St. Lucie County Hurricane Evacuation Zones

St. Lucie County uses two hurricane evacuation zones based on storm surge: Zone A covers areas with surge from 1 to 10 feet and Zone B covers areas with surge from 10 to 16 feet.

Those two bands appear on the evacuation map in the St. Lucie County hurricane preparedness guide, which shows Zone A, Zone B, the evacuation routes and the emergency shelters (St. Lucie County hurricane preparedness guide). The same guide warns that storm surge, an abnormal rise of water generated by a storm, accounts for nine out of 10 hurricane fatalities.

The Florida Division of Emergency Management describes the colored evacuation zones as flood zones, and its FAQ says evacuation zones are designated from A to F, with Zone A generally the most vulnerable and most likely to be evacuated first (Florida Division of Emergency Management zone lookup page). The St. Lucie County guide shows only Zones A and B. Last verified: October 22, 2026, against the St. Lucie County preparedness guide, shelter and evacuation page, Emergency Preparedness Portal and special needs page, and the state zone lookup page.

The quickest check is the interactive evacuation zone map linked from the St. Lucie County Emergency Preparedness Portal, where an address can be typed in to see whether it falls in an evacuation zone.

The St. Lucie County portal points residents to that interactive map under Evacuation Zones, alongside links for Alert St. Lucie sign up, shelters, evacuation orders and the Secure Registry (St. Lucie County Emergency Preparedness Portal). The county's Shelter and Evacuation Information page adds four map buttons: an active evacuations map that shows whether an order has been issued for an area, an evacuation zones and routes map, a sheltering map and the Florida 511 traffic map (St. Lucie County shelter and evacuation page). Because the active evacuations map shows whether an order is in effect, it is the one to open when a storm is approaching; the zones and routes map is the one to check now, before the season.

The state offers a second lookup. The Florida Division of Emergency Management's zone page tells residents to open its map and type in an address to see whether it sits in one of the colored zones (state zone lookup page). For a St. Lucie County address, the county map and the county guide are the local reference, since evacuation orders come from local officials.

The St. Lucie County guide says to evacuate when living in an evacuation zone, a low-lying area or a mobile home, and also when a home does not feel safe or a medical condition needs assistance.

The county preparedness guide separates two kinds of order: a voluntary evacuation encourages residents to leave and at the very least prepare to go, while a mandatory evacuation is issued when danger is imminent and conditions seriously endanger lives in a defined area, and residents must then seek shelter (county preparedness guide, Evacuations). For anyone not ordered out, the St. Lucie County guide's advice is to stay home, stay safe and stay off the roads with a disaster supply kit.

Housing type matters as much as the zone. St. Lucie County singles out mobile and manufactured homes and RVs: even well inland and tied down, the county says, they may not stand up to hurricane winds and flying debris, so their occupants should plan to leave, while a sturdy home built to hurricane code can be a place to ride out a storm when no order covers it (county shelter and evacuation page). The state page adds that not every zone is always ordered, and that homes built after 2002 generally include features that make them more resilient to hurricanes (state zone lookup page).

The St. Lucie County guide's advice is to leave the zone but not the region: stay with friends or relatives outside the evacuation zone if possible, evacuate nearby, and use a public shelter only as a last resort.

The St. Lucie County guide's plan checklist puts it in two steps: learn whether the home lies in an evacuation zone and settle where the household will go once an order is issued, then remember that the farther people travel, the harder it may be to return home (county preparedness guide, hurricane plan). Planning also covers storing or parking a vehicle, boat or RV, and making arrangements in advance for anyone with special medical needs. Before driving out, the county shelter page offers the evacuation zones and routes map and a Florida 511 traffic map (county shelter and evacuation page).

The guide map marks primary and secondary emergency shelters, says secondary shelters open only if needed and tells residents to check www.stlucieco.gov/eoc or call 772-460-HELP (4357) for shelter openings (county preparedness guide map). The St. Lucie County hurricane shelters guide lists each site and what to bring.

Rides are part of the special needs program. The county page says transportation will be provided to special needs clients if necessary, and once the registration portal shuts, 2 to 3 days ahead of expected tropical storm force winds, the page directs riders to MV Transportation, the county's transit contractor, whose reservation line is 772-462-1778, option 1 (St. Lucie County Special Needs Program page). Registration has to be renewed every year in St. Lucie County, so a household that signed up in an earlier season has to sign up again.

Evacuation planning in St. Lucie County belongs to the county emergency management agency, which sits within the Public Safety Department and which state law requires every Florida county to maintain.

Section 252.38 of the Florida Statutes says each county must establish and maintain an emergency management agency that serves the entire county and must develop a county emergency management plan and program consistent with the state plan; it also says school boards that provide buses in an emergency evacuation coordinate their vehicles and drivers with the local emergency management agency (Florida Statutes section 252.38). The county guide lists St. Lucie County Public Safety at 15305 W. Midway Rd., Fort Pierce, phone (772) 462-8100 (county preparedness guide, Important Information).

Rides for people who cannot drive run through the county's transit contract. The About ART page says MV Transportation has been the public transit provider for St. Lucie County since July 1, 2020, under a master contract with the Board of County Commissioners, running fixed-route, door-to-door paratransit and microtransit service (About Area Regional Transit). The same company takes the storm-time ride reservations listed on the special needs page.

St. Lucie County announces evacuation orders through Alert St. Lucie, the county website at stlucieco.gov/eoc, the emergency information line 772-460-HELP and local broadcast partners.

For announcements the county preparedness guide names SLCTV on Comcast channel 28, West Palm Beach television stations, the county website and radio WQCS 88.9 FM as official emergency public information outlets, plus the Alert St. Lucie notification system, which sends information before, during and after incidents to people who register online (county preparedness guide, Important Information).

Timing follows the watch and warning terms printed in the same St. Lucie County guide: a hurricane watch means hurricane conditions are possible within 48 hours and a warning means they are expected within 36 hours, with storm surge watches and warnings on the same 48 and 36 hour pattern. After an evacuation, the county portal tells residents not to return home until officials announce that roads are safe to travel (county Emergency Preparedness Portal). Active orders, closures and shelter status are posted live on that portal rather than on this page.