Monmouth County uses the following evacuation instructions

  • Evacuation recommendation: Monmouth County may recommend that certain residents, visitors and businesses evacuate due to their personal risk of being impacted by a storm or other emergency. An evacuation recommendation might be issued so that those residents who may need extra time to evacuate due to mobility challenges, visitors need to pack belongings or make special arrangements to leave, or in advance of an evacuation order to reduce evacuation time when such an order is issued.
  • Evacuation order: Monmouth County may order residents, visitors and businesses of designated areas deemed to be in danger of being impacted by a storm or other emergency to evacuate. This order might be used when the designated areas are predicted to potentially receive life-threating or severe property damage or when access to the area by first responders could be impeded.

The above evacuation conditions are considered when a storm or incident is expected to affect a large portion of the county.

Local Public Safety Officials may issue enact similar evacuation conditions when a storm or emergency is more geographically specific to a particular community.

Regardless of the type of evacuation condition, residents are encourage to stay with family or friends who live outside of the pre-designated evacuation zones. Municipal Reception Centers and County Shelters will be opened, but should only be used as a last resort.

Evacuation orders are issued by pre-designated zones, A, B, C, or D. To find what zone you live, are visiting or are employed, visit www.ready.mcsonj.org/knowyourzone

Evacuation order will be disseminated through all available commercial and social media outlets.

Evacuation Shelters and Municipal Reception Centers

County Shelters

Monmouth County has several shelters that will be accessible when an Evacuation Order is issued.

Evacuation shelters are established to provide those county residents that do not have the ability to stay with family or friends who reside outside of the pre-designated evacuation zones, and need a safe place to stay.

Evacuation shelters are designed to be short- term solutions and provide limited space and services to county residents who have been evacuated.

Municipal Reception Centers:

Each municipality within Monmouth County has a designated Reception Center.

When an evacuation order is issued, Municipal Emergency Management Agencies are responsible for getting the residents within the evacuation zone to their designated Reception Center. This may be accomplished using the residents personal vehicles or by public safety vehicles, when deemed necessary.

Once at a Municipal Reception Center, residents will be provided extremely limited services and may only remain here for a short time period.

The Municipal Emergency Management Agency will contact Monmouth County Emergency Management, who in turn will dispatch a County Transportation asset to the Municipal Reception Center, who will then bring the resident to the County Shelter.

Residents are not permitted to drive their personal vehicles to County Shelters.

Post incident shelter closing:

Once the areas that have been evacuated are deemed safe for residents to return, Monmouth County transportation assets will return those from within the County Shelter back to the Municipal Reception Center. Then residents may return home.