Pinellas County evacuation zones run from A to E, assigned by how high storm surge could reach at your address. Zone A leaves first (surge up to 11 feet); Zone E covers the worst-case scenario (up to 35 feet). To find yours, type your street address into the county’s Know Your Zone tool, which also shows nearby shelters and hotels.1Pinellas County. Find Your Evacuation Zone Florida runs an identical statewide version at FloridaDisaster.org.2Florida Division of Emergency Management. Know Your Zone, Know Your Home The county also offers a free app, Ready Pinellas, with the same lookup built in.3Pinellas County. Ready Pinellas Emergency Planning Mobile App
Check your zone at the start of every hurricane season. Boundaries get revised as sea-level data updates, and a designation that applied last year may have shifted. Print the result and keep a paper copy somewhere accessible, since the power is often out by the time you most want to look it up.
What Each Zone Means
Officials activate zones in sequence starting with A, adding higher letters as the forecast worsens. The five designations correspond to these surge heights:4Pinellas County. Pinellas County Evacuation Zone Map
- Zone A: storm surge up to 11 feet. The most vulnerable coastal properties, first to evacuate for any significant tropical system.
- Zone B: surge up to 15 feet. Typically ordered alongside A for stronger hurricanes.
- Zone C: surge up to 20 feet. Activated for major hurricanes with substantial surge forecasts.
- Zone D: surge up to 28 feet. Areas further inland that remain at risk during the most powerful storms.
- Zone E: surge up to 35 feet. The worst-case scenario for the county.
Some addresses sit at high enough elevation to fall outside all five zones. If the lookup tool returns “Non-Evacuation Zone,” you aren’t expected to leave during a surge-based evacuation. You still need to prepare for wind, power loss, and rainfall flooding.
Mobile and Manufactured Homes
If you live in a mobile or manufactured home anywhere in Pinellas County, your zone doesn’t matter. You must always evacuate when a hurricane is coming.5Pinellas County. Evacuation The hazard is wind, not surge. Even homes built to the highest HUD wind rating (110 mph) are far more vulnerable to structural failure than site-built construction. Plan to leave early.
How You’ll Hear the Order
Orders come from the Board of County Commissioners and the County Administrator. A mandatory order means the county is directing you to leave. A voluntary order means officials recommend it but have not yet directed it. Either way, the order specifies which zones are affected and roughly how long you have to get out safely.
Alerts go out through the Emergency Alert System on local television and radio. The county also runs Alert Pinellas, which pushes severe weather and evacuation notices straight to your phone or email.6Pinellas County. Register for Alert Pinellas Sign up before hurricane season starts. It takes a few minutes and is one of the most useful things you can do in advance.
If You Stay
Florida law treats violating a mandatory evacuation order as a second-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.7The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 252.50 – Penalties Arrests are rare. The practical consequence is harder: once sustained winds reach roughly 40 to 50 mph, fire rescue, paramedics, and deputies stop responding to calls.8Pinellas County. During and After a Storm If something goes wrong in the middle of the storm, no one is coming until it passes.9Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office. Hurricane
Getting Out: Routes and Timing
Leaving the county means crossing a bridge, and the bridges are the bottleneck in every evacuation. The main corridors off the peninsula include the Howard Frankland Bridge, the Courtney Campbell Causeway, and the Bayside Bridge into Hillsborough County, plus routes north through Pasco County. Roughly a million people live on the peninsula and bridge capacity is finite, so these corridors fill fast.
If your zone has been called, leave early. Waiting until the last few hours before a storm’s projected arrival can put you in gridlock while conditions get worse. Pick your route before the season starts, and check conditions through Ready Pinellas or local news before you pull out of the driveway.
Where to Go
If you can stay with friends, family, or at a hotel outside the surge zone, do that. Public shelters are a safe structure and basic supplies. They are crowded, offer limited food, and have no privacy. Which shelters open depends on the storm’s size, the zones evacuating, and how long the emergency is expected to last. Check the county’s shelter page before heading to a specific location.10Pinellas County. Emergency Shelters
Three types of facilities operate during an evacuation:
- General population shelters open to all evacuees, typically at schools such as Clearwater High and Palm Harbor Middle.
- Pet-friendly shelters at locations including Gibbs High in St. Petersburg, Largo High, and Palm Harbor University High. Space is limited, so arrive early with a carrier, leash, food, water, and any medications your animal needs.
- Special needs shelters staffed by the Florida Department of Health with nurses and medical personnel. These provide oxygen and emergency power. Air conditioning may not be available if power is interrupted.
Special Needs Registration
If you depend on oxygen, an electrically powered medical device, mobility assistance, or specialized transportation, register with the county’s Special Needs Evacuation Program before a storm threatens. Registration gets you assigned to a shelter equipped for your needs and lets the county arrange transportation if you can’t drive.11Pinellas County. Special Needs
You can register online through the Florida Special Needs Registry or by printing and mailing a form from the Pinellas County site.12Florida Special Needs Registry. Florida Special Needs Registry Forms are available in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese. Your healthcare provider can help you register. Timing matters: submitting after a hurricane watch is issued may be too late for the county to allocate resources for you.
Coming Back
Returning home after a mandatory evacuation isn’t automatic, especially for barrier island residents. The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office runs an Emergency Access Permit system. Deputies post at access points and scan permits before letting vehicles through. You need a photo ID and proof of residency to get one, and registration has to be done in person before the storm.13Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office. Barrier Island Re-Entry Passes Each household gets up to two permits; businesses can request additional permits case by case.
Even with a permit, you can’t go back until officials determine the area is safe. That may take days if roads are blocked by debris, power lines are down, or flooding hasn’t receded. The county announces reopenings through Alert Pinellas and local media.
Evacuation Zones Are Not FEMA Flood Zones
These two systems get confused constantly because both are mapped and both involve water. They answer different questions. Your evacuation zone (A through E) tells you when to leave during a hurricane. Your FEMA flood zone (VE, AE, X, and others) determines your flood insurance obligations year-round and is published on Flood Insurance Rate Maps you can look up at the FEMA Flood Map Service Center.14Federal Emergency Management Agency. FEMA Flood Map Service Center – Search By Address
The two designations can overlap but won’t necessarily match. A property can sit in FEMA Zone X for rainfall flood risk and still be in Evacuation Zone A for storm surge. During a hurricane, follow your evacuation zone, not your FEMA flood zone.