ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — Dorian has upgraded to hurricane status and emergency officials in John's County are encouraging everyone to stay informed and be prepared.
"Right now the residents should be most importantly monitoring the weather, monitoring the storm, watch the news a couple of times a day, make sure you’re staying abreast of the situation because the storm is changing rapidly," Jeff Alexander said. Alexander is the Deputy Director for the St. John's County Emergency Operations Center. He also stressed the importance of knowing your evacuation zone.
"They tell us what areas are likely to be receiving storm surge," Alexander said. "Storm surge kills 90 percent of everybody who has ever died in a hurricane, so our evacuation zones are based on that storm surge."
In St. John’s county, there are six zones A, B, C, D,E, and F. To find out your zone, simply visit the emergency management website and type in your address. If an evacuation order is given, officials recommend seeking refuge outside of your zone.
"Gather your family, gather your stuff and go to a destination," Alexander said. "We recommend friends and families that are nearby, that are outside the evacuation zone."
It’s also important to note that even if a storm passes, it doesn’t necessarily mean an evacuation order has been lifted.
"We have to go in and make sure that it’s safe for the roads to be used -- no power lines, no downed trees," Alexander said. "Give us enough time to do that. Believe me, we want you back in your houses more than you want to be there, so as soon as we can open the roads, as soon we can lift the evacuation order, we will."