Hurricane season began last week, and when a major storm approaches the area, Nueces Co. evacuates the area in zones. After re-evaluating storm surge and traffic, the county realized there’s one part of town that needs to be evacuated sooner than later.
The Office of Emergency Management recently announced those changes to the 2020 Hurricane Evacuation Zone map.
Traditionally, residents on Padre Island and in Port Aransas are evacuated first, followed by Flour Bluff and Ennis Joslin residents, and North Beach. However, county officials decided to rezone several areas in Flour Bluff and neighborhoods near Airline Road.
That means, if a hurricane or large storm comes, people who live in a rezoned area, for example near Airline or in Flour Bluff, may now get asked to evacuate a little sooner.
"We just looked at it, and thought it was time to make an adjustment, to better evacuate in a timely manner, in a safe manner, and to make sure everybody gets out safely,” said Billy Delgado, the emergency management coordinator for Corpus Christi.
"If it's a small storm or a surge, it doesn't have to be a hurricane, and we have to evacuate the people in those areas, then we evacuate those people right off the water,” Delgado said.
Delgado said the hurricane evacuation zone maps are updated every couple years. Meanwhile, evacuation routes for 2020 remain the same.
If you are asked to evacuate at any time and need transportation, the county will help. Delgado said you can go to your nearest bus stop and officials will make sure you get to a safe location.
