Tampa Hurricane Evacuation Zones and the 2026 Changes

A Tampa address gets its hurricane evacuation zone from Hillsborough County's Hurricane Evacuation Assessment Tool, known as HEAT, at HCFL.gov/HEAT, which returns Zone A, B, C, D or E or shows that the parcel sits outside every zone.

HEAT searches by owner name, address or parcel, and the county also posts printable evacuation zone maps in English and Spanish (Hillsborough County, Find Evacuation Information). The county's Geospatial Department set the zones by reviewing every parcel in Hillsborough County, so the same tool covers Tampa and the rest of the county (Hillsborough County news release, May 7, 2026). Residents without internet access can ask the Hillsborough County Office of Emergency Management for help locating a zone or route at (813) 236-3800 (Hillsborough County special needs registration page).

Inside city limits there is a second lookup: the City of Tampa Natural Hazards Map shows the evacuation zone and the flood zone for a home or business on one screen (City of Tampa evacuation zone page). That city page was updated on July 13, 2026.

The colors come from the HEAT map legend: Red = Zone A, Orange = Zone B, Yellow = Zone C, Green = Zone D and Purple = Zone E (Hillsborough County). The order follows the state's description: Zone A is typically the most vulnerable and the most likely to evacuate first, and Zone E is most likely to evacuate last (Florida Division of Emergency Management). The state also notes that not all evacuation zones are always ordered, so a Tampa evacuation order may name only some zones.

For the 2026 hurricane season Hillsborough County changed its evacuation zones, and the new zones cover more properties: Zone A grew in some areas, some Zone D parcels moved to Zone C, and some places that had no zone joined Zone E.

The county announced the change on May 7, 2026, during Hurricane Preparedness Week, and said this year brought more significant changes than previous years (Hillsborough County news release, May 7, 2026). The trigger was new storm surge data: the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration updates its surge data or model every three to five years, and the county's Geospatial Department reviewed every parcel in Hillsborough County against it.

Zone E expanded for a reason that has little to do with water at the front door. Some neighborhoods depend on major thoroughfares, and if a major hurricane made those roads impassable, search and rescue teams could not reach residents quickly, so the county added those neighborhoods to Zone E. The county asks residents to check HEAT again to see whether their zone changed, rather than rely on a pre-2026 zone.

The county posted side-by-side 2025 vs 2026 maps for the whole county and for three areas where the change is easy to see: Thonotosassa, Apollo Beach and Town 'N Country (Hillsborough County, Find Evacuation Information). That page was last modified on July 1, 2026. Two county shelter pages tell a different story about freshness: the Emergency Shelters page shows a last modified date of May 2, 2025 (Hillsborough County, Emergency Shelters) and the Emergency Evacuation Shelters page April 2, 2025 (Hillsborough County, Emergency Evacuation Shelters), both before the 2026 zone change, so their guidance is general rather than tied to the new maps.

Zone A leaves first in Hillsborough County, and every manufactured and mobile home in the county is treated as Zone A even when it stands far inland from Tampa Bay.

The county states that all manufactured and mobile homes are always included in Zone A (Hillsborough County, May 7, 2026). That rule reaches well beyond South Tampa and the bay shore: a mobile home park near Thonotosassa or Plant City falls under the first order even though its parcel is nowhere near salt water.

The zones are based on storm surge, which the county defines as the rise of sea water levels from a hurricane or a tropical storm on the land, and it stresses that storm surge is not flood water from rain (Hillsborough County, May 7, 2026). The National Hurricane Center adds that storm surge can travel up rivers and canals, reaching well inland from the coastline (National Hurricane Center, Storm Surge Overview). In Tampa that means surge risk is not limited to properties on the open bay.

The 2024 season showed how orders arrive in Hillsborough County. The county's archive lists a State of Local Emergency for Potential Tropical Cyclone 9, which became Hurricane Helene, dated Sept. 23, 2024, and a State of Local Emergency for Tropical Storm Milton dated Oct. 6, 2024, followed by Milton and Helene extension orders dated Jan. 26 and Jan. 27, 2025 (Hillsborough County, Archived Emergency Orders). HCFL Alert, the county's mass notification system, sends notice of when evacuation zones are called and when residents have to go (Hillsborough County).

Hillsborough County tells evacuees to go to friends or family or to a hotel or motel outside the evacuation zone if possible, and to treat county shelters as a last resort, never going to one unless county officials have announced it is open.

The county runs three kinds of shelters during an emergency: general population, pet-friendly and special needs (Hillsborough County, Emergency Shelters). Shelters open on an as-needed basis and openings vary with each emergency. On October 14, 2026 the county shelter page stated: No shelters are open at this time (Hillsborough County, Emergency Evacuation Shelters). During an activation, HEAT shows real-time open and closed shelter locations alongside the zones and HART evacuation routes.

Conditions inside are basic. Each person may have space about the size of one sleeping bag, or 20 square feet; shelters do not supply cots, blankets, face masks or hand sanitizer; and transportation could take 90 minutes or longer with multiple stops (Hillsborough County). The county advises evacuating tens of miles instead of hundreds of miles, and notes that sheltering in place is an option for a sound structure outside the evacuation area, especially one built since 2002 and not in a flood prone area.

Residents without a car can ride HART, the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority, which provides free emergency evacuation bus service for people who need transportation to shelters; the county posts HART bus evacuation routes in advance (Hillsborough County, Find Evacuation Information). Pet owners heading to a pet-friendly shelter must bring proof of current rabies vaccination and license for dogs and cats, a leash or carrier, and a crate large enough for the animal to stand up and turn around, and the county states that cohabitation of pets and owners is not permitted (Hillsborough County, Emergency Shelters).

Hillsborough County residents with medical needs pre-register for the Special Needs Shelter Program online, through a home health provider, or with the Florida Department of Health in Hillsborough County at (813) 307-8063.

The program serves people who depend on electricity for oxygen or other equipment, need dialysis, or need help from medical professionals during a Tampa evacuation.

There are no fees for special needs shelters (Hillsborough County, Register for Special Needs Disaster Assistance). These shelters provide medical cots, linens, oxygen and generator power but do not provide bedside nursing care or one to one care. All special needs shelters are pet friendly: service animals stay with their owners, and other pets are kenneled in a separate room. Registrants who ask for transportation are picked up through Sunshine Line, which Hillsborough County arranges during an evacuation. Pet sheltering questions go to Pet Resources at (813) 301-PETS (7387).

Timing matters more than anything else on this list. Registration stops when a storm is approaching and evacuation efforts begin, so a Tampa resident who waits for the forecast cone cannot sign up; an unregistered person can still go to an open special needs shelter and be triaged on site. Residents of assisted living facilities and hospice patients plan through their facility or agency instead. On May 28, 2026 the county urged sign-ups before the height of hurricane season and described the program as a partnership with the Florida Department of Health (Hillsborough County news release, May 28, 2026).

The City of Tampa Hurricane Re-Entry Program issues vehicle hang tags to residents and businesses in the ZIP codes most likely to be evacuated, so officers can wave them through checkpoints once evacuation orders are lifted.

The program covers ZIP codes 33602, 33605, 33606, 33607, 33609, 33611, 33616, 33619, 33629 and MacDill Air Force Base 33621, the areas the city lists as most likely to be evacuated (City of Tampa, Hurricane Re-Entry Program). The first tag was mailed free when the program began; additional tags cost $5.00 each and are mailed to an address inside an active ZIP code. A driver without a tag is stopped and must show a photo ID with the home address, business credentials, or a utility bill with a photo ID. The city advises keeping the tag in the glove box of the primary vehicle and hanging it from the rear view mirror only after officials lift the evacuation orders and it is safe to return.

Storm updates for city residents come through Alert Tampa: text TAMPAREADY to 888-777, or TAMPALISTA to 888-777 for alerts in Spanish (City of Tampa Office of Emergency Management). The office sits at 808 E. Zack Street, Tampa, FL 33602, phone 813-274-7011, under Tampa Fire Rescue, and its news list shows a May 21, 2026 item on city leaders outlining 2026 hurricane season preparations. Last verified: October 14, 2026, on the Hillsborough County website and the City of Tampa website.