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How do I find my evacuation zone for my Florida business

Use the free tool — Hurricane Biz Plan

Why your evacuation zone matters

Your evacuation order depends on where your business sits, not on how big it is. If your zone is called, everyone in it must leave — a one-chair salon and a 25-person restaurant follow the same order.

How to find your zone

Evacuation zones and evacuation orders come from your county. The state keeps the map and the links.

• Florida Division of Emergency Management — Know Your Zone

Look up your business address on that page, not your home address if they differ. This guide cannot guess your zone for you — check it yourself, today.

If your county orders an evacuation

If your county orders an evacuation for the zone your business is in, the plan is simple: close and go. No exceptions, no waiting to see how bad it gets.

Get ready while you wait

Whether or not you are ordered to leave, do this before the storm:

• Photograph the exterior on all sides, the roof if you can see it, every room, equipment serial plates, inventory shelves, and vehicles with the odometer showing. Also photograph the inside of any coolers, your lease, your insurance policies, your licenses, and your last three months of sales and payroll.
• Save copies in the cloud and on a phone that leaves with you.
• Ask your insurance agent, in writing, three questions: what is my wind deductible; is flood covered — it is usually a separate policy, not part of a standard business policy; and do I have business interruption or civil authority coverage, and what triggers it.
• Flood insurance has a waiting period of about 30 days, so this is not a decision to make the week of a storm. See FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program.
• Decide now how you will pay your staff if you close, and write it down. Under federal law, hourly employees are generally owed only for hours worked, but salaried exempt employees generally must be paid for any week they do some work. See the U.S. Department of Labor's page on natural disasters and the FLSA. This is not tax advice.

Programs to register with now

These open or matter after a declared disaster or state of emergency. Confirm current status with each agency — do not wait for a storm to check.

• U.S. Small Business Administration — low-interest disaster loans for physical damage and economic injury, after a declared disaster.
• FloridaCommerce — Emergency Bridge Loan — a short-term emergency loan for small businesses, activated after a state of emergency.
• Florida's Department of Revenue sometimes grants sales-tax filing extensions after a storm. Confirm with the department directly.

What to do next

This page cannot tell you your zone, your coverage, or your payroll answer — only your county, your agent, and your own records can do that. What the free tool can do is read what you tell it about your own business and turn it into a one-page plan: a timeline, a call list, the photo list above, and the programs to register with, in English or Spanish. Nothing you enter is stored.

This is not legal, insurance, or emergency-management advice, and it can be wrong. Follow your county's evacuation orders first, and confirm coverage with your insurance agent in writing.

Hurricane Biz Plan generates a general continuity plan in plain language; it can be wrong, and it is not insurance, legal, tax or emergency-management advice. Evacuation orders from your county always come first. Confirm coverage with your insurance agent and program details with the SBA, FEMA and FloridaCommerce. Nothing you paste is stored.