Emergency Shelters

NOTE: Information and locations of emergency shelters will be posted as needed prior to, during or after an emergency.

If you go to an Emergency Shelter . . .

• Take blankets or sleeping bags, flashlights, special dietary foods, infant needs and lightweight folding chairs.
• Register every person arriving with you at the shelter.
• Do not take alcoholic beverages or weapons of any kind to a shelter.
• Be prepared to offer assistance to shelter workers if necessary.
• Stress to all family members their obligation to keep the shelter clean and sanitary.

If you must evacuate, the first choice is to seek shelter with friends, family or a host home. Public shelters are a final option. While they are safe places to be in a storm, space and comforts are limited.

Area hotels and motels in non-evacuation areas can also be a shelter possibility. Some can accommodate pets and wheelchair users and may take evacuation reservations. Click here for resources for pet-friendly hotel/motels.

When disaster strikes, it is typically the American Red Cross that sets up evacuation shelters for those in need.

Click here for the main Red Cross web site where you can enter your zip code and find the Red Cross Chapter nearest you.

Red Cross Chapters in Hampton Roads Area & N.E. North Carolina

• Hampton Roads Area
  • Hampton Roads Chapter, Newport News
  • Southeastern Virginia Chapter, Norfolk - Chesapeake falls in this chapter
  • Suffolk Chapter, Suffolk
  • Colonial Virginia Chapter, Williamsburg
• North Carolina
  • Greater Albemarle Area Chapter, Elizabeth City