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Should you evacuate or ride out a hurricane?

Dr. Colin Little

Dr. Colin Little

MD, FAWM, Chief Medical Officer, GOES Health

The short answer

Run from water; hide from wind. Official evacuation orders are based mostly on flooding risk, which is the most dangerous part of a hurricane. So keep a close eye on your local instructions, and leave if they tell you to go. Leave too if you live in a mobile home, even without an order, since they might not be able to handle the wind. And if someone in your home relies on power for medical equipment, to keep medications cool, or needs dialysis then evacuate early.

Your decision depends mostly on whether water can reach your home.1 Most of the danger comes from flooding rain and storm surge, a rise in seawater driven by the storm's winds.23 In some places, surge can reach several miles inland.3 Wind is different: a well-built house outside the water's reach can shelter you from the wind, as long as you stay away from windows.14 A mobile home can't, since hurricane-force winds can destroy one.3 Run from water, hide from wind.

Your local emergency management office sets evacuation zones by storm surge risk, so look up your zone before hurricane season.5 An evacuation order outranks your own judgment about your house: if officials order your zone out, go.4 Emergency crews plan to finish evacuations and take shelter themselves before the storm's first dangerous winds arrive, so the window to leave closes early.3 When you go, take at least a week's supply of insulin and other daily medicines, because pharmacies may be closed during and after the storm.6

Some people should leave early whatever their zone, because their health depends on power or a clinic that a hurricane can take away.7 Power can stay out for days to weeks, and an oxygen concentrator's battery may last only about 2 to 4 hours.89 If you use oxygen or another powered device, head for a place with reliable power before the storm. If you're on dialysis, tell your center where you're going and ask to be treated ahead of schedule.10 People who get dialysis early are less likely to need emergency care.11

Others need a head start because getting out, or getting through the days after, is harder for them. If you or someone you care for needs an accessible ride, plan transportation ahead of time, since accessible rides may not be available once an emergency starts.4 Babies are at high risk in heat, and tap water may be unsafe for mixing formula after a storm, so a family with a baby should leave early too.1213 Frail older adults are also at high risk in heat.12 After Hurricane Irma, about one death in eight came from heat in places without air conditioning.14 Yet a hot evacuation can be dangerous for them as well, so the safest course is to leave early and go somewhere close.12

Sources

  1. [1] Florida Division of Emergency Management: Know Your Zone, Know Your Home. Accessed October 8, 2026. https://www.floridadisaster.org/knowyourzone/
  2. [2] Continental United States direct Atlantic tropical cyclone fatalities: 1963-2024 (npj Natural Hazards, 2026). Accessed September 26, 2026. https://www.nature.com/articles/s44304-026-00178-8
  3. [3] NHC Hurricane Hazards (Prepare). Accessed September 26, 2026. https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/prepare/hazards.php
  4. [4] CDC: Hurricane Safety (Natural Disasters and Severe Weather). Accessed September 26, 2026. https://www.cdc.gov/hurricanes/safety/index.html
  5. [5] NHC: National Storm Surge Hazard Maps. Accessed October 8, 2026. https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/nationalsurge/
  6. [6] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC stacks item 80940 (Prepare your health / medicine cabinet poster). Accessed October 8, 2026. https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/80940
  7. [7] CDC: Prepare Your Health - Power Sources. Accessed October 8, 2026. https://www.cdc.gov/prepare-your-health/take-action/power-sources.html
  8. [8] NHC Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Accessed September 26, 2026. https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshws.php
  9. [9] Molinari et al. 2017: Who's at risk when the power goes out? The at-home electricity-dependent population in the United States, 2012 (CDC stacks). Accessed October 8, 2026. https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/41187/cdc_41187_DS1.pdf
  10. [10] CMS: Preparing for Emergencies: A Guide for People on Dialysis (Pub. 10150). Accessed October 8, 2026. https://www.cms.gov/files/document/10150pdf
  11. [11] NIDDK: Disaster Planning for Patients with Kidney Disease (Diabetes Discoveries & Practice blog). Accessed October 8, 2026. https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/professionals/diabetes-discoveries-practice/disaster-planning-for-patients-with-kidney-disease
  12. [12] Protect Yourself From the Dangers of Extreme Heat (Climate and Health). Accessed August 6, 2026. https://www.cdc.gov/climate-health/php/resources/protect-yourself-from-the-dangers-of-extreme-heat.html
  13. [13] CDC: Safety Guidelines: After a Hurricane or Other Tropical Storm. Accessed October 8, 2026. https://www.cdc.gov/hurricanes/safety/how-to-safely-stay-safe-after-a-hurricane-or-other-tropical-storm.html
  14. [14] CDC MMWR: Deaths Related to Hurricane Irma - Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina, September 4-October 10, 2017. Accessed September 26, 2026. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/67/wr/mm6730a5.htm
  15. Sources for the short answer:
  16. ReadyNC (North Carolina Emergency Management): Hurricanes. Accessed October 8, 2026. https://www.readync.gov/stay-informed/north-carolina-hazards/hurricanes

About the author

Dr. Colin Little

Dr. Colin Little

MD, FAWM, Chief Medical Officer, GOES Health

  • Board Certified Emergency Physician
  • Fellow of the Academy of Wilderness Medicine (FAWM)
  • Wilderness Medicine Fellowship, University of Utah
  • Emergency Medicine Residency and Chief Resident, Stanford / Kaiser
  • Doctor of Medicine, University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix
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