Do I need to evacuate? Orders issued for several counties ahead of Idalia

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Residents in parts of the Tampa Bay area are asked to evacuate ahead of Hurricane Idalia.

On Sunday, the National Hurricane Center issued storm surge and hurricane watches across 11 counties in the Tampa Bay area.

Citrus County

The Citrus County Board of County Commissioners has issued a mandatory evacuation order until further notice. Residents must evacuate if one or more of the following applies to them:

• You live in Evacuation Zone A, which includes all low-lying areas west of U.S. Highway 19 and some areas additional areas east of U.S. Highway 19. 

All other areas are advised to voluntary evacuate, especially those citizens living in mobile homes, manufactured homes, and recreational vehicles throughout the county. 

The following General Population Shelter locations will open at 1 p.m. Monday, Aug. 28.:

• Central Ridge Elementary, 185 West Citrus Springs Blvd. in Citrus Springs
• Citrus High School, 600 W Highland Blvd in Inverness

The following shelters will be opening at 4:00 p.m.:

• Citrus Springs Middle School, 150 W Citrus Springs Blvd. in Citrus Springs (General Population)
• Forest Ridge Elementary, 2927 North Forest Ridge Blvd. in Hernando (Special Needs)
• Renaissance Center, 3630 W Educational Path in Lecanto (Pet Friendly)
• College of Central Florida, 3800 S Lecanto Hwy in Lecanto (Shelter of Last Resort)
• Lecanto Primary, 3790 W Educational Path in Lecanto (Pet Friendly)

Hernando County

• All areas west of US 19 (including zones A, B, and C)
• All residents living in coastal, low-lying areas, or manufactured homes are included

Residents are asked to seek safe shelter with family or friend in a safe structure.

A public shelter is opening Monday, Aug. 28 at noon:

• West Hernando Middle School- Special Needs ONLY (14325 Ken Austin Parkway in Brooksville)
• D. S. Parrott Middle School- General Population and pet friendly (19220 Youth Drive in Brooksville)
• Nature Coast Technical- General Population (4057 California St. in Brooksville)
• Hernando High- General Population (700 Bell Ave. in Brooksville)

Hillsborough County

Effective 5 p.m. Wednesday, Hillsborough County will rescind the mandatory evacuation order that was in place for residents living in Zone A.

General Population Shelter:

• Hillsborough Community College at The Regent, 6437 Watson Rd. in Riverview

Special Needs Shelter:

• Erwin Technical, 2010 E. Hillsborough Ave. in Tampa (Pet-friendly) 

General Population Shelters: 

• Lockhart Elementary Magnet School, 3719 N. 17th St. in Tampa
• Middelton High School, 4801 N. 22nd St. in Tampa (Pet-friendly) 
• Newsome High School, 16550 Fishhawk Blvd. in Lithia
• Pizzo Elementary, 11701 USF Bull Run, Tampa
• Reddick Elementary, 325 West Lake Dr. in Wimauma
• Shields Middle School, 15732 Beth Shields Way in Ruskin (Pet-friendly) 
• Steinbrenner High School, 5575 W. Lutz Lake Fern Rd. in Lutz (Pet-friendly) 
• Sgt. Paul R. Smith Middle School, 14303 Citrus Pointe Dr. in Tampa

Manatee County

The City of Bradenton and Manatee County have declared a state of emergency ahead of Tropical Storm Idalia.

A mandatory evacuation order has been issued. Residents must evacuate if one or more of the following applies to them:

• You live in Evacuation Zone A, including all mobile home parks.

You should evacuate if you live in Evacuation Zone B. The evacuation order will be at 2 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 28.

“Our primary concern at this point is storm surge,” said Manatee County Commission Chair Kevin Van Ostenbridge. “Coastal residents need to heed our warnings.”

A public shelters will open Monday, Aug. 28 at 2 p.m.:

• Jesse P. Miller Elementary will serve as the storm shelter, 601 43rd St. W
• Mills Elementary School, 7200 69th St E in Palmetto
• Freedom Elementary School, 9515 FL-64 in Bradenton

MacDill Air Force Base

MacDill Air Force Base has issued a mandatory base-wide evacuation ahead of Idalia.

The issue is to be completed by Tuesday, Aug. 29, at 10 a.m. for on-mission essential individuals and dependents and for those who reside in Evacuation Zone A in the following counties: Hillsborough, Pinellas, Manatee, Sarasota, Pasco and Hernando.

*If the Special Needs Shelter is needed and you have a pet, transportation to the location is done through Animal Control with the Hernando Sheriff’s Office. To arrange pick up, call the department at 352-754-4083. They will be open at 8 a.m. on Monday.

As more evacuation zones are announced, this story will be updated with county-by-county locations.

Pasco County

According to the Pasco Emergency Operations center, residents must evacuate if one or more of the following applies to them:

• You live in Evacuation Zone A
• You live in a manufactured home, mobile home or RV anywhere in Pasco
• You live in a low-lying area or an area prone to flooding
• You live in a structure that historically has experienced flooding during heavy rainfall
• You’re in an area ordered evacuated by local authorities due to life-safety hazards

Residents should evacuate if one or more of the following applies to them:

• You live in Evacuation Zones B or C
• You’re registered with Pasco as a Special Needs Resident
• You would be vulnerable in the event of a power loss

The following shelters will open Tuesday, August 29, 2023, at 8 a.m.:

• Centennial Middle School, 38505 Centennial Road in Dade City
• Sunlake High School, 3023 Sunlake Blvd. in Land O’ Lakes
• Fivay High School, 12115 Chicago Avenue in Hudson
• River Ridge Middle and High Schools, 11646 Town Center Road in New Port Richey
• Wiregrass Ranch High School, 2909 Mansfield Blvd. in Wesley Chapel (Special Needs & General Population)
• Fasano Regional Hurricane Center, 11611 Denton Avenue in Hudson (Special Needs & General Population)

Pinellas County

According to Pinellas County orders mandatory evacuations, residents must evacuate if one or more of the following applies to them:

• You live in Evacuation Zone A, including all mobile homes, effective Monday, Aug. 28, at 7 p.m.

The following shelters will open at 7 p.m. Monday:

• John Hopkins Middle School, 701 16th Street S., St. Petersburg (Special Needs)
• An additional 10 shelters will open at 7 a.m. on Tuesday. Some shelters are pet-friendly.

The latest shelter information is available here.

Polk County

As of now, evacuation orders have not been given. However, Polk County will be opening shelters at the following locations on Tuesday at 4 p.m.:

• Tenoroc High School, 4905 Saddle Creek Rd. in Lakeland (Pet Friendly)
• Mulberry Middle School, 500 Martin Luther King Ave. in Mulberry (General Population)
• Horizons Elementary, 1700 Forest Lake Drive in Davenport (General Population)
• Chain of Lakes Elementary, 700 CR 653 in Winter Haven (General Population)
• Spessard L. Holland Elementary, 2342 EF Griffin Road in Bartow (General Population)
• George Jenkins High School, 6000 Lakeland Highlands Road in Lakeland (General Population)

A Special Needs shelter will open at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Department of Health-Polk County Specialty Care Unit, 1255 Brice Blvd. in Bartow.

Residents who are pre-registered for special needs sheltering that need transportation must call to make arrangements at (863) 298-7027 before 10 p.m. tonight or between 7 to 10 a.m. Tuesday. Residents who are not pre-registered for special needs sheltering but may be eligible for this service must also call regarding availability.

Sarasota County

Sarasota County has issued an evacuation of Level A on Tuesday, Aug. 29. This includes vessels, RVs, and mobile and manufactured homes.

All general population evacuation centers will be open beginning at 8 a.m. Find more information including what to bring here. 

WFLA.com will have interactive streaming coverage on Tracking the Tropics starting at 9:30 a.m. Monday.

Be prepared with the WFLA Hurricane-Ready Guide 2023 and stay ahead of tropical development with the Tracking the Tropics newsletter.