Hurricane Evacuation Zones — Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Fort Lauderdale, the county seat of Broward County and its largest municipality, occupies a narrow coastal corridor on Florida's southeastern Atlantic coast bounded by seven miles of beachfront to the east and the Everglades to the west. The city's extensive waterway system — the New River, the Intracoastal Waterway, and a dense network of residential canals — is a defining physical characteristic, and that same low-elevation coastal topography creates significant hurricane vulnerability, particularly from storm surge. According to the City of Fort Lauderdale, the city encompasses approximately 36 square miles and is home to 183,032 residents as of the U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023.

Hurricane evacuation planning for Fort Lauderdale is administered by the Broward County Emergency Management Division through two primary evacuation designations — Plan A and Plan B — that correspond to projected storm surge levels and hurricane intensity. The Fort Lauderdale Fire-Rescue Department's Emergency Services division carries out the city-level hurricane preparedness role within this countywide framework. The official mapped boundaries for evacuation zones within city limits are maintained by the Fort Lauderdale GIS division.

Broward County Emergency Management designates two principal evacuation geographies within Fort Lauderdale, each tied to projected storm surge thresholds and the corresponding hurricane category that would produce them.

Plan A applies to all areas east of the Intracoastal Waterway. This zone faces a storm surge risk of 4 to 7 feet above sea level, associated with Category 1 or Category 2 hurricane conditions. The Intracoastal Waterway runs parallel to the Atlantic coastline through the eastern portion of Fort Lauderdale and forms the inland boundary of this highest-risk zone. Residents in all mobile homes within Plan A geography are documented by the City of Fort Lauderdale Fire-Rescue as required to evacuate when a Plan A order is issued, regardless of proximity to open water.

Plan B encompasses all areas east of U.S. 1 / Federal Highway — a broader geography that encompasses the Plan A zone and extends further west to the Federal Highway corridor. This designation corresponds to Category 3 or stronger hurricanes and a surge projection of 7 to 11 feet above sea level. Residents in all mobile homes within the Plan B zone are similarly required to evacuate under a Plan B order. The Broward County Emergency Management Division also documents specific bridge re-opening protocols that apply after a surge event, governing when access across the Intracoastal can resume for residents returning to Plan A areas.

The Fort Lauderdale GIS Hurricane Evacuation Zones Map provides the official cartographic reference for these boundaries within city limits, identifying which parcels and neighborhoods fall within each plan area.

The City of Fort Lauderdale Fire-Rescue identifies storm surge as the greatest hurricane threat to the city. Storm surge — the abnormal rise of water driven onshore by hurricane winds — is the primary driver of the Plan A and Plan B zone delineations. Beyond surge, documented hurricane hazards for Fort Lauderdale include high winds, tornadoes, and inland flooding, all of which can affect areas well outside the primary coastal evacuation zones.

Fort Lauderdale's coastal and waterway geography amplifies surge risk in several ways. The Intracoastal Waterway, while protecting barrier island communities from direct ocean wave action, can itself become an avenue for surge propagation into residential canal networks. The city's canal system — which threads through neighborhoods throughout eastern Fort Lauderdale — connects directly to the Intracoastal and can transmit elevated water levels into areas not immediately adjacent to the ocean or the waterway itself. Fort Lauderdale's position on the South Florida coastal plain, with minimal topographic relief, means surge inundation can extend significant distances from the shoreline under major hurricane conditions.

Residents in mobile homes occupy a distinct status under both Plan A and Plan B orders, as the city documents mobile home residents in both zones as being required to evacuate when either plan is activated. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June through October, and Fort Lauderdale's subtropical climate means the city falls within a high-activity portion of the Atlantic basin track corridor.

Broward County Transit (BCT) maintains documented hurricane evacuation bus services, picking up residents at regular bus stops along two primary corridors within Fort Lauderdale: A1A, which runs through the beachfront and barrier island areas in the Plan A zone, and Federal Highway (U.S. 1), which marks the western boundary of the Plan B zone. BCT evacuation service is activated following a County Administrator evacuation order and is timed relative to the opening of American Red Cross emergency shelters in Broward County.

Residents with special transportation needs are served through a separate coordinated process. The Broward County Emergency Management Division and BCT's TOPS! Paratransit program handle pre-registration and transportation for residents who cannot self-evacuate. The BCT resources documentation notes that evacuation bus service timing is linked to shelter availability — service on these corridors begins when Red Cross shelters open and the County Administrator's order is in effect.

Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL), located within the city's geographic sphere, represents a major regional infrastructure node that factors into the broader emergency logistics picture for South Florida evacuations, including the pre-storm departure of significant numbers of residents and visitors by air.

Authority to issue mandatory hurricane evacuation orders for Broward County, including Fort Lauderdale, rests with the Broward County Administrator, as documented by the Broward County Emergency Management Division. The Broward County Emergency Management Division administers the countywide framework within which municipal agencies — including the Fort Lauderdale Fire-Rescue Emergency Services division — operate.

Fort Lauderdale's municipal government operates under a Commission-Manager structure in place since 1925, as documented by the City of Fort Lauderdale. The City Commission consists of a Mayor elected at-large and four Commissioners elected by district. Rickelle Williams was appointed City Manager on March 4, 2025. Under emergency conditions, the city government coordinates with Broward County Emergency Management, the American Red Cross for shelter operations, and BCT for evacuation transportation, reflecting a multi-agency operational structure.

Fort Lauderdale Fire-Rescue also maintains an All-Hazards High Rise Emergency Evacuation Plan, addressing the specific evacuation challenges posed by the high-rise residential and hotel structures concentrated along the city's beachfront and downtown core — building types that present distinct logistical considerations during a hurricane evacuation.

Fort Lauderdale's evacuation geography intersects with some of Broward County's most consequential regional infrastructure. Port Everglades, a self-supporting enterprise fund of Broward County operated within the cities of Fort Lauderdale, Dania Beach, and Hollywood, handles more than one million TEUs annually and distributes an estimated one-third of Florida's energy supply, including petroleum, according to Port Everglades' Fiscal Year 2024 economic impact report. The port's location along the southern waterfront places portions of its footprint within or adjacent to the hurricane evacuation zone geography, a consideration in both pre-storm operations and post-storm recovery logistics.

Fort Lauderdale is situated approximately 25 miles north of Miami, between Miami-Dade County to the south and Palm Beach County to the north. The narrow developed corridor between the Atlantic Ocean and the Everglades — a geography shared across much of southeastern Broward County — means that evacuation routes must move large populations westward through a limited number of major corridors. U.S. 1 / Federal Highway and I-95 represent the primary north-south spines within the evacuation corridor, while I-595 and other east-west arterials serve as critical connectors to higher ground and inland shelter locations.

The Broward County Convention Center, located in Fort Lauderdale, and facilities like Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport are major regional assets whose pre-storm operational status directly affects the volume of people seeking ground evacuation. Residents with access to ACS 2023-documented demographics — including the city's 46.2% renter population and a 15.2% poverty rate — face varying levels of evacuation resource availability, a factor Broward County Emergency Management addresses in part through the BCT and TOPS! Paratransit evacuation programs.