency Management. For county alerts, see the Orange County emergency information page for OCAlert and the OCFL Alert page for the app.
Sources
Compiled from the official sources below.