Choosing to stay during a mandatory evacuation

[snoopy5386]

Evacuation is a priveliege.

http://rhiyaya.com/2018/09/14/hurricane-2/

 

[tcufrog]

I do think that if there's a mandatory evacuation rescue shouldn't be attempted at the risk of life or injury to first responders. That being said, during a mandatory evacuation every effort should be made to help people leave and then to help them return home as soon as possible.

 

[GreatLakes]

If you are told to leave, leave. No excuses.

If you ignore the evacuation and want to risk your life, great. No one should go get them if they call for help because they shouldn't be able to risk someone else's life with their stupidity.

 

[Sabeking]

I have mixed feelings about it. Our area was not hit terribly but we have about 6 shelters available here and we are 2 hours from the coast. As of today 3 of the shelters were not full. Most of the shelters had people from the coast there. They also had a shelter that was pet friendly. It will interesting to see if they fill up in the next day or so. Fayetteville is in for some very serious flooding due to the continued rain and the river cresting. I’m not sure if they issued a mandatory evacuation in certain parts or not but we are truly an hour down the road; not too far to travel. The rain is amazing though, it has been raining since late Thursday.

 

[tasha99]

I think it would be very difficult for the elderly to evacuate. What do they do with people in skilled nursing homes or hospitals? I don't think fines are reasonable as I would imagine most people staying behind should be the poor and the elderly.

 

[LYSE]

They can? Huh. I had no idea...

They generally do when it's unsafe for responders but beyond that, the courts have ruled that emergency services (police specifically) have NO duty to protect any individual, they can literally watch you be killed/raped/robbed/whatever if they wish (Warren vs dc comes to mind but there are others)

Safety is a personal responsibility.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

IMO, it comes down to public transit. If there is free public transportation to shelters, there's no excuse not to evacuate. If that's an option, people shouldn't be put in danger to save anyone who chooses to stay. They should have to wait it out, until the storm passes. Unfortunately, without public transportation, some people can't evacuate. As far as people dying in elderly homes, that's inexcusable. Cheap owners who fail to protect their patients should be charged with a crime. They need to do whatever it takes to keep them safe.

The pet situation is a little more unforgiving for me. People who can't afford to arrange for transportation & a couple nights in a hotel, really can't afford a pet. Let's face it. Pets are optional & they aren't cheap. It breaks my heart to see abandoned pets rescued, during the hurricane footage. I always hope those people are never allowed to have another pet.

 

[mummabear]

I see stories of people who have to be rescued and I wonder: if they were IN the evacuation zone and chose to stay and then need to be rescued, shouldn't they be fined? I personally think the fine should be pretty hefty. Thoughts?

Yes then and people who ski backcountry.

Evacuation is a priveliege.

http://rhiyaya.com/2018/09/14/hurricane-2/

She talks about evacuating in comfort, not evacuating because you dont want to sleep in a shelter is not a good enough reason to risk life, yours or the people who have to come rescue you, as far as the lost pay/job, make it illegal to fire someone for missing work because they are evacuated.(technically no one should be there)

I think it would be very difficult for the elderly to evacuate. What do they do with people in skilled nursing homes or hospitals? I don't think fines are reasonable as I would imagine most people staying behind should be the poor and the elderly.

They should be required to have a plan in place (and finances available) to do this, they are in the business of taking g are of the elderly, that is what they profit from, so that is a service they should be ready to provide in any number of emergency situations.

 

[Sabeking]

So here is an update on Fayetteville I saw this morning. They have a mandatory evacuation if you live within one mile of the Cape Fear river. The river can flood at 35 feet and it is currently on track to be at 62 feet by Tuesday. There are 8 shelters open within Fayetteville and 2 of them are pet friendly. It will be interesting to see if people actually evacuate. You would be a fool not to with those numbers. This is a military town so I’m sure they have rescue resources needed. The residents have been told if they do not evacuate please give authorities their next of kin information.

 

[Hikergirl]

During a mandatory evacuation every effort should be made to get out those people who cannot just go. Get buses and physically take them out. Set up enough shelters for every resident they have.
If people choose to stay, then they should expect no rescue effort until it is safe for first responders to do so. They don't need to be fined, but they don't need to be on a high priority list either IMO, they made their choice.

 

[LSUmiss]

IMO, it comes down to public transit. If there is free public transportation to shelters, there's no excuse not to evacuate. If that's an option, people shouldn't be put in danger to save anyone who chooses to stay. They should have to wait it out, until the storm passes. Unfortunately, without public transportation, some people can't evacuate. As far as people dying in elderly homes, that's inexcusable. Cheap owners who fail to protect their patients should be charged with a crime. They need to do whatever it takes to keep them safe.

The pet situation is a little more unforgiving for me. People who can't afford to arrange for transportation & a couple nights in a hotel, really can't afford a pet. Let's face it. Pets are optional & they aren't cheap. It breaks my heart to see abandoned pets rescued, during the hurricane footage. I always hope those people are never allowed to have another pet.

Like most things it’s not that simple. Many ppl who have pets like this find them or take care of abandoned animals that show up at their house. They don’t go buy a dog from a breeder. And we all know how hard it is to adopt from a shelter. There have been countless threads on it here. So they take care of an animal that would otherwise have no one. Many stay behind for that pet. In Louisiana, it is now illegal to leave a pet behind in an evacuation (as it should be). But, if you can’t afford to leave & you can’t take your pet, what are you supposed to do? Very few ppl stay behind b/c it’s fun. Over 1000 ppl lost their lives in Katrina. No one took that storm lightly. We all knew it would be a monster. But many ppl who were left behind were elderly &/or poor with few resources. And many stayed behind b/c their pets.

 

[LSUmiss]

During a mandatory evacuation every effort should be made to get out those people who cannot just go. Get buses and physically take them out. Set up enough shelters for every resident they have.
If people choose to stay, then they should expect no rescue effort until it is safe for first responders to do so. They don't need to be fined, but they don't need to be on a high priority list either IMO, they made their choice.

Now this I agree. Don’t just tell ppl to get out. Go to each house of ppl left behind & offer to help them evacuate. THEN if they stay behind it’s on them. There also has to be safe shelters. The Super Dome set up as a shelter was almost as dangerous as the storm.

 

[luvsJack]

Now this I agree. Don’t just tell ppl to get out. Go to each house of ppl left behind & offer to help them evacuate. THEN if they stay behind it’s on them. There also has to be safe shelters. The Super Dome set up as a shelter was almost as dangerous as the storm.

It was and I felt so bad for the people. So many honestly had no way to evacuate. But I thought they were supposed to go to the convention center? Edit: Just looked it up, I had it backwards. They were told to go to the Super dome. That makes what happened even worse!

I am not sure about the areas with Florence but people need to realize that in a lot of areas mandatory evacuations are not a regular thing. Not even a yearly thing. So constantly being prepared to pick up and go isn’t as easy as it sounds.

As for jobs, the job may not be in the evacuation area. We weren’t under a mandatory evacuation but I am certain there were people that were that were in my son’s situation. His job at the time was 5 hours to the west. He had to go the day after Katrina. Well he could go early but finding a place to stay was impossible plus he would have been trying to go toward where everyone else’s was evacuating from. If he went with us or a different direction, he was taking a chance of not getting back. I can certainly understand the hard decision for some people.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Like most things it’s not that simple. Many ppl who have pets like this find them or take care of abandoned animals that show up at their house. They don’t go buy a dog from a breeder. And we all know how hard it is to adopt from a shelter. There have been countless threads on it here. So they take care of an animal that would otherwise have no one. Many stay behind for that pet. In Louisiana, it is now illegal to leave a pet behind in an evacuation (as it should be). But, if you can’t afford to leave & you can’t take your pet, what are you supposed to do? Very few ppl stay behind b/c it’s fun. Over 1000 ppl lost their lives in Katrina. No one took that storm lightly. We all knew it would be a monster. But many ppl who were left behind were elderly &/or poor with few resources. And many stayed behind b/c their pets.

And Louisiana has changed all their policies since that time. Buses are provided to bring people and their pets to Shreveport, Monroe, Ruston, Alexandria, areas north of NOLA. I have toured the shelter in Alexandria and it is massive and will hold thousands of people. It has separate areas for families, men, women with children. People need to have plans in place should they be required to evacuate. If they care for pets that don't have required shots, they aren't caring for that pet.

 

[luvsJack]

And Louisiana has changed all their policies since that time. Buses are provided to bring people and their pets to Shreveport, Monroe, Ruston, Alexandria, areas north of NOLA. I have toured the shelter in Alexandria and it is massive and will hold thousands of people. It has separate areas for families, men, women with children. People need to have plans in place should they be required to evacuate. If they care for pets that don't have required shots, they aren't caring for that pet.

That’s really easy to say, but someone already has a pet, they are told to evacuate. Pet isn’t up to date on shots. What exactly are they supposed to do at that moment?

My dogs are all up to date and I wouldn’t consider leaving them but it would be hard to figure out what to do.

And there are always some that don’t just have dogs and cats. We do have a shelter here that can take horses but having an animal of that size can be a problem.

As for having a plan, it can be years between mandatory hurricane evacuations for some places. Edit: Katrina was the first ever mandatory evacuation for NOLA.

 

[3 MEN AND A BOAT]

It’s good to know some people have it all figured out.

 

[lorimay]

As a wife of a police officer, I don't want him out there risking himself in a storm because someone stays behind to "ride it out".
The instructions couldn't be more clear, if you choose not to leave, we can't come for you in the middle of a storm.
I saw on one of the channels that either N. Carolina or S. Carolina has a law about not evacuating when its mandatory.
But the news anchor said he was told they weren't going to enforce the law.......why? This is exactly why they have the law.

 

[Southernmiss]

It’s good to know some people have it all figured out.

Ain't that the truth...

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

It costs money to evacuate, the public services aren't always easily accessible, or accessible at all... I don't think the majority who stay behind fall into that category, but is a reason why people stay.

 

[Southernmiss]

We had this discussion here not too long ago... started July 25, 2018

https://www.disboards.com/threads/natural-disasters.3695672/#post-59526150

My contribution then

It's complicated.

I live in a hurricane prone area. Our family has lived here for 300 years. We are resilient people who have hurricane prep in our DNA. We know our risk and limits. Up to category 2, we easily stay. Beyond a 2, we assess the direction it's coming to the east or west of us (being on one side or another makes a difference in impact) and discuss the factors specific to the storm and our family.

We live 10 miles inland. When Katrina was projected to come, we were staying at our house until I awoke to a report that winds hit 155 mph while still offshore and predicted to increase. Jumped up, packed up and called my brother and mom who did the same. Storm was abt 18 hours away when we left. Tornadoes spin off and impacts are not just for those who live on the shore.

Many others can not afford to jump up and evacuate. Gas, food, a place to stay (if one can be found) are all expensive. Waiting on the interstate for 10 hours for a 2 hour trip due to everyone evacuating -folks run out of gas, have medical situations, etc.

Local shelters crowded with a few hundred odd people are not a pleasant place to be. Some take care of family who have medical needs and are not easily moved.

Others are essential personnel and must stay for work. Others have crappy jobs they have to stay to report for so they don't lose it.

Some stay to protect homes and businesses from looters and to shore up damage ASAP. We were fortunate to get back home the day after Katrina. Shortly after we got back home, the interstate we just traveled had to be closed to incoming traffic due to damage and debris. We were glad to be in our home, even though it was hot as he## and we had no power. Nothing like the comfort of your own humble place in a disaster.

I was able to clean out the nasty refrigerator and keep it from becoming an issue. We were able to start making repairs on our roof and help family and neighbors start their repairs and clean up.

Some don't listen to forecasts, or trust forecasts-false alarms happen. News people overly hype a storm and the next one, people don't listen because they were wrong before.



I would add...hard to predict rain and how much will fall where and how it will affect rivers, streams and bodies of water. Sometimes water rises much faster than anticipated.

We do not live in a flood prone area and are 4 miles from the nearest river. 2 years ago we woke up one April morning to find that it had rained 12 inches over our house in under 3 hours. Only typical thunderstorms were predicted over night. Nothing at all in the forecasts indicated that we should be watchful.

Due to runoff and over building of formerly wooded, swampy areas near us in recent years, our home came close to flooding. From 6:30 a.m. I watched water rise and rush through our backyard until 8 a.m. when it started to receede. It came within an inch of our porch which sits 3 feet off the ground. By the afternoon, it all receeded and you could not tell that there had been water in our yard. Flood insurance is not required, but I now have it.

Mother nature can be a beast and even the most astute people can be caught off guard.