Hurricane Irma: Evacuation Zone Times For Chatham County

SAVANNAH, GA — Evacuation zones have been established over a two-day span for Chatham County residents, while Hurricane Irma is 674 miles southeast of Chatham Saturday morning. (SIGN UP: Get Patch's Daily Newsletter and Real Time News Alerts. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app.)

Residents can leave before their evacuation zone time begins if desired. The contraflow for I-16 will begin 8 a.m. Saturday. The evacuation zones are:

• Zone A (east of the Truman Parkway): 8 a.m. – 12 p.m. Saturday
• Zone B (Truman Parkway to I-95): 12-8 p.m. Saturday
• Zone C (west of I-95): 8 a.m. – 12 p.m. Sunday

The Evacuation Assembly Area (EAA) is open at the Savannah Civic Center as of 8 a.m. Residents will board buses at the EAA and travel to an inland county shelter, officials said. The EAA will stop accepting passengers at 7 p.m. Saturday. Officials urge residents to arrive at the EAA in the morning to ensure a spot on the bus.

Watch: Georgia Coastal Residents Instructed To Evacuate

SEE ALSO:

• Hurricane Irma: List Of Georgia Evacuation Shelters, Where To Take Pets
• Hurricane Irma: Savannah Evacuees Get Free Bus Service To Staging Area
• Hurricane Irma: Check Savannah Grocery Store Hours Here
• Southeast Georgia Evacuations Ordered, Red Cross Shelter Locations
• Hurricane Irma: Almost 3 Million Predicted To Be Without Power, Including Georgians
• Hurricane Irma: Georgia Ports To Close In Savannah, Brunswick
• Hurricane Irma: 'Freight Train' Of A Storm Barrels Toward Florida, Georgia, Carolinas

Residents are asked to bring two bags of pieces of luggage per person. Only domesticated animals will be accepted on the bus. Please bring animals in a crate and have their shot records on hand.

Weather forecasters are calling Hurricane Irma a Category 4 monster that could break records for destruction and mayhem when it passes through Florida this weekend.

The hurricane brought 180-mile-per-hour winds and sheets of rain as it moved past Puerto Rico on Thursday, according to media reports and hovered over Cuba Saturday morning. But by the time Irma reaches Georgia early next week, it will have petered out into a tropical storm system, say forecasters.

Important contact information:

• To find a shelter please call 1-800-RED-CROSS.
• Citizens can report price gouging by calling the Georgia Department of Law's Consumer Protection Unit at 404-651-8600 or 1-800-869-1123.
• City's hurricane website and Chatham County's emergency website.

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