Plan for smoother evacuations

ST. PETERSBURG - One of the toughest decisions for emergency officials during hurricane season is when and how to evacuate. Pinellas County emergency planners think the fix for a bungled evacuation of beach hotels a few seasons ago, may also help local residents.

In the interest of better communication, from now on evacuations will have a start time and an end time.

County leaders hope a new and improved website will also help in the evacuation process. Entering your address gives you your evacuation level, the closest public shelter, the closest hotels on high ground, and directions on how to get there.

“Then it brings up a Google map with driving directions. It can also give walking directions and public transit, what bus route to take,” explained Tom Iovino, who works for Pinellas County Emergency Management.

The local Tourism Bureau is also stepping up to provide more information. They will keep a running total of all the hotels that are in the county and in times of emergency they’ll be able to track how many rooms are still available.

Every storm alert brings new lessons learned and these improvements are courtesy of Hurricane Fay.