Collier County issues mandatory evacuation order for Zone A ahead of Ian, opens more shelters
Collier County has issued a mandatory evacuation for Zone A.
Generally, Zone A is the coastal area south and west of U.S. 41.
Dan Summers, the county's director of emergency services, announced the evacuation order at a press conference Tuesday afternoon.
More: Hurricane Ian expected to intensify as hurricane, storm surge warnings are issued for Florida
And: Evacuations: City of Marco Island issues mandatory evacuation amid Hurricane Ian
With the announcement, he said, the county will open more emergency shelters. However, Summers said they should be "absolutely your last resort," encouraging residents to stay with friends, family, or even in hotels inland.
Three additional shelters are opening.
Two will open at 5 p.m. at Gulfcoast and Immokalee high schools.
The other will open at 6 p.m. at Golden Gate.
These locations are not pet-friendly.
Earlier today, the county announced the opening of five shelters, one for special needs and four others that are pet-friendly for the general population.
The unusualness of the storm led the county to open more shelters and call for the evacuation for Zone A, Summers said.
Although it's outside the cone of the hurricane, the county still faced a coastal storm warning, a tropical storm warning, a hurricane watch, a flood watch and a tornado watch.
"We want to remind everybody to pay attention to this weather, conditions," Summers said.
The county, he said, has opened its emergency operations center and it's initially staffed at 60
While it appears so much of the state will be affected by the storm, Collier appears fortunate "for this near miss," Summers said.
"All our eyes are north of us," he said.
In other news, the city of Marco Island has issued a mandatory evacuation.
The city of Naples declared a local state of emergency at noon Tuesday. It was at a "Level 1 activation," the highest level of storm preparation.
Zone A includes most of Naples, so the city piggybacked on the mandatory evacuation order.
The city activated its own Emergency Operations Center at 5 p.m. tonight. It advised residents to "run from water and hide from wind."
In a mandatory evacuation zone, emergency services, including police, fire and emergency medical, cease until the threat no longer exists.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Hurricane Ian: Collier County orders Zone A evacuations ahead of storm
