For many Floridians, hurricane preparation starts with bottled water, plywood, and weather forecasts. The harder question often comes later: when is it time to leave, and how do you actually get out before everyone else has the same idea?
That’s the problem Miami-based PriorityEvac wants to solve. The startup combines weather intelligence, aviation logistics, insurance, and human case management into a membership service designed to evacuate people before airports descend into chaos.
Founder Jason Murgio knows the problem firsthand. After spending nearly three decades in the insurance industry focused on risk management, and after living through hurricanes himself, he began asking whether evacuation could be planned months in advance rather than becoming a last-minute scramble.
“I spent almost two years working with industry executives, aviation executives, and the military to design a program that would be beneficial to Florida,” Murgio told Refresh Miami.
The result is a membership service with aircraft secured before hurricane season begins. Rather than searching for flights after airlines begin canceling routes or prices surge, members receive notifications when predefined storm triggers are met, along with instructions on when and where to depart.
“The problem isn’t really behavioral,” Murgio said. “It’s a planning issue.”
Instead of relying on television coverage or personal judgment, PriorityEvac uses operational triggers tied to forecasts from the National Hurricane Center. Those thresholds are designed around when dangerous winds are expected to reach airports, allowing flights to leave before commercial operations shut down.
For chief operating officer Tim Houston, the mission felt like a natural next chapter. Houston retired from the U.S. Air Force after 25 years, most recently serving as a colonel and chief of operations at U.S. Northern Command, where he worked alongside FEMA and the National Hurricane Center on disaster preparedness.
“I was searching for my next mission,” Houston asserted. “This issue of hurricanes and evacuations is near and dear to my heart.”
He said one of the biggest challenges is that many people wait too long. “What I’ve seen is people may not be prepared, and then when they do want to evacuate, it’s a little too late.”
Houston and Murgio are building PriorityEvac alongside chief meteorologist Wallace Barnes, who joined the team after spending 18 years as a Lead Forecaster at the National Hurricane Center.
PriorityEvac’s platform continuously monitors National Hurricane Center forecasts, airport operations, and emergency management data. Once evacuation criteria are met, members receive notifications by text, email, or phone before working with case managers who guide them through the process.
The company is initially targeting Florida residents, including year-round homeowners, retirees, snowbirds, and families with children attending college in the state.
Murgio said many inquiries have come from adult children concerned about aging parents living in Florida, as well as parents of university students who may suddenly need to leave campus ahead of a storm.
Membership costs $1,250 per year and covers evacuations for up to two qualifying storms, which Murgio explained was intentionally priced to be an affordable alternative to the surge pricing that often accompanies major hurricanes.
PriorityEvac launched only weeks ago and is building toward capacity for 5,000 members this hurricane season. The company eventually plans to expand across Florida before serving other hurricane-prone states and, later, areas vulnerable to disasters such as wildfires.
For Houston, the company’s impact goes beyond its own members. Every person who evacuates early reduces pressure on airports, highways, and emergency responders during the busiest hours before a storm.
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