“Come on, everybody to the storm cellar!”
- Uncle Henry Gale in the Wizard of Oz
Accomack County has six emergency shelter locations that can open on an “as needed” basis. Some possible reasons for opening emergency shelters are:
- Long term and/or severe flooding over a large portion of the county
- Hurricane force winds (sometimes from a large nor’easter) and the resulting coastal flooding conditions
- Wide spread power outages as a result of severe weather
- A large and dangerous hazardous material event
Emergency shelters will not all open at the same time and emergency shelter openings will be announced on local radio stations. You cannot enter an emergency shelter until it is open.
These shelters are emergency shelters for the general population. They are designed to keep you safe from a severe emergency event – not long term sheltering. Planning ahead of time to stay with family or friends can help ease the stress that comes during a disaster. Also, if your family has special needs – medically fragile household members for instance – your planning process needs to include accommodations for those special needs that these emergency shelters cannot provide.
Things to bring to the emergency shelter:
- Photo Identification - All adults must have photo identification and all adults must sign in their complete family upon arrival to the shelter.
- Bedding items
- Personal hygiene items
- Nonperishable food
- Manual can opener if bringing canned foods
- Bottled water
- Special needs food if applicable
- Baby items if applicable
- Change of clothing
- “Quiet” entertainment such as reading materials and games
- Medications - If you have a medical condition and/or take prescription medication please notify the shelter at the time of registration
- A way home – if you arrive in something other than your personal vehicle, be sure you and your family have a way to depart the shelter when it closes
You should be self sustaining for three days.
Things NOT to bring to the emergency shelter
- Cooking utensils
- Expensive personal items (you will be responsible for your personal items - the shelter is not responsible for lost or stolen items)
- Pets – please make sure your pets can be safely cared for elsewhere before you come to the shelter
- Electronic games that are not battery powered
- Loud music
- Weapons
- Drugs
- Alcohol
General Guidelines:
- Smoking is NOT permitted inside the shelter at any time
- Parents are responsible for controlling the actions of their children
- Children are never to be left unattended
- Noise levels should be kept to a minimum at all times
- Everyone needs to be courteous to others
If these guidelines are not followed, you may be asked to leave the shelter. If you decide to leave the shelter before the emergency has ended, you will not be allowed back into the shelter.
There are six emergency shelter locations in Accomack County:
- Accawmacke Elementary School
- Arcadia Middle School
- Arcadia High School
- Metompkin Elementary School
- Nandua Middle School
- Nandua High School
Please use the map below to see where these shelters are located.
Click here to download the Evacuation Zone & Shelter Locations Map (PDF)
