Virginia Evacuation Maps, Roads & Zones: Hurricane Florence

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 could come closer to this force when It reaches US shores. The storm is expected to land on Thursday, but hurricane trajectories are still a bit unpredictable. Read on for more details on evacuation zones and maps for Virginia in 2018, as Hurricane Florence approaches, so you're ready. This is a story in development.

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Current Evacuations in Virginia

Governor Ralph Northam has made a mandatory evacuation for Zone A, including the Eastern Shore and Hampton Road areas, starting Tuesday at 8 am, involving more than 245,000 people, WTOP reported. Keep an eye on your local news, however, as evacuation areas can be changed or expanded.

Some residents have trouble locating their area information because the KnowYourZone website is periodically down. The following is a direct map of the Virginia evacuation zone map, as well as other details from the Virginia Emergency website.

From 5 pm Monday, Florence had winds of 140 mph and its size and strength were increasing, reported the National Hurricane Center. At present, it is planned to land near the Carolinas on Thursday, but that could change.

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Evacuation zones and maps in Virginia

You can see the interactive map of Virginia here to find out exactly what area of ​​evacuation you are in. Just enter your address to see your area 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. They are all located along the coast of Virginia. The blue areas are zone A, green zone B, yellow zone C and pink zone D.

Zone A are the most at-risk addresses and Zone D are the least-exposed areas, Daily Press reported.

The zones serve the areas of Hampton Roads, Middle Peninsula, Eastern Shore and Northern Neck. (See the cached version of the site here if it is down for you.)

According to Know Your Zone: "Twenty-three localities participate in the program (zone). 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 and Chincoteague.

Here is an overview of the areas:

Remember: thereYou can see the interactive map of Virginia here to find out exactly what area of ​​evacuation you are in. Just enter your address to see your area on the map.

In this regard, the Virginia Hurricane Preparedness Guide is periodically available, but you can still read the archived version here. Here's what the guide says about Know Your Zone information:

"Know Your Zone serves approximately 1.25 million people in coastal Virginia, the region most vulnerable to hurricanes and other tropical storms. Twenty-three communities are participating in the Know Your Zone evacuation initiative. Multilevel evacuation zones have been developed in close coordination with local emergency officials at Hampton Roads, Northern Neck, Middle Peninsula and Eastern Shore, based on the most advanced engineering data. recent developments for the region. Areas are designated A to D. They allow residents to know if they have to evacuate in an emergency or at a shelter at home, depending on their physical address and the nature of the property. 39, emergency event. When a strong storm threatens or affects Virginia's coastal areas, local and state emergency agencies will work with local media and social media to disseminate and publish evacuation guidelines. to the public.

"Find your evacuation zone at http://www.KnowYourZoneVA.org. The website displays a detailed, interactive, color-coded map showing each evacuation area. Residents can use the map to see their area or zoom in on their residential area and street. Users can enter their physical address in the search bar to view and confirm their designated evacuation area. The 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 area should listen to local evacuation orders from local and state emergency services to determine if and when clear out.

The guide also states, "All you have to do is know your area. When a storm approaches, emergency managers will determine which areas are most at risk, given the intensity, trajectory, speed, tides and other weather factors. State and local emergency managers will work with local media and use social media and other tools to inform residents in affected areas of what they should do to stay safe. Depending on the urgency, safety can mean staying at home, making a short trip to a higher place or traveling to another area of ​​the state. "

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Virginia Escape Routes

The Hurricane Preparedness Guide and Know Your Virginia Area lists the following points regarding evacuation routes. The sites are periodically down:

"If the authorities order an evacuation in your area, use one of these designated routes. Familiarize yourself with these routes and plan to leave early to avoid major delays in traffic. "

PENINSULA

• Interstate 64 West
• Interstate 664 North
• US Route 17 North
• US Route 60 West
• Route 143

"In bad weather, the Jamestown-Scotland ferry is out of service and should NOT be considered part of your evacuation plan."

SOUTH SIDE

• 264 West and Interstate 64 Hampton Roads Tunnel Bridge
• Interstate 664 North Monitor Merrimac Tunnel Bridge
• US Route 17 North
• US Route 58 West
• US Route 460 West
• Highway 10 West

"The Chesapeake Bay Tunnel Bridge is NOT an escape route. For information on closing, visit www.cbbt.com.

ORIENTAL SHORE

"All residents of the East Coast will use Highway 13 North to Salisbury, Maryland."

The Virginia Emergency Preparedness Web page also notes that Residents of Virginia Beach can take one of the following escape routes:

• Highways 64 and 264
• Interstate 664 North Monitor Merrimac Tunnel Bridge
• US Route 17 North
• US Route 58 West
• US Route 460 West
• Highway 10 West

If you have questions about road reversalHere's what Virginia's emergency web page says about it. Note that the information below is only relevant if the governor issues an I-64 channel inversion:

"Only the governor can issue the command for a lane reversal on I-64. The I-64 inversion scheme begins in Norfolk, just east of the Hampton Roads Tunnel Tunnel (HRBT), at kilometer 273 and ends at I-295. If the Governor orders a lane reversal, no traffic may flow east between mile markers 273 and 200. All eastbound lanes and ramps will be closed to easterly traffic.

"All vehicles entering I-64 at 4th Street (Exit 273) will be traveling in lanes to the west. All traffic entering I-64 west of HRBT will also be flowing in westbound lanes.

"There will be only two possible exits from the inverted lanes between Norfolk and I-295:

• Exit 234 at Williamsburg (Route 199) for gas, food, lodging and hospital
• Exit 205 at Bottoms Bridge for gas and food.

"Motorists who leave the lanes reversed at these exits can not enter the inverted lanes. They can only enter I-64 again using the regular I-64 ramps to the west.

"All motorists traveling on the westbound lanes of the I-64 may exit and enter the highway as they normally would, but some entry and exit ramps may be closed to control traffic.

"At I-295, I-64 westbound must take exit 200 to I-295 North to Fredericksburg and Northern Virginia or I-295 to from South. Incoming I-64 (normally eastbound) lanes will cross I-64 westbound lanes and continue west toward the I-95 interchange.

"For more information on safe evacuation, check out the Virginia Hurricane Evacuation Guide, also available in Spanish."

Do not forget that if you have questions about your evacuation zone, you can call 211 or your local emergency officer.

This is a story in development.

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