RE-ENTRY DECALS AND RE-ENTRY PROCEDURES AFTER A HURRICANE EVACUATION

MONROE COUNTY, FL – No evacuations have been called for yet in Monroe County, but there already have been many inquiries regarding re-entry procedures into the Florida Keys following a hurricane evacuation. Here is the information:

In most cases, there will not be checkpoints to re-enter the Keys following a hurricane evacuation. However, if there is serious devastation or concerns about potential looters, checkpoints may become necessary.

When Monroe County officials have determined it is safe to re-enter the Keys or part of the Keys following a hurricane and there is a checkpoint, having a re-entry decal speeds up the re-entry process. But it is not mandatory. A Monroe County resident or property owner may also present a driver’s license with a Florida Keys address, or some other proof of residency or proof of home or property ownership.

Hurricane re-entry decals, color coded for different areas of the Key, are available at all Monroe County Sheriff’s Office substations and the Sheriff’s Office Headquarters building on Stock Island. They also are available from all tag offices in the Keys, Key West City Hall, Islamorada City Hall and the Ocean Reef Public Safety Communications Center.

In the event a storm devastates a particular area of the Keys, the color coded re-entry stickers will allow law enforcement the option of separating out those residents who are traveling to relatively safe areas from those who are returning to the more badly damaged areas of the county. Depending on the circumstances, the people returning to relatively intact areas may be allowed to re-enter sooner than the others.

The hurricane re-entry stickers are red for lower Keys residents (from Key West to the south end of the Seven Mile Bridge), blue for middle Keys residents (from the north end of the Seven Mile Bridge to the south end of the Long Key Bridge) and yellow for the upper Keys (from the north end of the Long Key Bridge to the county line, including Ocean Reef. The city of Key West issues its own white decals, which will also be honored at any potential re-entry point in Florida City.

[livemarket market_name="KONK Life LiveMarket" limit=3 category=“” show_signup=0 show_more=0]