How to check your zone during Hurricane Helene emergency evacuation order in Manatee

As Hurricane Helene threatens Manatee County with heavy rain, storm surge and other deadly threats, county officials are urging residents to make evacuation plans.

As of Wednesday morning, residents in level A are under an emergency evacuation order, local officials announced. Evacuation is recommended for residents in level B as well, local leaders said.

“Please take our evacuation orders seriously. We’re talking about 5 to 8 feet of storm surge,” Manatee County’s Public Safety Director Jodie Fiske said during a Tuesday afternoon press conference.

Visit www.MyManatee.org/storm to find your hurricane evacuation level.

Manatee County’s Emergency Management website features an interactive map that allows residents to enter an address and find their evacuation zone. The map also shows sandbag pickup locations , shelter locations and road closures.

“This evacuation order will give residents and visitors on the barrier islands and low-lying areas of Manatee County plenty of time to get out of harm’s way and move into a safe location by Wednesday night,” emergency officials said in a press release.

Residents in evacuation level A are the most vulnerable and the first ordered to evacuate and residents in evacuation level E are the least vulnerable and the last ordered to evacuate.

“We just want to reiterate that we just went through (Hurricane) Debby. We know what happened in some of our low-lying areas, especially in the city and some of the flooding we had,” said Bradenton Mayor Gene Brown. “We want to make sure that you stay safe.”

Hurricane Helene is expected to strengthen into a major hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico before passing through the Bradenton area on Thursday.

What is your Manatee evacuation level?

Evacuation orders are issued depending on expected storm surge:

• Level A - 11 feet
• Level B - 14 feet
• Level C - 18 feet
• Level D - 27 feet
• Level E - 33 feet

Some areas of the county are in non-evacuation zones, so unless officials say otherwise it may be unnecessary to evacuate.

Residents and visitors in mobile homes, manufactured homes, RVs and travel trailers are ordered to evacuate when a hurricane evacuation Level A is issued — regardless of where the dwelling is located.

What happens if I don’t evacuate?

Residents who choose not to evacuate when an order is given could face potential flooding and other hazardous and life-threatening conditions. Additionally, they could be left stranded in the event of an emergency.

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