How many of you do or would leave for a hurricane

[jjarman]

I live near the gulf coast, about 60 miles inland from the water. I have never evacuated before a hurricane. I made it through Camille (I was little) and Katrina and all the ones in between. I never even considered evacuating. It would be too hard for us. We have 3 big dogs and 2 cats and I could never leave them. Most places we would go there would not be anywhere to put the animals anyway. I do prepare. Believe me. You should see my spare bedroom. It looks like the beginnings of a food pantry. But I wondered who leaves when a hurricane looks like it is coming your way? Where do you go? Where do you stay? What do you do with your pets?

 

[scottishduffy]

I have sat through MANY hurricanes. Having grown up in Florida, I can't even begin to count how many i have been through. I would only consider leaving town for a Cat 4 or 5. We have hurricane shutters and during season keep a 'hurricane kit' ready.

For The Hurricanes over the past 6 yrs or so I have always had to bunk in the Hospital as part of the "A" team for hurricanes. The one exception was when Katrina came through Florida. My DH and I had some board games and played by flashlight during the storm.

ETA: My parents live on Hutchinson Island in Florida and had to evacuate several times during the 2005 season. (The weather channel people parked right outside their neighborhood!). They went several miles inland to my Mom's office. The employees who had to stay during the storm were allowed to bring their pets, and all animals were crated in their board room. My dad said he *loved* crashing there since somebody had put an *epic* level of protection around the satellite dish on the roof. They never lost reception! So everyone sat around in recliners watching sports on TV.

During the eye of the storm everyone went out to walk their dogs, check out some damage, and then come back to finish it out.

 

[Acklander]

I've been through about 7 or 8 hurricane in my life, and have never evacuated for any of them. I probably would if I lived in a manufactured home though since those aren't as solid - but I don't, so I stay put.
I take precautions - gas tank filled in the car, stock up on ice, fill the tub with water, have a battery operated radio, food that doesn't need cooking, battery operated lanterns, and a cooler filled with beer. Usually we have some friends over to ride out the storm with. During a Category 1 hurricane (before I had kids) DH and I went to a local bar and joined in the hurricane party there. We drank and danced, and went to watch the surf during the eye of the storm.
During the stronger hurricanes we usually wait until it's over to venture out. Usually the first stop is out to the beach to see if any trophy houses went over the bluff from the erosion.

 

[eliza61]

Never went through a hurricane but have been through a tornado and I'd probably leave. It would have to be a "Katrina" like event though. Basically, I just don't fool with mother nature. Worst case scenerio, I'd probably simply pack my dog up in the suv with us and sit in the car all night. hopefully it would only be a 1 day event.

 

[*BTMRR*]

At 60 miles inland, no, I would not evacuate for a hurricane unless there was a mandatory evacuation (which I can't imagine at 60 miles). I'd be prepared to be without power, water, and other services for quite a while, though.

I follow the advice of local authorities and always evacuate when it's mandatory. In a mandatory evacuation (and even sometimes even during a voluntary evacuation, or no evacuation order at all if the storm gets really bad) you're absolutely on your own if you have an emergency and need the police, firefighters, or ambulance. Forget about calling 911. That's what's scary to me especially since I have small children.

 

[peimikes]

We will find out Saturday, Earl hits that evening, we live on a part of PEI thats about 4km wide, we live less than 1 km from the shore. I'll be at work can't see anyone evacuating. I do hope NS slows it down some. The generator is gased up, but we usually only use it in the winter.

 

[NeverlandClub23]

I would leave if it was a mandatory evacuation. Even if I had to walk. A lot of firefighters/paramedics/policemen/emergency workers have to risk their lives and spend time trying to save people that chose not to evacuate. My Dad was a firefighter for 40 years and they had to go on many calls trying to save people who couldn't/wouldn't evacuate certain areas.

We lost power for 10 days after Hurricane Isabelle but I was a bank teller at the time and had to go to work so I couldn't leave. I'm now at a job that would probably close the office if a moderate Hurricane did come through in which case I would go with my parents in their motorhome somewhere. Not so much for safety's sake but more so for the complete boredom that happens in 10 days with no power and nowhere to go (and the miserable sleep when it's 90 degrees and 100% humidity).

 

[nancycg56]

We don't evacuate ~ we are 30 miles or so inland from the beach and we don't flood where we live. We almost always lose power so that's what I'm prepared for with Earl. A friend or two who live in flood areas may be dropping off their dogs with me. During the Noreaster last November, dogs and owners had to swim to a place where the dogs could go to the bathroom.

During Isabel a tree fell on our house and we didn't leave then either and it worked out OK.

Good luck to all in Earl's path!

 

[free2div]

Live on the Gulf Coast Panhandle of FL..Panama City FL..only left once..1995 Opal..was mandatory. Was a nightmare trying to leave. Rode out Ivan even though it hit in Gulf Shores AL..130 miles away we got severe weather..60 mile an hr winds, yes even that far away!!!..tornadoes no power for over 5 days..so now we have a generator..gas..hurricnae kit..will only leave if cat 4 or 5

 

[ilovejack02]

I am about an hour from any large body of water, so storm surge not an issue. Downed trees, power lines and the tornadoes that spawn off of hurricanes are our worry .

We leave our house usually because of the large amount of trees, but don't leave the area, go stay with a friend that has an almost treeless yard.

We are always well prepared with plenty of food, water, batteries , gas for cars and generators . I also make sure every bit of clothing in the house is clean before storm hits LOL. Two years ago , it was 2 weeks for Gustav no electricity in this house and when Katrina hit, the neighborhood was almost 3 weeks no power. We weren't living in this house yet for Katrina . Some reason this street is always one of the last ones to get power when something big happens.

For Andrew we stayed in the small town I was living in , but curfews set in after for weeks and no power for almost 4-5 weeks sent me running to Baton Rouge to stay with parents.

 

[NotUrsula]

When I was growing up we didn't, because no one did. I-10 didn't exist yet in our area and there were no evacuation route plans; the 2-lane roads would have had us all riding out the storm in our cars. We secured the boat very carefully, gathered supplies, boarded the windows and spent the night in the bathroom under a mattress. I rode out both Betsy and Camille that way, but I was less than 3 miles inland both times, well within reach of the storm surge. However, if I were living in either of those places today I'd be in a mandatory evac zone, and if it were called I would go.

At 60 miles in, you should prepare because of the possibility of wind damage, power outage and some flooding, but unless you live near a river that has a low flood stage, or in a mobile home, I don't think it is normally necessary for healthy people to actually bug out. Someone who is medically fragile probably should be close to a hospital, just in case.

 

[doxdogy]

We haven't had a direct hit since Hurricane Dora in 1964. We were living aboard the base and evacuating was not optional, you had to evacuate. The few close calls we had recently, we haven't evacuated. A few years ago, we had one ride our cost and people were evacuating out of the city. Our neighbor down the street in a concrete block home evacuated, while the rest of us in stick built homes stayed home. He later told us he spent like 3 hours in traffic on the interstate and would never leave again. That is when DH informed him that he lived in the SAFEST house on the street.

My job have now, I would probably have no choice and would have to evacuate with the Company if the order was given to evacuate.

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

I wouldn't leave 100 miles inland, either. However, I grew up on the MS Gulf Coast where I always heard, "Nothing could be worse than Camille, and the house stood through that..." The slab that is left now tells a different story about Katrina, so I think Katrina has me convinced to leave for a Cat 4 or 5 if I happen to be in a Coastal town.

 

[SunnyP4Disney]

We're 5 miles from the ocean and less than a mile from a bay, so if they called a mandatory evac, we will leave (we're in Ocean City MD area). DH would have to stay, he's command cadre at the CG station and will be at the station tomorrow and Friday to ride out any affects of Earl (lol, he's on a conf call with FEMA right now). We should be okay here though...

Now, we lived for 5 years in South FL, right by the Everglades and lived through 4 hurricanes in 5 years. Our roof was torn off in Frances and Wilma knocked down trees all around our house and Ivan knocked out some windows. I regretted not evacuating because it was horribly scary, being there by myself with my DS while DH was at the CG station. We also lost power for 5 days so it was not fun taking cold showers and grilling everyday.

 

[kirstenb1]

I would leave if it was a mandatory evacuation. Even if I had to walk. A lot of firefighters/paramedics/policemen/emergency workers have to risk their lives and spend time trying to save people that chose not to evacuate. My Dad was a firefighter for 40 years and they had to go on many calls trying to save people who couldn't/wouldn't evacuate certain areas.

We lost power for 10 days after Hurricane Isabelle but I was a bank teller at the time and had to go to work so I couldn't leave. I'm now at a job that would probably close the office if a moderate Hurricane did come through in which case I would go with my parents in their motorhome somewhere. Not so much for safety's sake but more so for the complete boredom that happens in 10 days with no power and nowhere to go (and the miserable sleep when it's 90 degrees and 100% humidity).

We lived in Va Beach/Norfolk for 10 yrs. Never had to evacuate. We moved 30 miles west of Richmond, and like you lost power after Hurricane Isabel. We had 5 trees down in our front yard. The kids missed 9 days of school because all their teachers live in Henrico, and couldn't drive out of their own neighborhoods. Out here everyone has chain saws and generators, so we made out okay.

 

[golfgal]

I would leave if it was a mandatory evacuation. Even if I had to walk. A lot of firefighters/paramedics/policemen/emergency workers have to risk their lives and spend time trying to save people that chose not to evacuate. My Dad was a firefighter for 40 years and they had to go on many calls trying to save people who couldn't/wouldn't evacuate certain areas.

We lost power for 10 days after Hurricane Isabelle but I was a bank teller at the time and had to go to work so I couldn't leave. I'm now at a job that would probably close the office if a moderate Hurricane did come through in which case I would go with my parents in their motorhome somewhere. Not so much for safety's sake but more so for the complete boredom that happens in 10 days with no power and nowhere to go (and the miserable sleep when it's 90 degrees and 100% humidity).

I think if you ignore a mandatory evacuation notice then you also forfeit your right to get emergency help.

I would evacuate for a mandatory evacuation, no question. For a smaller cat 1 or 2, probably not, for a 3 it would depend on how close to the water I was, for a 4 and 5 most likely, again depending on how close to the water I was.

 

[Bilberry]

I think for a hurricane 3 or higher I would leave the area. I have a new Florida residence along the ocean and the old place in the mid-west. So I'm planning to just head north at signs of hurricane danger.

 

[gawrsh2008]

I think if you ignore a mandatory evacuation notice then you also forfeit your right to get emergency help.

I would evacuate for a mandatory evacuation, no question. For a smaller cat 1 or 2, probably not, for a 3 it would depend on how close to the water I was, for a 4 and 5 most likely, again depending on how close to the water I was.

You know, before Katrina and even right after I would have agreed with you. The problem with that logic is that there were so many people in New Orleans and the surrounding areas that were at that time either living below poverty level or too ill or elderly to leave.

They had to rely on the government to provide transportation out. I am in no way trying to be political here,BTW. There were buses there, but they flooded when the levees broke. There was one instance in Chalmette, LA where the residents of a nursing home were basically left to die if their loved ones could not retrieve them in time. (the owners of that nursing home were convicted, IIRC.)

I do, however, agree that if you simply refuse to leave and have the means to do so you forfeit your rights to rescue efforts. I know that sounds harsh. But my family left, even with the limited funds we had at the time.

We usually stayed at my DH's place of business (he was IT at a hotel in the Quarter) but his supervisor wanted all of the back up tapes taken out of town for preservation. Sadly, we never went home again.

 

[okeydokey]

I live in Fl and haven't suffered a direct hit but I would evacuate if need be. Everyone who lives in a coastal county here should have an evacuation plan. Ours means going to friends well inland in AL and bringing our animals so we are lucky that way. We also have a go-box ready to fill and carry things we will need.

The worst part of staying behind is that you may be without power for a week or more so you have to be prepared for that situation.

 

[jjarman]

You know, before Katrina and even right after I would have agreed with you. The problem with that logic is that there were so many people in New Orleans and the surrounding areas that were at that time either living below poverty level or too ill or elderly to leave.

They had to rely on the government to provide transportation out. I am in no way trying to be political here,BTW. There were buses there, but they flooded when the levees broke. There was one instance in Chalmette, LA where the residents of a nursing home were basically left to die if their loved ones could not retrieve them in time. (the owners of that nursing home were convicted, IIRC.)

I do, however, agree that if you simply refuse to leave and have the means to do so you forfeit your rights to rescue efforts. I know that sounds harsh. But my family left, even with the limited funds we had at the time.

We usually stayed at my DH's place of business (he was IT at a hotel in the Quarter) but his supervisor wanted all of the back up tapes taken out of town for preservation. Sadly, we never went home again.

Actually the majority of the people in New Orleans who died from Katrina (which was not hit by the hurricane by the way) were over the age of 65. It is because they had been through so many hurricanes they just knew it would not get them. And the hurricane didn't. It was the levy board that got them.