Flood / Hurricane
Hurricane Evacuation Planning for Aransas County
Aransas County sits directly in the Texas hurricane belt, and the City of Rockport uses a phased, time-based evacuation system. Voluntary evacuations begin 40 hours before a storm; mandatory orders start at 32 hours and ramp up from there.
Aransas County is a low-lying coastal county exposed to Gulf of Mexico hurricanes. Storm surge can cut off roads before a storm makes landfall, so waiting for a mandatory order before leaving can be dangerous. A worst-case Category 4 or 5 storm could produce storm surge of 20 feet or more in some areas.
The City of Rockport runs a phased evacuation plan timed to hours before forecast 35-mph winds arrive. Phase 1 begins 40 hours out and is voluntary for vulnerable populations. Phases ramp up to mandatory as the window shortens. Primary evacuation routes from the area include SH 188 to IH 37 and SH 35 north to FM 239 to US 77 or US 183, with alternate routes such as SH 188 to Sinton and SH 35 north to FM 774 toward Refugio used in later phases.
Know your flood zone before a storm approaches — not during. Use the FEMA Flood Map Service Center (msc.fema.gov) to look up your address. TxDOT publishes evacuation route maps for the Corpus Christi district, which covers Aransas Pass and Port Aransas. Sign up for local emergency alerts through Aransas County so you get official orders as soon as they are issued.
Source to confirm: City of Rockport — Phased Hurricane Evacuation