Authorities are urging people to prepare as Florida appears to be in the path of a possible tropical storm or hurricane. Potential Tropical Cyclone Nine is expected to rapidly intensify into a hurricane – possibly a major hurricane – in the Gulf of Mexico, and Florida is in the storm’s path.

Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency in more than 40 counties in advance of the potential emergency and urged residents to prepare their emergency equipment well in advance of any potential impact.

Here’s a guide to putting together a hurricane emergency kit, where to find your emergency numbers and evacuation zones, and where to get information on emergency shelters if counties decide to provide them during the storm.

What should be in your hurricane emergency kit?

According to Ready. Gov, items you should definitely have in your emergency kit include:

• Food and water for several days (one gallon per person per day; non-perishable food for several days)
• NOAA weather radio (battery operated or crank)
• Flashlight, extra batteries
• First aid kit, important medications for several days
• Mobile phone, chargers and fully charged batteries
• Checkout
• Important documents (insurance, health insurance cards, copies of birth certificates, social security cards, pet vaccinations, property documents)
• Important telephone numbers (family, emergency contacts, emergency contacts in the district)
• Weatherproof clothing (jackets, hats, umbrella, boots, etc.)

FloridaDisaster.org also has an emergency checklist embedded below.

What is my evacuation zone in Florida? Here’s how to find it.

If you live in a mobile home or unsafe building in a low-lying, flood-prone area, you may be ordered to evacuate those areas during a hurricane, either as a voluntary or mandatory evacuation.

Here’s how to find out if and which evacuation zone you are in:

• Visit https://www.floridadisaster.org/knowyourzone/ and click on the “Know Your Zone” link.
• Enter your address and check if it is in a colored evacuation zone (these are flood areas).
• Zone A is usually the most at-risk zone, although there are 21 different zone designations in different counties in Florida

Emergency Management in Central Florida – County by County

If you are looking for information on closures, shelters and sandbags, here are links to county emergency management agencies’ websites: