Self-Reliance · Transportation
When the order comes to leave, the vehicle becomes your household's most critical asset. Loading, fuel strategy, route selection, hazardous weather driving, and the road hazards that appear after disasters.
Prepare your vehicleBefore the order
An evacuation works best when the vehicle is ready before the order arrives. Fuel, tires, fluids, and a basic emergency kit should be in order during any period when evacuation is possible. Hurricane season, wildfire watches, and flood warnings are all signals to check your vehicle's readiness.
Keep your tank at least half full during any elevated-risk period. Gas stations along evacuation routes run dry within hours of a mandatory order. The fuel in your tank when the order comes determines whether you reach your destination or stop short. A full tank provides 300 to 400 miles for most vehicles. Fill up when a hurricane watch is issued, not when the warning arrives.
Check tire pressure and tread depth. A tire with less than 2/32-inch tread is unsafe for wet roads, which is exactly what evacuations often involve. Check coolant, oil, brake fluid, and windshield washer levels. Confirm headlights, taillights, brake lights, and turn signals all function. Test windshield wipers. A vehicle breakdown during an evacuation puts your household at significantly higher risk than a breakdown during a normal commute.
Keep a kit in the vehicle year-round: jumper cables or a portable jump starter, a tire inflator and sealant, a flashlight with batteries, basic first-aid supplies, a phone charger that works from the vehicle's 12V outlet, a paper map of your region, water, and non-perishable snacks. During evacuation season, add a full vehicle emergency kit. For the complete vehicle kit list, see our vehicle emergency kit guide.
Loading
The biggest loading mistake is spending too long deciding what to take. Priority order should be decided before the order arrives. A pre-staged grab bag with documents, medications, and chargers reduces loading time from hours to minutes.
People and pets
Everyone accounted for and in the vehicle. Car seats properly installed. Pet carriers loaded. This is the only non-negotiable priority.
Documents, medications, and the grab bag
Insurance policies, IDs, passports, cash, prescription medications, medical devices, phone chargers, and eyeglasses. This bag should be pre-packed and stored where it can be grabbed in under two minutes.
Water and food
One gallon of water per person per day for at least three days. Non-perishable food that requires no cooking. A cooler with ice if you are bringing refrigerated medications or infant formula.
Clothing and bedding
Three days of clothing per person. Rain gear. Sturdy shoes. Sleeping bags or blankets if shelter is uncertain. Pack in duffel bags or garbage bags rather than rigid suitcases, which waste space.
Tools and supplies
Flashlights, batteries, multi-tool, duct tape, tarp, and the vehicle emergency kit. These go in last because everything above them is higher priority.
Keep weight low and balanced. Heavy items go on the floor, not stacked on seats. Secure loose items so they do not become projectiles during sudden stops or collisions. Do not block rear visibility. Do not stack items higher than the headrests. If using a roof rack or cargo carrier, confirm it is rated for the load and the speed you will be driving.
Routes
Pre-plan at least two routes to each potential evacuation destination: one primary (usually the fastest highway route) and one alternate (secondary roads that bypass the highway entirely). Drive both routes during normal conditions so they are familiar. Print paper maps of both routes because GPS navigation depends on cell service, which often degrades during mass evacuations.
The single most effective traffic-avoidance strategy is leaving before the mandatory evacuation order is issued. A voluntary evacuation or a hurricane watch is your signal to finalize preparations and consider departing. Households that leave 12 to 24 hours before mandatory orders experience a fraction of the traffic congestion. Every hour of delay after a mandatory order increases travel time exponentially.
Highways carry more vehicles per hour but become parking lots during mass evacuations. Some states implement contraflow (opening inbound lanes for outbound traffic) on major evacuation routes, which increases capacity but creates its own hazards. Secondary roads are typically less congested but slower, narrower, and may not have fuel stations. Monitor traffic conditions through radio (AM stations typically carry evacuation traffic reports), navigation apps, and state DOT websites.
Know where you are going before you leave. A relative's home, a friend's home, or a specific hotel outside the evacuation zone. "Away from here" is not a destination. Shelters run by the Red Cross and local emergency management are an option, but they fill up and are not comfortable for extended stays. If your fuel supply limits your range, choose a destination you can reach with the tank you have, leaving a margin for traffic delays and detours.
Conditions
Evacuations frequently involve driving in the exact weather conditions that triggered the evacuation. Rain, wind, reduced visibility, and standing water are common. Adjusting your driving to the conditions is the difference between arriving safely and becoming part of the problem.
Reduce speed. Increase following distance to at least 6 seconds. Turn on headlights. Avoid cruise control on wet roads (it can cause loss of control during hydroplaning). If you begin to hydroplane, ease off the accelerator and steer straight until the tires regain contact.
Turn around, don't drown.
Never drive through standing water of unknown depth. Six inches of moving water can knock a person down. Twelve inches can float a small car. Two feet will carry away most vehicles, including SUVs and trucks. This is the leading cause of flood-related deaths in the United States.
Reduce speed, especially in high-profile vehicles (SUVs, trucks, vehicles with roof-mounted cargo). Keep both hands on the wheel. Be prepared for sudden gusts when emerging from protected areas (passing a building, exiting a tree-lined section onto an open road, crossing a bridge). Watch for debris on the road. If winds are severe enough to push the vehicle sideways, pull over in a protected area and wait.
Fog, smoke, and heavy rain can reduce visibility to near zero. Turn on low-beam headlights (not high beams, which reflect off moisture and reduce visibility further). Reduce speed to match how far ahead you can see. If visibility drops below the point where you can stop within your sight distance, pull off the road completely, turn on hazard lights, and wait for conditions to improve.
Wildfire
Wildfire evacuations have a time pressure that most other evacuations do not. Fire can move faster than traffic, especially in wind-driven conditions on steep terrain. The NWS and CAL FIRE both emphasize: leave early. Do not wait for the mandatory order if you can see the fire is approaching or if conditions are deteriorating.
Close all windows and doors in the home but leave them unlocked so firefighters can enter if needed. Move flammable patio furniture and cushions inside. Connect garden hoses (leave water on). Turn on interior and exterior lights so firefighters can see the home in smoke. Dress in long pants, long sleeves, and closed-toe shoes. Place a dry cotton or wool blanket in the vehicle for smoke protection.
Close all vehicle windows and vents. Set the HVAC to recirculate. Turn on headlights. Drive slowly and watch for other vehicles, pedestrians, and animals on the road. If the smoke is too thick to see through, pull over, close all vents, and stay in the vehicle with the engine running (the vehicle's air filter provides some protection). The metal and glass shell of a vehicle provides meaningful heat protection that open air does not.
Pull into a cleared area away from vegetation if possible. Turn off the engine. Close all windows and vents. Cover yourself with a wool or cotton blanket. Get below window level. The vehicle provides a survivable shelter for a passing fire front. Do not attempt to outrun the fire on foot.
After the event
Returning home or driving through a disaster-affected area introduces hazards that do not exist during normal driving. Roads may look passable but contain hidden damage. Do not assume a road is safe because other vehicles are using it.
Downed power lines
Treat every downed line as live. Stay in the vehicle if a line falls on it or nearby. Call 911 and wait for the utility company. Do not drive over downed lines. If you must exit the vehicle due to fire, jump clear without touching the vehicle and the ground simultaneously, then shuffle away with small steps (feet together, never apart).
Flooded roads
Standing water hides road damage, debris, and open manholes. Water only 6 inches deep can stall an engine. Do not drive through water if you cannot see the road surface. If you drove through flood water, have the brakes, transmission, and electrical system inspected before driving at highway speed.
Debris and road damage
Fallen trees, building materials, displaced objects, and broken pavement. Drive slowly. Watch for nails and screws in debris that can puncture tires. If a road surface appears cracked, buckled, or undermined, do not drive over it. Sinkholes and washouts can develop beneath pavement that looks intact from the surface.
Bridge and overpass damage
Bridges and overpasses are vulnerable to flood scour, earthquake damage, and wind loads. If a bridge has been in a flood zone, earthquake zone, or high-wind event, use it only if authorities have confirmed it is safe. Structural damage is not always visible from the approach.
Traffic signals out
Treat any intersection with non-functioning traffic signals as a four-way stop. Come to a complete stop. Yield to the vehicle that arrived first. Proceed when clear. This is the law in all 50 states, but compliance drops during widespread outages, so approach cautiously.
Next steps
Before the next storm
Fuel up, check tires and fluids, stock your emergency kit, and pre-plan two evacuation routes. One afternoon of preparation.
Vehicle readinessNavigation backup
Paper maps, route pre-planning, and navigation fundamentals for when cell service fails.
Routes and navigation