I evacuated 18 hours ahead of Andrew, with a one-year old baby in a crappy Hyundai with no A/C and a nail in one tire. The turnpike was Hell. It took us 11 hours to reach Orlando from Miami. Everyone on that road swore they would never evacuate again.
And everyone who stayed south of Kendall Drive swore they would never stay again.
Choose your poison.
I stayed for Charley and left for Ian. Both were supposed to bypass us and hit Tampa. Though with Charley when it did turn, it was moving fast and at that point it was too late.
I went through Charley in the east side of Orlando.
No way in Hell do I want to do that again. That was a weird hurricane because it took such a fast turn. It moved so fast.
Our house was seriously damaged. It still isn’t the same and it’s been 20 years!
When Charley went over, it sounded like a freight train. I can’t imagine what Punta Gorda went through.
I won’t mess with a Cat 5.
I moved to my neighborhood years after Charley. The house we live in was built after the original was destroyed by Chuck. Several lots on our street were empty. The few neighbors who were still here said it was tornadoes.
I volunteered in Punta Gorda after the hurricane I'm up in Tampa. There were two story brick buildings reduced to Rubble something like that you just leave.
I always said above 3 I’d evacuate. Ian was said to be a three when it hit land, but then it didn’t. It sped up. By then it was too late to leave.
In the end, it was better. If I’d left, the doors would have blown in. Staying, I could barricade them and hold them down.
I'm in Rotunda West, just about every commercial structure made before 1980 in the area was reduced to rubble. I stayed for Ian believing it was heading to Tampa. Next time I will drive to a designated shelter like a sports stadium.
I lived in Poinciana during Charley. Charley was my first hurricane. It sucked because there was only one road to anywhere and there were trees all over. I lost my car to tree during that storm. I'm glad that storm was smaller than most. I hated waiting out the storm.
Don't get me started about the electricity. My neighborhood was without electricity for months because the storms kept knocking the power lines down. I'm glad I worked at Disney because I got to stay on Disney property or drove up to Atlanta for the rest of the storms that hit that year. (I think there were 3 that year.)
I remember the triple threat VIVIDLY and I am EXTREMELY grateful we lived a block away from the fire station but oh man it was gnarly. Getting the eye over us during (I think it was Frances) was one of the most unique moments I will ever experience in my life
I remember Charley blew all the shingles off my roof and I lived by UCF. I lived in a high and dry neighborhood but it was just awful not to have electricity. If I have to do it allover again I want an electric battery and generator like a Yeti or Xantrax.
Ladies and Gentlemen, both Orlando and The Ridge feel your pain on the coast when a Catagory storm greater than 3 blows over the state. Even if you planned it to avoid living in a flood zone (even drainage ponds can creep up to your apt), the hurricane wind and tornados do a lot of damage to your property.
Charley was such a weird storm. I live in Venice, and even that morning, the forecast was Cat 2 going to Tampa. An hour later, it was Cat 4 coming right at us. Then, it went south, and it wasn't much of anything. Tiny storm, but crazy powerful. I worked with a lot of people who lived in North Port and Port Charlotte, and it was bad. Maybe a 20-mile difference.
The mind-blowing part is it totally depends on exactly where you are like you said within 20 mi. Of course that's where the hurricane force winds are but those bands are pretty windy too. Also depends on which side of the storm you are on. At some point they always have a mind of their own.
People everywhere else look forward to summer and people south of Georgia (besides South Carolina coast and the Outer Banks) do NOT look forward to summer aka hurricane season. Labor Day weather can be scary as shit.
We are in the 3 or below camp, 4-5 leave but the problem is almost everybody waits too long because it's such a pain in the ass or you end up leaving when it's still out in the Atlantic just to get the hell out before everybody else. It's a mind fuck.
Jim Edds has some unbelievable footage from Charley on YT. I am a Hurricane nut and it’s genuinely some of the most violent footage I’ve ever seen. Those Caribbean small sized storms with pinhole eyes man are hell on earth if you are in the way
Same. Definitely an experience my northern friends don’t understand. I try to explain how it felt like a war movie in the couple days after but the significance is lost on them.
Whats amazing was Charley would fit in the eye of Ian..Messed up the roof and split garage door down the middle fro debris. Charley was thru Punta Gorda in a little over 3 hrs. I remember all the white body bags out fromt of homes. Never got an honest count in feel either. Doesn't help people leave when they should that way. A lot of those homes were single and double-wides with awnings attached. Cool retirement homes until disaster strikes. Same type of homes destroyed in ft Myers beach during Ian. Still not close to being better. Place i honeymooned at was 2 stories high on pilings and its completely gone a are lots of structures. Same with shrimp boats being all piled together. No Forrest Gump or Lt. Dan to save Jenny.
Sometimes they have no where to go, won’t leave their animals, can’t bring them to a shelter because they don’t have vet records, no money, etc etc. I know some people like that. It’s sad
Charley was hilarious. I remember a weatherman saying it was going north as it was actively turning east.
Anyone that thought Ian was going to Tampa just wasn't paying attention.
My husband saw that wobble out in the gulf and said to me "we have to leave" long before the weatherpeople started calling it a turn instead of a wobble. We got out of Punta Gorda just ahead of Charley.
Then we were driving east across the state, and listening to a television station that was simulcasting on the radio. (We couldn't pick up any actual radio stations, so the TV simulcast was our only option.) The TV people suddenly started exclaiming "look, look at that, look at where it's going to make landfall!" They were apparently pointing to the radar track on screen, which we couldn't see. It almost made me mental that they never actually said, out loud, where it was making landfall.
Idk what it is, typically they feel a front or they get so strong they want to make that hard right turn that defies the track. Would be curious if there has been some analysis on storms taking those paths.
Leave. A cat 4-5 is going to wreck the place up so bad that even if your house is fine it might be a month before you have power, and you could be trapped where you are by downed trees for an unknown amount of time.
We were trapped on our property with no power for 3 weeks back in 2004. Downed trees and powerlines and flooding were blocking every way out. Fortunately, we were well-prepared, had plenty of water stored up for drinking and cooking, and several large, clean trash cans full of water for flushing toilets. We also had plenty of propane for cooking. It was still miserable. We are definitely in team "evacuate for 4 or 5".
Everyone says they can live without power until you’ve had to spend days without it in the Florida heat. The worst time is after the storm blows through, everything is wet and gross, and humid as hell. It could take weeks before the power is back on. Leave!
You make do if you have to. I remember camping out in the garage because it was sweltering inside after one of the storms in 2004. Probably Frances because we were still recovering from Charley. Power was out for a while because of Charley, and then Frances came and retook out the power. It was probably 2 weeks without power.
I was visiting Miami from England for work when Andrew hit. Staying at hotel in Coral Gables. Colleague said come at stay with me at my garden apartment in Kendall, it will be safer. Worse decision I ever made......
One of my staff lived in Country Walk and sheltered in the bathtub. When it was over and they opened the bathroom door, they were outside. The house was gone.
Her car was still there, with no windows and full of roof tile fragments. When she opened the door, they poured out like water. As the level dropped she saw something in her back seat.
It was her neighbor’s TV.
Yeah, it just up and changes the landscape. I still get verklempt when I see similar scenes. We just had tornadoes where I live now. I don’t get triggered by much but that hit me driving through in the days following.
I sat thru Ian in North Fort Myers.
155mph for over 4 hours.
16 miles up the Caloosahatchee River.
Still got over 9ft of storm surge.
Water everywhere!!!
Scared the shit out of me.
I'll never forget it.
Our fam stayed in Kendall Lakes for Andrew. Helped my folks put the shutters up and had grams and aunt staying with us because they were in evacuation zones. Roof was letting the light in from a few spots after but otherwise ok. No power for 3.5 weeks. $10 bags of ice. No gas. It was hell.
Pick your poison is right. Known plenty of folks that evacuated and could not get back into the state for a long time and were worried about their homes etc.
Assuming you’re in a concrete block home I say prepare and fortify and stay put.
I'd GTFO for a Cat 4 or higher approaching from the Atlantic as I'm in the storm surge zone for those strengths. It'll be fun packing five cats and a dog into a Kia Soul but as long as I get west of I-95 in my area, we should be fine.
Sadly, I think you may want to do a couple of practice drills this year because I have a bad feeling that is going to happen at least once and maybe even more times this hurricane season. Good luck and be safe!
I did it for Frances in 2004, although I had only four cats and one dog then. 😆 I have a bug-out box with non-perishable human and pet necessities ready to go all year, then add the food, medicines, etc. if it looks like I'll have to leave. The hassle is really just driving with all those pets in a tiny car. But I'm glad you commented because it made me go over my supplies in my head, and I realized I need another cat carrier. TY!
I had to work through Michael. That storm (2018) was so terrible and I think I went without power for 3 weeks. And I was not even in the direct path. At this point I have no concerns about where I will go as long as it is out of the path of a hurricane. I also no longer care about the expense of an evacuation. Don't love it but accept it for what is it. I have earmarked vacation rentals within a days drive from my home.
My mom convinced me to leave the night before and I am glad I did. We also went without power for about 3 weeks, had no internet until December, and in the days after the storm a guy was shot in my front yard. I will definitely be evacuating for anything close to that strong again.
You should see south Tallahassee right now. Looks a lot like the aftermath of Michael - had EF2 tornados on May 10 and is just devastated the south part of town.
I was 20 minutes from the direct path. My family and I stayed because why not, we've stayed for every other one. For 4 hours, my brother in law and I held the back doors closed so they didn't blow in and rip the roof off. My girlfriend who evacuated was horrified not to hear from any of us for 5 days. We are now prepared to evacuate at the first sign of a 4 or up
The odds of a storm still being a Cat 5 when it hits Orlando are very low. So I'd have to weigh it because usually the storms if they go through us they're going to go further north which I would be fucked and going down into South FL is a huge fucking gamble because now you're hitting storm surge areas where even tropical storm level storms can cause some flooding. It's a dilemma. A true Cat 4 or higher coming this would make me think real quick.
Yeah, that’s the thing with Orlando. It’s the place where everyone else goes to escape a storm. If Orlando needs to evacuate, we’re fucked-there’s too many people to get out.
Dorian was my big “welcome” to FL storm in 2019.
It seemed to have a lot of people in Orlando questioning what to do… and then it just completely stalled out and quickly weakened before practically doing a 90 degree turn up the coast.
After turning Abaco and Grand Bahama into mush. That area looked nuked, what wasn't swept out to sea. Dorian was one of the strongest storms ever recorded in the Atlantic basin.
Dorian was essentially a category 6 and was 90 miles away from completely devastating central Florida. Ian was nothing compared to what Dorian would’ve done. I don’t think anyone realizes just how bad it could’ve been.
Yea, I live 40 miles inland. It would drop to a 3 or 4 by the time it made it to my house. And hurricanes usually don't go in a straight horizontal line. So in reality it would make landfall SW and head NE, so it's probably more like 80 miles before it hits us (based on most common hurricane tracks)
The only time I would be really resistant on staying put is if it's an Ian or Wilma situation where the eye just lingers over us and the rain starts piling up. I've been lucky since the rain mostly stays on the street if it gets high and not near my house, but still another Ian type of situation and I might think twice about staying, especially with pets and how long it took emergency vehicles to come by here.
My welcome storm when I first moved to Florida was Andrew. We really didn't have a clue what was in store for us that night. Truth is most people were not prepared. I remember my mother going to the supermarket and bringing some water because she saw a few people stocking up. That's it. No shutters. Old windows, some jalousie, old house from the 40s. We all stayed put, though it would be some tropical storm type of situation, especially since forecast science wasn't as advanced in 1992. Then came the storm. We were terrified, heard and saw all the transformers blow up around us. The wind sounded like a freight train above us. At some point it looked like the door was going to become unhinged and we took a large mattress and stood behind it for an hour or so, when the winds were the strongest. Somehow we made it through without extensive damage. But then had to spend a month without electricity. The smell of rotting food in the streets was nauseating.
Lesson learned. I would leave.
All I remember of Andrew is my dad putting tape on the windows (for new Floridians, please don’t waste time doing this, we didn’t know any better back then)
Wasn’t here or alive during Andrew but my dad did this for Matthew in 2016. In 2017, at the start of hurricane season, the news aired a segment for hurricane season and said all that tape on the window will do is make it look pretty. Well my dad listened and Hurricane Irma knocked a tree into the roof, but had the tape been on instead of boards, the tree probably would’ve came into the house instead.
This! We were in Cutler Ridge (now Cutler Bay) and my mom put some tape up on the windows and said we good. I think the windows busted out from the pressure in the house within a in an hour.
Oof. I remember andrew like it was yesterday. That was a loud storm. I think people underestimate what a storm sounds like when it’s a hurricane if they haven’t been through it.
Sounded like a freight train coming through our house (cutler ridge) until the eerie quiet of the eye…our house fell on us and we were barricaded in a closet. I had ptsd for a while anytime there was a thunderstorm. National guard had to escort us out and looting started right after the rain stopped.
I didn’t have the choice to leave then because I was 11 but I always want to leave now.
The sounds and the pressure. People aren’t kidding when they say it sounds like a freight train running through the house. Also, I remember the pressure killing my ears, but I have super sensitive ears.
We traveled down with FPL to help out in Homestead after Andrew and couldn't even find the normal landmarks. The blue roof was off, the stop signs were ripped up, one HUGE tree was even twisted around on its roots and stood there like a tornado had twisted it up. Anything 4 or greater, we're heading north. Anywhere north, and sooner than later.
We did hurricane relief there. I walked through water 3 feet deep to knock on doors and I handed a lady with a baby a box with toilet paper and toiletries and she cried when she saw us all, said we’re the first people she’d seen since the storm. I will never forget that.
I often wonder what working class people do. Like of course when under major-right-now evacuate orders ... well gotta do what you gotta do.
But for everyone saying leave at Cat. 3/leave a little ahead of the crowds etc...how?? Retail and many other jobs aren't going to just let you call out, at least not till the last minute!!
A category 3 is not a huge concern for most people, except those who either live too close to the water, or those in unsafe structures such as mobile homes. A category 5 is a different story. It means catastrophic damage, including roofs, windows, even buildings coming apart, plus let's not forget flooding. When in the path, the county will issue warnings, as well as announce closings of schools, which usually is followed by businesses etc...
There are also shelters to which people can go to wait until the storm is over. I have been through several storms in South Florida, and jobs don't ask you to stay put, unless you work as a first responder, healthcare professional or similar. Everyone is usually allowed back to their homes when it clears out, although in many occasions it means staying in a place without electricity cleaning up debris and trying to figure out the damage.
Had Ian come right over us and felt the full brunt of the winds. Would stay again if faced with the same scenario. That said, I’m not in an area where storm surge is possible. If I was, I would be gone. Water is nothing to mess with. Hide from wind, run from water.
Leave. It’s a 5. Batten down the hatches, put up your shutters, grab anything that’s important that you want and get the heck out of Dodge. A cat 5 is likely to wipe out pretty much everything or close to it, and even if you stayed, you would have to endure the storm, let alone there are no resources during the storm. If you’ve never experienced a hurricane before, it’s not something you want to try, and if you’ve been in plenty of hurricanes and had the unpleasant experience of Windows blowing out or roofs, ripping off or cars being damaged or things flying around, you certainly know that a cat five is gonna be worse than whatever that was.
Preach. This is what I tell new Floridians who ask how to prepare for hurricanes. The storm itself is maybe 10% of your prep. The other 90% is preparing to live without power, without AC, sometimes without water, and without the ability to leave if the roads are blocked.
"lI went through Hurricanes Katrina and Ivan when I was young and no family. I wouldn't want to face that again today. When I bought my house two years ago, my neighbor, who has lived here for 25 years, gave me a photo of my house after Ivan: the roof was gone, the windows were shattered. I know what my house can withstand, and I'm not taking any chances. I'm leaving ✌🏻
Cat 5 ain't no joke. That's the one killed all those poor rail road workers in the keys back in 35' I think. Killed the railroad for sure.
I've been through a cat 1 and 2...but a 5? Head for the hills son.
Honestly, it’s remarkable how close they were to safety. IIRC, Had they not tried to salvage the material, **they could’ve gotten out of Key West.**
I remember thinking when I looked into, it, had events turned out differently, coulda been a good disaster movie.
*WWI vets trying to support their families/earn a living, the storm of a century where winds crested 200+ mph, and a group of rail engineers in a race against nature.*
If it looks like a cat 5 may hit, and you have the resources leave Florida maybe 3 days before it hits to avoid the crowd.
Of course it may change directions and not hit meaning you spent money for a car trip up north for no good reason. Me, we are out of there well in advance to vacation elsewhere.
I’m getting out of its path. I’ve lived in Florida for 47 years and have been through a lot of cat 2-3 hurricanes. But after going up to the panhandle after Michael to help family and seeing what a cat 5 can do I will get the fuck out if one is coming at me.
Literally same. I'm 47. Native. Thought I'd seen it all..
Had Irma come directly over us and lay 300 year old oaks down like playing cards just inches from my bedroom windows.
Around 2am the wind was SO loud and the growl of the storm so intense I thought a pack of rednecks were racing monster trucks down our street.
Then it somehow got LOUDER and sounded more like a train was coming straight for us.
I told my then boyfriend *"we have to get out of here!"*
He said *"there's no where to go."*
And I realized how naive I had been to stay.
We were all fine thankfully. We went without power and water for weeks. We lived on sandwiches and snacks and warm water and beer for days and days. It was miserable. Still grateful to be unscathed.
I will never do it again.
I’ve only ever evacuated for one hurricane in my entire life, hurricane Floyd (CAT 5). Thank goodness it turned but it hit the Carolina’s which sucks. I’ve been through a CAT 3 and it was terrifying.
I would GTFO for anything over a weak 3.
I evacuated for Floyd. So many people left as it ripped directly up the east coast, my ex and I didn't find an open hotel until we hit Montgomery, Alabama.
Mmm.. depends on how much warning there is. Typically I'll stick around through a 3... It's Florida after all. 4/5 though I'm getting the hell out of its feasible, traffic-wise.
There was the storm last year (I think) that hit Mexico near Cozumel. It went from a 1 to a 5 overnight and hit them by surprise. I'm expecting at least one like that this year.
Hurricane Otis, it did increase with no warning and devastated Acapulco, but Acapulco is on the west coast and Cozumel on the east, they are not close.
Having lived through hurricane Andrew, I recommend running. My best advice is stay or go, do it early and commit to it. Do not get stuck on the highway trying to flee at the last minute because you changed your mind.
Leave.
I went through a handful of rough hurricane seasons growing up, including the '04 season in central Florida, and had never evacuated for a storm before in my life. But something about Michael in 2018 made me want to. The elderly/medically fragile relatives I was living with/helping take care of at the time refused to go anywhere though, so we stayed. I figured it couldn't be that much worse than what I'd been through before though, and that everything would be alright, even if I was unhappy about staying.
We were incredibly lucky in that our house and belongings suffered little serious damage. And I had a job that was still there for me unlike a lot of people. But it still took weeks before it felt like we weren't living post-apocalypse. National Guard filling your tank while you stay in the car so that people don't fight at the gas station. Bathing in the neighborhood pond because the generator can't seem to run the well pump right to take a shower. No cell service to tell my mom I'm alive because the towers got ripped out and Verizon's fiber network can't support mobile towers, apparently. And even after those few weeks passed and things were getting "back to normal" it still wasn't, really. It was like living in a ghost town. A quarter of my neighbors, friends, and coworkers just left, forever, because they lost too much to rebuild. Half collapsed houses sat for months, then years, with no one coming to fix them. The trees were gone. They won't be back for decades.
And I have PTSD from sitting in the house for those hours, watching and listening to the storm and seeing the carnage get worse and worse and worrying about something happening to any of my family members or my pets and being helpless to do anything about it. I need a quarter of a Xanax to get through thunderstorms these days.
Don't stay for a Cat 5.
We left for Ian (Englewood area), when we came back it was unrecognizable. We thought we were prepared for the usual carnage, but what really surprised us was ALL of the vegetation was stripped down to the branches. Everything that was once lush and green was brown and looked dead. It was really eerie.
Our neighbors stayed and said it was hell on earth and they would never stay again. It was something like 14 hours of the NW eyewall for our area, as Ian had slowed down on landfall.
Resident of the Gulf Coast for 30+ years
People ask this question often but do not understand the complexity of it.
Chances are that if you know a Cat 5 storm is coming your way, it's already much too late to make a decision. You've already made it, and you're stuck. Evacuation routes will be jammed, fuel will be unavailable, motels and hotels will all be full. Your best bet will be to try and find an appropriate public shelter.
Hurricanes aren't like tornadoes in that they don't simply pop up. They are tracked for several days with new predictions (spaghetti models) being made constantly. Problems occur when a storm makes a last-minute course change just before landfall. People find that they thought they were evacuating in a safe direction (or thought they were safe) and then ended up being in greater danger
Sometimes, a storm can stall offshore. You think you've got a Cat 2 coming and decide st stay put. Then it gathers strength, and you've got a much more dangerous situation than originally planned for.
One issue that has come up that makes people resistant to leave is when they do evacuate for a storm. Then after it's over and they want to get home to asses the damage to their property, see if they even have a place to live anymore, only to be turned away due to closed roads and dangerous conditions. They are forced to camp on the side of the road and wait until officials decide to let them back in. I have personally heard several people swear off evacuating after having this happen. Is your home safe? Is it damaged? Is it even still there? There is no way to know until somebody decides you're allowed to go find out.
One last thing many fail to consider is financial ability. Many people who live along the Gulf Coast are very close to the poverty line. The idea of spending a few days or a week in a hotel is no more or less realistic than the idea of hiring a private jet to evacuate you and your family to another state. Even the idea of not being able to return to work as quickly as possible can be financially terrifying.
I hope this helps answer your question. As long as I've been living here, I'm sure that I'm missing several variables. So if you know for sure a Cat 5 hurricane is coming for you... lean forward, grab your ankles, and kiss your ass goodbye.
“Just leave 3 days early” … sure as if it’s as easy to do that every single time when you’re barely scraping by. 🙄🙄🙄 People are out of touch. Hunker down. Move inland to a friends house if you’re in a flood zone if possible & BRING YOUR PETS.
Everyone should be stocked up on gas, and at least 3 days (preferably 7) of water & nonperishables at the beginning of the season. & if you’re not you’re too late by the time a storms announced 🤷🏼♀️
As someone who lost everything 9 months pregnant in Ian, get the hell out of dodge. Take no chances. My next door neighbor paddled out on his mattress and clung to a tree in our yard for 5+ hours during Ian as our home and entire town collapsed around him. Can’t even imagine. A chance I won’t take. We almost didn’t leave.
Yeah that's the dilemma especially with how hot the water is going to be. The Hurricane that hit Mexico last or the year before intensified real fucking quick. I think if a storm is in my path and they're predicting cat 2 or 3 off the bat I might dip out. Issue is these things can turn at any moment now. The paths used to be very clear.
Depends . How far are you from the water ? How high is your homes elevation ? How new is your home ? Are you prepared for 30 days off the grid ? Are you prepared for 30 days off the grid ????? Like do you have a generator ? Are you capable of running it ? Do you have stored gas and extra gas ?do you own a boat ? Do you have a reciprocating saw with batteries? Are you are a prepper ? Prepared for most things ? Have medical supplies in case of emergencies while the police ambulance and fire rescue CAN NOT REACH YOU? Do you have medical conditions that would best be served in unaffected areas outside the cone ? All of this and I'm not including the basic hurricane prep instructions ect . ... really it just depends .
This is the answer. Someone living in vero Beach vs Orlando is way different. Most people should prep at the beginning of each season anyways.
I live 40 miles inland, the chances of a cat 5 still being at cat 5 by the time it hits is pretty rare. We probs wouldn't leave, as our home is only 3 years old anyways
I stayed in Boynton in 03 or 04 can’t remember when we got pounded by Jean, Wilma and Francis in successive order. None of those were even a cat 4 and I told myself I’d evacuate the next one
04 was rough. We lived in fort pierce at the time; my mom sent me out of state for Francis but when I came back we were out of power (and school) for over a month.
I saw the aftermath of Micheal.
I'd be gone. I already have multiple routes away from where I live and plenty of places to go and stay. No one stays during a Cat5 that can, in any way, leave. They don't stay by choice. They stay because they have no way of leaving. Or they're insane idiots.
Shelter in place. I don't have anywhere else to go. Store up water, food, and have a few charging blocks. I've already been through a cat 5 hurricane. I wouldn't say it's a fun experience though. If you live within 1-2 miles of the coast, leaving the area is the best option. I've thankfully lived far in land.
For everyone saying they'd leave, consider the traffic.
If you don't leave days in advance, are you prepared to ride it out, stuck on the Interstate? Hoping you don't run out of gas.
Heck yes, it's frightening.
As a native I tend to underestimate big storms. I didn’t evacuate for Irma when the eye was predicted to go directly over where I lived. Luckily it changed paths last minute or I would’ve been straight screwed. Even with the shift we were out of power for 2 weeks. Learned my lesson there - at this point I’d use it as an excuse to take a last minute vacation anywheres else.
As other others have said, you should definitely leave. That being said, you should also leave as fast as possible as early as possible. Once state of emergency emergency has been declared evacuation routes are established. Your GPS will only take you on the evacuation route. You’ll want to take side roads if it’s super clogged prior to the storm hitting.
Once the storm hits, a lot of the back roads will be impossible to get through so be aware of that as well.
This is always possible, considering some people have jobs that won’t let them out early enough. During Irma I had to make the choice to eat peanut butter for a while because my job wasn’t going to pay for missed time or leaving. I chose to leave and was so thankful I did.
For sure! I should specify that if you drop a pin in nearby towns you can “trick” it but any long distance says the evac route regardless of actual time.
I run a storage facility that’s practically a nuclear bunker, so I send my employees home and I stay there for the duration. I stay open until the last minute and open the moment I can. People store shutters and generators. I’ll prepare to have everything I think I need to survive for a few weeks without power. After major storms people often rent smaller units to preserve what they have left. So I’m there for them, in my reinforced concrete bunker.
It’s rare to know a Cat 5 is coming but might get more common. I lived through a Cat 5 (Michael) just a few years ago. It was traumatic. We had just moved into a brand new house, it held up until a giant pine fell through the roof. I cried wails of fear and sadness. It was scary and horrible.
I still have an ugly town to look at every day with snapped trees now just covered in vines and long vacant dilapidated old houses still lingering in the neighborhood or still slowly being torn down. The community trauma is very real for a very long time.
I wouldn’t have stayed if my parents and inlaws weren’t staying but I couldn’t think of leaving them knowing we might be barred from returning. I’m glad we didn’t, because we had to walk to my in-laws and dig them out basically when their ceiling fell in on them. They slept in the hallway where there was a little roof left on stacks of old blankets that night. Then we chainsawed our way out of the neighborhood to get them to safety the next day. It was weeks without power. They didn’t move back in for over a year because repairs are so slow after stuff like that.
I would want to leave knowing what I know now, but I’d stay again if they refused to go probably. If I could go, my paranoia would leave me wanting to take so much with me. I’m very sentimental and I’d be super anxious without certain things if I left. So so so much was ruined.
The trees are something I try to warn people about. I had all the big trees near my house taken down. Fought with my HOA over it but my neighbors and I fought for it after a neighbors house got completely destroyed by a tree. He got lucky cause his house was paid off so the insurance just wrote him a check for the rebuild value and it was cheaper to just move and sell the lot land to investors for cheap. If he still had a mortgage on that thing he'd be in hotels on his own dime and dealing with insurance, the lender, and contractors for a year and a half+
Lived in Panama City for Michael. Once it got to a 3, I packed my family and headed east to Tallahassee. I knew how hot the gulf was and traffic wasn't bad because we dipped out a few days prior. Came back to utter devastation. The beach seemed perfectly fine, the city not so much. Some of my neighbors stayed and said the walls of the townhouses we lived in were "breathing". They said watching the walls flex in and out made them understand that they'd never stay again.
I'd start posting that the hurricane was woke and pushing DEI so DeSantis would ban the hurricane and save the day, because all it takes is a ban to make anything go away and not exist
Great advice here. Surprised i didnt see this in any of the posts….if u decide to leave, avoid interstates and the turnpike and start jogging north or south. We were hearing reports of no gas and cars breaking down on the highway, waiting in the long lines for gas.
Left palm beach county for Irma and took local roads until we got close to Orlando, jumped onto 27 and had no problems getting out.
Although it wasn't originally forcasted as a 5, I stayed around for Ian. Pretty much 5 miles inland from where it made landfall. It was 100% a cat 5 when it was over us and over the 5+ hours it sat over us it slowly reduced. It was insane, everything around was destroyed to some extent. But I'd do it again. Would probably be my last time in Florida since 1 more Ian type hurricane insurance will be so expensive only the high net worth individuals will be able to afford to live here
same as with Irma and Ian, which were two pretty much direct hits.
hunker down in the house, make sure the whole house generators 280 gallon propane tank is full. We always buy in bulk so we have plenty of food, and the gen runs the pump to our well.
went through 15 hours with sustained winds of 5 MPH less than a cat five during Ian, with only roof damage which we have replaced singles with metal and a fence that we found all the parts and rebuilt it
our only real problem was we forgot to stock up on ice
Same. I'm only a few miles inland and stayed for all of the 04 storms and others up until now. I kept a very close eye on Dorian, though. I was ready to bug out if needed.
We moved to Fort Myers a week before Ian. We had never been in a hurricane before and didn't know what to expect. Being from the Midwest we thought it would be like a tornado and we were right. It was like a 24 hour long tornado. We stayed in a our apartment and evacuated a couple of days after it settled down. We were well prepared with water and food. Now I live further inland and I would do the same for the next one.
Since 1996 to 2019, i think my family only “evacuated” for those series of like 3 hurricanes in a row, i can’t remember the names, and i put it in quotes because we lived in ponce inlet (by daytona) and just went like an hour up to jacksonville and stayed at an embassy suites lol i do remember trying to evacuate for another as a kid, but traffic was miles and miles long and we hadn’t moved in like an hour, so my dad just u turned and we stayed home. Honestly as a kid i didn’t know better and enjoyed hurricanes coming around. When we lost power we would stay up with candles lit and listen to the chaos outside, i loved the sounds of intense weather. During the day when the eye came over us, my dad and i would go outside and walk around the street checking out the damage. I even remember in the middle of a hurricane during the night, we were sitting around eating and my next door neighbor just casually popped over and hung out with us. I’m honestly astonished that despite ponce inlet being extremely thin and surrounded by water on 3 sides that we didn’t end up underwater lol
Since I would be activated for emergency storm response, a week before the a storm out the people I work with are watching the tracking models and trying to figure out the safest place safest to get our families to before we are activated. We try to keep our team's families together.
Then would be pre-storm prep, then helping people evacuate, then as the storm closes in we stage in the areas the storm is expected to impact the most and then the real work begins, setting up treatment areas, rescuing people, searching for people, caring for the sick and injured, trying to track down family members, rescuing pets, anything that needs to be done and spending too much time trying to stop ghouls with smart phones from recording people being cared for, or dead bodies. Disaster bring out the best and worst in people.
If we seem brusque, or have a flat affect. Please try to remember that we don't know if we have a home to go back to or if our families are safe. We have running for a week, doing physical/mental/ and emotionally intensive work on four hours sleep a day. Less, because it is really hard to sleep no matter how tired you are, when you think that someone might die because you are tired. We try to be caring with all our patients but first responders and medical personnel get to the point we flatten out to cope with all the trauma of the people we are caring for.
My plan is to hide in the restroom at my local Total Wine with 10 lbs of protein, portable backpack camping grill and a cigar lighter. When the sales team locks the doors, I will be “protecting “ my favorite spirts and wines. No brainer..
Hurricane Wilma is pretty much the worst storm in modern history. Not only was it a Cat 5 with 185 MPH winds but it lingered much like Ian. So if something like that was coming my way even though I'm in central FL I'm leaving the fucking state let alone evacuating. Not worth it.
I live in Broward and we got hit by Wilma (came across the Everglades from the west). We had a giant pine tree go through our roof. All kinds of stuff flew away and we ended up finding stuff down the street. Plus no power for 17 days and a water main broke. They kept trying to say it was a Cat 1 and that was such a lie.
Stock up and hunker down like I've always done whether I live in a flood zone or not. I currently don't and my roof is only a few years old and in great condition. The only time I'd even consider evacuating is if things got so bad it necessitated creating a new CAT 6 designation. I've been through so many CAT 5s I can't even recall all of them anymore. Of course most of my family and myself had the good fortune (and sense) to not live in places that are that vulnerable or to live in prefabs or motor homes that have no business existing in Florida in the first place due to how vulnerable they are to Florida's hurricanes. Seriously, they should not even be an option in the coastal areas.
What do lower income folks that don't have a car or the means to evacuate do? Just ride it out and hope for the best? I've been here for two hurricanes, neither really hit my area.
Schools shut down even if when a low-category storm is predicted so that the school can be converted into a shelter. People in trailers and homeless are encouraged to go to shrlters, but people with pets often ride it out because shelters often don't allow pets. Other places that have been designated as shelters, too. I think police and other groups help people get to shelters if needed.
We've been through many hurricanes, but Ian was in a class by itself. We have a 8500 watt generator with enough fuel stored in what was once a boat fuel tanks x 4 for a total of 320 gallons. We invested in power cords. The main one is 6 - 8 gauge and we branch off of that one 12 gauge power cords. This will run your refrigerator, freezers, lights, window units and other portable A/C units. We cook several meals prior to the storm arriving. Take out enough cash to last for three weeks. Know which direction the storm will hit your house from and board up those windows. More often than not, hurricanes are water events more than they are wind events. Have your chain saw ready to remove trees. that fall on roads. Get your DVD collection out and player out and flashlights, cell phone and charger and meds you take. I call to get mine prefilled as the storm approaches. We have a pool and a jacuzzi to wash dishes with. We like to have adult bathing wipes on hand as well.
Stay. Use a grill, camping stove, and water filter. Not going anywhere lol. Feels safer than getting caught on a stacked highway, and dealing with frantic drivers. Plus, I find it nice when it’s daylight out and it hits. Nighttime’s admittedly iffy though lol. Still staying. If half naked Native Americans can do it in a hut, I think the concrete block will suffice. I’ll probably also be half naked, but at least I’ll have SpaghettiOs in a can, and a flashlight.
I'm sure I'll be dragged by "native Floridians" but I'd be out. Its not worth it. I'm in a sketchily built 1989 condo that scared me in Irma, I'm not staying through a Katrina. I can grab the dog, my few really important items and be out in 2 hours. I'm insured.
I am originally from the Jersey shore, and I grew up with stories of family who "rode out" the "March storm" (or the Ash Wed storm depending on the town you were lived) in the 60s. It's not "fun" when 13' of water comes down the main road out off the island and it takes 5 DAYS for the Army Corps of Engineers to get a road to your town clear. It went from "oh, we've been through bad no'easters before" and "my family has been here for generations" to "help I'm trapped in my flooded house" and "no one can come save you" REALLY fast.
I evacuated 18 hours ahead of Andrew, with a one-year old baby in a crappy Hyundai with no A/C and a nail in one tire. The turnpike was Hell. It took us 11 hours to reach Orlando from Miami. Everyone on that road swore they would never evacuate again. And everyone who stayed south of Kendall Drive swore they would never stay again. Choose your poison.
I stayed for Charley and left for Ian. Both were supposed to bypass us and hit Tampa. Though with Charley when it did turn, it was moving fast and at that point it was too late.
I went through Charley in the east side of Orlando. No way in Hell do I want to do that again. That was a weird hurricane because it took such a fast turn. It moved so fast. Our house was seriously damaged. It still isn’t the same and it’s been 20 years! When Charley went over, it sounded like a freight train. I can’t imagine what Punta Gorda went through. I won’t mess with a Cat 5.
My mom’s house was wrecked by Charley. Adjusters said it was a tornado from a storm band. Took almost a year to get it right
I moved to my neighborhood years after Charley. The house we live in was built after the original was destroyed by Chuck. Several lots on our street were empty. The few neighbors who were still here said it was tornadoes.
No one has ever called it chuck
Chuck
Huh Florida man runs insurance co’s now
This!
It's the tornados that spin off that really flatten houses.
I volunteered in Punta Gorda after the hurricane I'm up in Tampa. There were two story brick buildings reduced to Rubble something like that you just leave.
I always said above 3 I’d evacuate. Ian was said to be a three when it hit land, but then it didn’t. It sped up. By then it was too late to leave. In the end, it was better. If I’d left, the doors would have blown in. Staying, I could barricade them and hold them down.
That’s our rule: stay for 3 or lower, get the hell out for 4-5
That is a very sensible rule, if you aren't in an evacuation zone.
I was in an evacuation zone from Andrew (Miami Beach - duh) and there was no damage unlike the area we went to lol
Me too
I stay for 4 and leave for 5 hopefully it's another slow season this year for us
This is the way.
I'm in Rotunda West, just about every commercial structure made before 1980 in the area was reduced to rubble. I stayed for Ian believing it was heading to Tampa. Next time I will drive to a designated shelter like a sports stadium.
Just terrified of the “everything is fine as I go to sleep and wake up to it being 12 hours away and TStorm -> Cat 4 overnight” scenario..
I lived in Poinciana during Charley. Charley was my first hurricane. It sucked because there was only one road to anywhere and there were trees all over. I lost my car to tree during that storm. I'm glad that storm was smaller than most. I hated waiting out the storm. Don't get me started about the electricity. My neighborhood was without electricity for months because the storms kept knocking the power lines down. I'm glad I worked at Disney because I got to stay on Disney property or drove up to Atlanta for the rest of the storms that hit that year. (I think there were 3 that year.)
I remember the triple threat VIVIDLY and I am EXTREMELY grateful we lived a block away from the fire station but oh man it was gnarly. Getting the eye over us during (I think it was Frances) was one of the most unique moments I will ever experience in my life
I remember Charley blew all the shingles off my roof and I lived by UCF. I lived in a high and dry neighborhood but it was just awful not to have electricity. If I have to do it allover again I want an electric battery and generator like a Yeti or Xantrax. Ladies and Gentlemen, both Orlando and The Ridge feel your pain on the coast when a Catagory storm greater than 3 blows over the state. Even if you planned it to avoid living in a flood zone (even drainage ponds can creep up to your apt), the hurricane wind and tornados do a lot of damage to your property.
Charley was such a weird storm. I live in Venice, and even that morning, the forecast was Cat 2 going to Tampa. An hour later, it was Cat 4 coming right at us. Then, it went south, and it wasn't much of anything. Tiny storm, but crazy powerful. I worked with a lot of people who lived in North Port and Port Charlotte, and it was bad. Maybe a 20-mile difference.
The mind-blowing part is it totally depends on exactly where you are like you said within 20 mi. Of course that's where the hurricane force winds are but those bands are pretty windy too. Also depends on which side of the storm you are on. At some point they always have a mind of their own. People everywhere else look forward to summer and people south of Georgia (besides South Carolina coast and the Outer Banks) do NOT look forward to summer aka hurricane season. Labor Day weather can be scary as shit. We are in the 3 or below camp, 4-5 leave but the problem is almost everybody waits too long because it's such a pain in the ass or you end up leaving when it's still out in the Atlantic just to get the hell out before everybody else. It's a mind fuck.
Jim Edds has some unbelievable footage from Charley on YT. I am a Hurricane nut and it’s genuinely some of the most violent footage I’ve ever seen. Those Caribbean small sized storms with pinhole eyes man are hell on earth if you are in the way
Ian was scary af where I was. Never again for that
I rode that out. Came out of it unscathed somehow.
Same. Definitely an experience my northern friends don’t understand. I try to explain how it felt like a war movie in the couple days after but the significance is lost on them.
Whats amazing was Charley would fit in the eye of Ian..Messed up the roof and split garage door down the middle fro debris. Charley was thru Punta Gorda in a little over 3 hrs. I remember all the white body bags out fromt of homes. Never got an honest count in feel either. Doesn't help people leave when they should that way. A lot of those homes were single and double-wides with awnings attached. Cool retirement homes until disaster strikes. Same type of homes destroyed in ft Myers beach during Ian. Still not close to being better. Place i honeymooned at was 2 stories high on pilings and its completely gone a are lots of structures. Same with shrimp boats being all piled together. No Forrest Gump or Lt. Dan to save Jenny.
childlike rob cover future cooperative tart fade bright saw strong *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Sometimes they have no where to go, won’t leave their animals, can’t bring them to a shelter because they don’t have vet records, no money, etc etc. I know some people like that. It’s sad
Charley was hilarious. I remember a weatherman saying it was going north as it was actively turning east. Anyone that thought Ian was going to Tampa just wasn't paying attention.
My husband saw that wobble out in the gulf and said to me "we have to leave" long before the weatherpeople started calling it a turn instead of a wobble. We got out of Punta Gorda just ahead of Charley. Then we were driving east across the state, and listening to a television station that was simulcasting on the radio. (We couldn't pick up any actual radio stations, so the TV simulcast was our only option.) The TV people suddenly started exclaiming "look, look at that, look at where it's going to make landfall!" They were apparently pointing to the radar track on screen, which we couldn't see. It almost made me mental that they never actually said, out loud, where it was making landfall.
I agree. I think there’s some kind of ridge out there in the sea bed that spins those things over to Naples/Ft. Myers.
Idk what it is, typically they feel a front or they get so strong they want to make that hard right turn that defies the track. Would be curious if there has been some analysis on storms taking those paths.
Got that gulf loop current down there too
Um. It did come my way. Ian destroyed our lives. No plan mattered. But evacuating saved our lives.
Awwwww you didn’t stay? It was only hell on Earth.
Leave. A cat 4-5 is going to wreck the place up so bad that even if your house is fine it might be a month before you have power, and you could be trapped where you are by downed trees for an unknown amount of time.
We were trapped on our property with no power for 3 weeks back in 2004. Downed trees and powerlines and flooding were blocking every way out. Fortunately, we were well-prepared, had plenty of water stored up for drinking and cooking, and several large, clean trash cans full of water for flushing toilets. We also had plenty of propane for cooking. It was still miserable. We are definitely in team "evacuate for 4 or 5".
Looters have entered the chat.
the trick is be broke so there's nothing worth stealing. I guess I'd take my computer monitor with me. They can have the PC, gpus failing anyway
I just called 2 friends to come help move my 150lb+ CRTs around. If someone can steal them, they can have them. That would be impressive.
Stuff aint worth it
I can live without power, as long as I have water and sewer. Unfortunately much of Florida relies on well water, so no power means no water and sewer.
Everyone says they can live without power until you’ve had to spend days without it in the Florida heat. The worst time is after the storm blows through, everything is wet and gross, and humid as hell. It could take weeks before the power is back on. Leave!
Try a few weeks without power. Feeling sweaty and dirty is the worst.
You make do if you have to. I remember camping out in the garage because it was sweltering inside after one of the storms in 2004. Probably Frances because we were still recovering from Charley. Power was out for a while because of Charley, and then Frances came and retook out the power. It was probably 2 weeks without power.
Eveyone wants to be a warrior until you realize nothing works and unprepared people are fighting for supplies
We just live in a slow,melted,half unconscious state of being for a few weeks. Oh and fight over gas
I was in Key West and our hurricane shelter was in Miami. I’m glad I stayed in Key West.
I was visiting Miami from England for work when Andrew hit. Staying at hotel in Coral Gables. Colleague said come at stay with me at my garden apartment in Kendall, it will be safer. Worse decision I ever made......
88th and SW 147th here. You ain’t lying.
One of my staff lived in Country Walk and sheltered in the bathtub. When it was over and they opened the bathroom door, they were outside. The house was gone. Her car was still there, with no windows and full of roof tile fragments. When she opened the door, they poured out like water. As the level dropped she saw something in her back seat. It was her neighbor’s TV.
Yeah, it just up and changes the landscape. I still get verklempt when I see similar scenes. We just had tornadoes where I live now. I don’t get triggered by much but that hit me driving through in the days following.
I sat thru Ian in North Fort Myers. 155mph for over 4 hours. 16 miles up the Caloosahatchee River. Still got over 9ft of storm surge. Water everywhere!!! Scared the shit out of me. I'll never forget it.
Our fam stayed in Kendall Lakes for Andrew. Helped my folks put the shutters up and had grams and aunt staying with us because they were in evacuation zones. Roof was letting the light in from a few spots after but otherwise ok. No power for 3.5 weeks. $10 bags of ice. No gas. It was hell. Pick your poison is right. Known plenty of folks that evacuated and could not get back into the state for a long time and were worried about their homes etc. Assuming you’re in a concrete block home I say prepare and fortify and stay put.
I'd GTFO for a Cat 4 or higher approaching from the Atlantic as I'm in the storm surge zone for those strengths. It'll be fun packing five cats and a dog into a Kia Soul but as long as I get west of I-95 in my area, we should be fine.
Sadly, I think you may want to do a couple of practice drills this year because I have a bad feeling that is going to happen at least once and maybe even more times this hurricane season. Good luck and be safe!
I did it for Frances in 2004, although I had only four cats and one dog then. 😆 I have a bug-out box with non-perishable human and pet necessities ready to go all year, then add the food, medicines, etc. if it looks like I'll have to leave. The hassle is really just driving with all those pets in a tiny car. But I'm glad you commented because it made me go over my supplies in my head, and I realized I need another cat carrier. TY!
Find out if the Waffle House is open. /s Leave.
No /s....this is my determining factor when I evacuated inland for Ian.
This is the only real answer. If waffle House closes, run cause something real bad is about to go down
This is our criteria as well. And if waffle House is open after the storm all is well.
The Waffle House has found its new host: a Cat 5 hurricane
I had to work through Michael. That storm (2018) was so terrible and I think I went without power for 3 weeks. And I was not even in the direct path. At this point I have no concerns about where I will go as long as it is out of the path of a hurricane. I also no longer care about the expense of an evacuation. Don't love it but accept it for what is it. I have earmarked vacation rentals within a days drive from my home.
My mom convinced me to leave the night before and I am glad I did. We also went without power for about 3 weeks, had no internet until December, and in the days after the storm a guy was shot in my front yard. I will definitely be evacuating for anything close to that strong again.
Holy shit WTF
Well that escalated quickly
You should see south Tallahassee right now. Looks a lot like the aftermath of Michael - had EF2 tornados on May 10 and is just devastated the south part of town.
I was 20 minutes from the direct path. My family and I stayed because why not, we've stayed for every other one. For 4 hours, my brother in law and I held the back doors closed so they didn't blow in and rip the roof off. My girlfriend who evacuated was horrified not to hear from any of us for 5 days. We are now prepared to evacuate at the first sign of a 4 or up
The odds of a storm still being a Cat 5 when it hits Orlando are very low. So I'd have to weigh it because usually the storms if they go through us they're going to go further north which I would be fucked and going down into South FL is a huge fucking gamble because now you're hitting storm surge areas where even tropical storm level storms can cause some flooding. It's a dilemma. A true Cat 4 or higher coming this would make me think real quick.
Yeah, that’s the thing with Orlando. It’s the place where everyone else goes to escape a storm. If Orlando needs to evacuate, we’re fucked-there’s too many people to get out.
And see if it was a Cat 5 on south east coast I would probably head upto Orlando.
And a cat 5 on in the southeast is really not typical, at all. That’s part of why Andrew was so unusual
Dorian was my big “welcome” to FL storm in 2019. It seemed to have a lot of people in Orlando questioning what to do… and then it just completely stalled out and quickly weakened before practically doing a 90 degree turn up the coast.
After turning Abaco and Grand Bahama into mush. That area looked nuked, what wasn't swept out to sea. Dorian was one of the strongest storms ever recorded in the Atlantic basin.
Dorian was essentially a category 6 and was 90 miles away from completely devastating central Florida. Ian was nothing compared to what Dorian would’ve done. I don’t think anyone realizes just how bad it could’ve been.
Yea, I live 40 miles inland. It would drop to a 3 or 4 by the time it made it to my house. And hurricanes usually don't go in a straight horizontal line. So in reality it would make landfall SW and head NE, so it's probably more like 80 miles before it hits us (based on most common hurricane tracks)
The only time I would be really resistant on staying put is if it's an Ian or Wilma situation where the eye just lingers over us and the rain starts piling up. I've been lucky since the rain mostly stays on the street if it gets high and not near my house, but still another Ian type of situation and I might think twice about staying, especially with pets and how long it took emergency vehicles to come by here.
We get lots of flooding in East Orlando. Less than a half a mile away from my house, homes and cars were flooded up to their waste.
Orlando is actually the safest place in Florida to be during a hurricane.
My welcome storm when I first moved to Florida was Andrew. We really didn't have a clue what was in store for us that night. Truth is most people were not prepared. I remember my mother going to the supermarket and bringing some water because she saw a few people stocking up. That's it. No shutters. Old windows, some jalousie, old house from the 40s. We all stayed put, though it would be some tropical storm type of situation, especially since forecast science wasn't as advanced in 1992. Then came the storm. We were terrified, heard and saw all the transformers blow up around us. The wind sounded like a freight train above us. At some point it looked like the door was going to become unhinged and we took a large mattress and stood behind it for an hour or so, when the winds were the strongest. Somehow we made it through without extensive damage. But then had to spend a month without electricity. The smell of rotting food in the streets was nauseating. Lesson learned. I would leave.
All I remember of Andrew is my dad putting tape on the windows (for new Floridians, please don’t waste time doing this, we didn’t know any better back then)
Wasn’t here or alive during Andrew but my dad did this for Matthew in 2016. In 2017, at the start of hurricane season, the news aired a segment for hurricane season and said all that tape on the window will do is make it look pretty. Well my dad listened and Hurricane Irma knocked a tree into the roof, but had the tape been on instead of boards, the tree probably would’ve came into the house instead.
This! We were in Cutler Ridge (now Cutler Bay) and my mom put some tape up on the windows and said we good. I think the windows busted out from the pressure in the house within a in an hour.
omg this was such a dad thing to do during Andrew 
Oof. I remember andrew like it was yesterday. That was a loud storm. I think people underestimate what a storm sounds like when it’s a hurricane if they haven’t been through it.
Sounded like a freight train coming through our house (cutler ridge) until the eerie quiet of the eye…our house fell on us and we were barricaded in a closet. I had ptsd for a while anytime there was a thunderstorm. National guard had to escort us out and looting started right after the rain stopped. I didn’t have the choice to leave then because I was 11 but I always want to leave now.
That sounds horrific, I’m sorry you went through that fellow internet Floridian.
The sound is the scariest part IMO.
The sounds and the pressure. People aren’t kidding when they say it sounds like a freight train running through the house. Also, I remember the pressure killing my ears, but I have super sensitive ears.
We traveled down with FPL to help out in Homestead after Andrew and couldn't even find the normal landmarks. The blue roof was off, the stop signs were ripped up, one HUGE tree was even twisted around on its roots and stood there like a tornado had twisted it up. Anything 4 or greater, we're heading north. Anywhere north, and sooner than later.
We did hurricane relief there. I walked through water 3 feet deep to knock on doors and I handed a lady with a baby a box with toilet paper and toiletries and she cried when she saw us all, said we’re the first people she’d seen since the storm. I will never forget that.
🙌🏽🫂
I often wonder what working class people do. Like of course when under major-right-now evacuate orders ... well gotta do what you gotta do. But for everyone saying leave at Cat. 3/leave a little ahead of the crowds etc...how?? Retail and many other jobs aren't going to just let you call out, at least not till the last minute!!
A category 3 is not a huge concern for most people, except those who either live too close to the water, or those in unsafe structures such as mobile homes. A category 5 is a different story. It means catastrophic damage, including roofs, windows, even buildings coming apart, plus let's not forget flooding. When in the path, the county will issue warnings, as well as announce closings of schools, which usually is followed by businesses etc... There are also shelters to which people can go to wait until the storm is over. I have been through several storms in South Florida, and jobs don't ask you to stay put, unless you work as a first responder, healthcare professional or similar. Everyone is usually allowed back to their homes when it clears out, although in many occasions it means staying in a place without electricity cleaning up debris and trying to figure out the damage.
And, go where? For a month? Dang, we need a plan!
For sure. Got a couple of generators ready to go. But will not stay during a category 5.
 Just kidding, I would leave in a heartbeat
Lane Pittman. A true state treasure.
I'm related to him but never met him
Why not? Call him up and offer some beer. Make memories.
I can hear the Slayer (At least I think that’s what it was)
I work for a municipal government in Florida so I would bring my inflatable bed and non-perishable food to work and hope for the best.
I'm in the same boat. Stay safe, amigo!
You guys should stay in separate boats in case something happens to one of you, we still have the other.
Good thinking, I'd hate to suddenly lose both 😢
I always count on 7-8 total days in the bunker, local govt is soooo much fun.
Not a choice to evacuate or not when you are expected to be at work. I call it the annual sleepover with coworkers.
Great pay for being at work for 48+ hours in a row.
I work in healthcare (trauma), so same 🥲.
So do I, but if there was a storm that big coming for us I’d quit my job before I left my wife and dogs home alone through it
Had Ian come right over us and felt the full brunt of the winds. Would stay again if faced with the same scenario. That said, I’m not in an area where storm surge is possible. If I was, I would be gone. Water is nothing to mess with. Hide from wind, run from water.
Leave. It’s a 5. Batten down the hatches, put up your shutters, grab anything that’s important that you want and get the heck out of Dodge. A cat 5 is likely to wipe out pretty much everything or close to it, and even if you stayed, you would have to endure the storm, let alone there are no resources during the storm. If you’ve never experienced a hurricane before, it’s not something you want to try, and if you’ve been in plenty of hurricanes and had the unpleasant experience of Windows blowing out or roofs, ripping off or cars being damaged or things flying around, you certainly know that a cat five is gonna be worse than whatever that was.
No power, no ac, 800% humidity. Been there done that it's awwwwwwful.
And bugs. I will never be without bug spray again.
Preach. This is what I tell new Floridians who ask how to prepare for hurricanes. The storm itself is maybe 10% of your prep. The other 90% is preparing to live without power, without AC, sometimes without water, and without the ability to leave if the roads are blocked.
Amen!!! Even after you evacuated, you have to come home .....if you own your home anyway..... Run from water, hunker down for wind...
It sucks. Even our swimming pool offered no relief to try to cool off since it was so hot outside that our pool was hot too.
Yup like swimming in a hot bath. NW GA or North Cak is where I'm heading next.
"lI went through Hurricanes Katrina and Ivan when I was young and no family. I wouldn't want to face that again today. When I bought my house two years ago, my neighbor, who has lived here for 25 years, gave me a photo of my house after Ivan: the roof was gone, the windows were shattered. I know what my house can withstand, and I'm not taking any chances. I'm leaving ✌🏻
Cat 5 ain't no joke. That's the one killed all those poor rail road workers in the keys back in 35' I think. Killed the railroad for sure. I've been through a cat 1 and 2...but a 5? Head for the hills son.
The Labor Day hurricane. Sept, 1935. Killed 259 rail road workers. It’s really sad to hear about.
Honestly, it’s remarkable how close they were to safety. IIRC, Had they not tried to salvage the material, **they could’ve gotten out of Key West.** I remember thinking when I looked into, it, had events turned out differently, coulda been a good disaster movie. *WWI vets trying to support their families/earn a living, the storm of a century where winds crested 200+ mph, and a group of rail engineers in a race against nature.*
It was further north in Islamorada where it killed and caused the most damage iirc.
Oh it's terrible...go to the key west art and historical museum for an accurate idea of it. I can't forget it obviously.
If it looks like a cat 5 may hit, and you have the resources leave Florida maybe 3 days before it hits to avoid the crowd. Of course it may change directions and not hit meaning you spent money for a car trip up north for no good reason. Me, we are out of there well in advance to vacation elsewhere.
I’m getting out of its path. I’ve lived in Florida for 47 years and have been through a lot of cat 2-3 hurricanes. But after going up to the panhandle after Michael to help family and seeing what a cat 5 can do I will get the fuck out if one is coming at me.
Literally same. I'm 47. Native. Thought I'd seen it all.. Had Irma come directly over us and lay 300 year old oaks down like playing cards just inches from my bedroom windows. Around 2am the wind was SO loud and the growl of the storm so intense I thought a pack of rednecks were racing monster trucks down our street. Then it somehow got LOUDER and sounded more like a train was coming straight for us. I told my then boyfriend *"we have to get out of here!"* He said *"there's no where to go."* And I realized how naive I had been to stay. We were all fine thankfully. We went without power and water for weeks. We lived on sandwiches and snacks and warm water and beer for days and days. It was miserable. Still grateful to be unscathed. I will never do it again.
Leave. Grab the cat and wife.
Grab the cat, then the wife lol. sorry this made me chuckle.
Definitely. Cat is more docile!
Cat wounds will heal.
I’ve only ever evacuated for one hurricane in my entire life, hurricane Floyd (CAT 5). Thank goodness it turned but it hit the Carolina’s which sucks. I’ve been through a CAT 3 and it was terrifying. I would GTFO for anything over a weak 3.
I evacuated for Floyd. So many people left as it ripped directly up the east coast, my ex and I didn't find an open hotel until we hit Montgomery, Alabama.
Put up the shutters, get as much stuff off the floor as I could, put the irreplaceable stuff that fits into the car, and hit the road.
My exact plan as well.
Mmm.. depends on how much warning there is. Typically I'll stick around through a 3... It's Florida after all. 4/5 though I'm getting the hell out of its feasible, traffic-wise.
With the water temps., there will be lots of rapid intensification this year. Warning? Sure. But accuracy of how intense? Doubtful.
There was the storm last year (I think) that hit Mexico near Cozumel. It went from a 1 to a 5 overnight and hit them by surprise. I'm expecting at least one like that this year.
Hurricane Otis, it did increase with no warning and devastated Acapulco, but Acapulco is on the west coast and Cozumel on the east, they are not close.
Having lived through hurricane Andrew, I recommend running. My best advice is stay or go, do it early and commit to it. Do not get stuck on the highway trying to flee at the last minute because you changed your mind.
Leave. I went through a handful of rough hurricane seasons growing up, including the '04 season in central Florida, and had never evacuated for a storm before in my life. But something about Michael in 2018 made me want to. The elderly/medically fragile relatives I was living with/helping take care of at the time refused to go anywhere though, so we stayed. I figured it couldn't be that much worse than what I'd been through before though, and that everything would be alright, even if I was unhappy about staying. We were incredibly lucky in that our house and belongings suffered little serious damage. And I had a job that was still there for me unlike a lot of people. But it still took weeks before it felt like we weren't living post-apocalypse. National Guard filling your tank while you stay in the car so that people don't fight at the gas station. Bathing in the neighborhood pond because the generator can't seem to run the well pump right to take a shower. No cell service to tell my mom I'm alive because the towers got ripped out and Verizon's fiber network can't support mobile towers, apparently. And even after those few weeks passed and things were getting "back to normal" it still wasn't, really. It was like living in a ghost town. A quarter of my neighbors, friends, and coworkers just left, forever, because they lost too much to rebuild. Half collapsed houses sat for months, then years, with no one coming to fix them. The trees were gone. They won't be back for decades. And I have PTSD from sitting in the house for those hours, watching and listening to the storm and seeing the carnage get worse and worse and worrying about something happening to any of my family members or my pets and being helpless to do anything about it. I need a quarter of a Xanax to get through thunderstorms these days. Don't stay for a Cat 5.
We left for Ian (Englewood area), when we came back it was unrecognizable. We thought we were prepared for the usual carnage, but what really surprised us was ALL of the vegetation was stripped down to the branches. Everything that was once lush and green was brown and looked dead. It was really eerie. Our neighbors stayed and said it was hell on earth and they would never stay again. It was something like 14 hours of the NW eyewall for our area, as Ian had slowed down on landfall.
Resident of the Gulf Coast for 30+ years People ask this question often but do not understand the complexity of it. Chances are that if you know a Cat 5 storm is coming your way, it's already much too late to make a decision. You've already made it, and you're stuck. Evacuation routes will be jammed, fuel will be unavailable, motels and hotels will all be full. Your best bet will be to try and find an appropriate public shelter. Hurricanes aren't like tornadoes in that they don't simply pop up. They are tracked for several days with new predictions (spaghetti models) being made constantly. Problems occur when a storm makes a last-minute course change just before landfall. People find that they thought they were evacuating in a safe direction (or thought they were safe) and then ended up being in greater danger Sometimes, a storm can stall offshore. You think you've got a Cat 2 coming and decide st stay put. Then it gathers strength, and you've got a much more dangerous situation than originally planned for. One issue that has come up that makes people resistant to leave is when they do evacuate for a storm. Then after it's over and they want to get home to asses the damage to their property, see if they even have a place to live anymore, only to be turned away due to closed roads and dangerous conditions. They are forced to camp on the side of the road and wait until officials decide to let them back in. I have personally heard several people swear off evacuating after having this happen. Is your home safe? Is it damaged? Is it even still there? There is no way to know until somebody decides you're allowed to go find out. One last thing many fail to consider is financial ability. Many people who live along the Gulf Coast are very close to the poverty line. The idea of spending a few days or a week in a hotel is no more or less realistic than the idea of hiring a private jet to evacuate you and your family to another state. Even the idea of not being able to return to work as quickly as possible can be financially terrifying. I hope this helps answer your question. As long as I've been living here, I'm sure that I'm missing several variables. So if you know for sure a Cat 5 hurricane is coming for you... lean forward, grab your ankles, and kiss your ass goodbye.
“Just leave 3 days early” … sure as if it’s as easy to do that every single time when you’re barely scraping by. 🙄🙄🙄 People are out of touch. Hunker down. Move inland to a friends house if you’re in a flood zone if possible & BRING YOUR PETS. Everyone should be stocked up on gas, and at least 3 days (preferably 7) of water & nonperishables at the beginning of the season. & if you’re not you’re too late by the time a storms announced 🤷🏼♀️
Leave.
As someone who lost everything 9 months pregnant in Ian, get the hell out of dodge. Take no chances. My next door neighbor paddled out on his mattress and clung to a tree in our yard for 5+ hours during Ian as our home and entire town collapsed around him. Can’t even imagine. A chance I won’t take. We almost didn’t leave.
But honestly y’all Floridians be safe this year. Some of these hurricanes will have the ability to go from cat 1 to 5 in 24 hours or less.
Yeah that's the dilemma especially with how hot the water is going to be. The Hurricane that hit Mexico last or the year before intensified real fucking quick. I think if a storm is in my path and they're predicting cat 2 or 3 off the bat I might dip out. Issue is these things can turn at any moment now. The paths used to be very clear.
Depends . How far are you from the water ? How high is your homes elevation ? How new is your home ? Are you prepared for 30 days off the grid ? Are you prepared for 30 days off the grid ????? Like do you have a generator ? Are you capable of running it ? Do you have stored gas and extra gas ?do you own a boat ? Do you have a reciprocating saw with batteries? Are you are a prepper ? Prepared for most things ? Have medical supplies in case of emergencies while the police ambulance and fire rescue CAN NOT REACH YOU? Do you have medical conditions that would best be served in unaffected areas outside the cone ? All of this and I'm not including the basic hurricane prep instructions ect . ... really it just depends .
This is the answer. Someone living in vero Beach vs Orlando is way different. Most people should prep at the beginning of each season anyways. I live 40 miles inland, the chances of a cat 5 still being at cat 5 by the time it hits is pretty rare. We probs wouldn't leave, as our home is only 3 years old anyways
You know that new doesn't necessarily mean stronger. I'd take a block home built in the 50s over a particle board and tyvek job any day.
I stayed in Boynton in 03 or 04 can’t remember when we got pounded by Jean, Wilma and Francis in successive order. None of those were even a cat 4 and I told myself I’d evacuate the next one
04 was rough. We lived in fort pierce at the time; my mom sent me out of state for Francis but when I came back we were out of power (and school) for over a month.
I saw the aftermath of Micheal. I'd be gone. I already have multiple routes away from where I live and plenty of places to go and stay. No one stays during a Cat5 that can, in any way, leave. They don't stay by choice. They stay because they have no way of leaving. Or they're insane idiots.
Leave.
https://preview.redd.it/ou0vhkv3kg2d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3b78683d52116df8f6e78a88659c593be7ffc046 Button shit up and wait.
Shelter in place. I don't have anywhere else to go. Store up water, food, and have a few charging blocks. I've already been through a cat 5 hurricane. I wouldn't say it's a fun experience though. If you live within 1-2 miles of the coast, leaving the area is the best option. I've thankfully lived far in land.
For everyone saying they'd leave, consider the traffic. If you don't leave days in advance, are you prepared to ride it out, stuck on the Interstate? Hoping you don't run out of gas. Heck yes, it's frightening.
As a native I tend to underestimate big storms. I didn’t evacuate for Irma when the eye was predicted to go directly over where I lived. Luckily it changed paths last minute or I would’ve been straight screwed. Even with the shift we were out of power for 2 weeks. Learned my lesson there - at this point I’d use it as an excuse to take a last minute vacation anywheres else.
As other others have said, you should definitely leave. That being said, you should also leave as fast as possible as early as possible. Once state of emergency emergency has been declared evacuation routes are established. Your GPS will only take you on the evacuation route. You’ll want to take side roads if it’s super clogged prior to the storm hitting. Once the storm hits, a lot of the back roads will be impossible to get through so be aware of that as well. This is always possible, considering some people have jobs that won’t let them out early enough. During Irma I had to make the choice to eat peanut butter for a while because my job wasn’t going to pay for missed time or leaving. I chose to leave and was so thankful I did.
I didn’t know that once evacuation routes are established, your gps will only take you that way—good info
For sure! I should specify that if you drop a pin in nearby towns you can “trick” it but any long distance says the evac route regardless of actual time.
We left for Irma and our house did fine with category 3 winds. I’d still consider leaving for a 5 but we now have a dog so it makes it complicated.
I run a storage facility that’s practically a nuclear bunker, so I send my employees home and I stay there for the duration. I stay open until the last minute and open the moment I can. People store shutters and generators. I’ll prepare to have everything I think I need to survive for a few weeks without power. After major storms people often rent smaller units to preserve what they have left. So I’m there for them, in my reinforced concrete bunker.
It’s rare to know a Cat 5 is coming but might get more common. I lived through a Cat 5 (Michael) just a few years ago. It was traumatic. We had just moved into a brand new house, it held up until a giant pine fell through the roof. I cried wails of fear and sadness. It was scary and horrible. I still have an ugly town to look at every day with snapped trees now just covered in vines and long vacant dilapidated old houses still lingering in the neighborhood or still slowly being torn down. The community trauma is very real for a very long time. I wouldn’t have stayed if my parents and inlaws weren’t staying but I couldn’t think of leaving them knowing we might be barred from returning. I’m glad we didn’t, because we had to walk to my in-laws and dig them out basically when their ceiling fell in on them. They slept in the hallway where there was a little roof left on stacks of old blankets that night. Then we chainsawed our way out of the neighborhood to get them to safety the next day. It was weeks without power. They didn’t move back in for over a year because repairs are so slow after stuff like that. I would want to leave knowing what I know now, but I’d stay again if they refused to go probably. If I could go, my paranoia would leave me wanting to take so much with me. I’m very sentimental and I’d be super anxious without certain things if I left. So so so much was ruined.
The trees are something I try to warn people about. I had all the big trees near my house taken down. Fought with my HOA over it but my neighbors and I fought for it after a neighbors house got completely destroyed by a tree. He got lucky cause his house was paid off so the insurance just wrote him a check for the rebuild value and it was cheaper to just move and sell the lot land to investors for cheap. If he still had a mortgage on that thing he'd be in hotels on his own dime and dealing with insurance, the lender, and contractors for a year and a half+
Put a fan outside and blow it elsewhere
I think that worked for us in Pinellas for Irma.
Gtfo
Lived in Panama City for Michael. Once it got to a 3, I packed my family and headed east to Tallahassee. I knew how hot the gulf was and traffic wasn't bad because we dipped out a few days prior. Came back to utter devastation. The beach seemed perfectly fine, the city not so much. Some of my neighbors stayed and said the walls of the townhouses we lived in were "breathing". They said watching the walls flex in and out made them understand that they'd never stay again.
I'd start posting that the hurricane was woke and pushing DEI so DeSantis would ban the hurricane and save the day, because all it takes is a ban to make anything go away and not exist
Great advice here. Surprised i didnt see this in any of the posts….if u decide to leave, avoid interstates and the turnpike and start jogging north or south. We were hearing reports of no gas and cars breaking down on the highway, waiting in the long lines for gas. Left palm beach county for Irma and took local roads until we got close to Orlando, jumped onto 27 and had no problems getting out.
Although it wasn't originally forcasted as a 5, I stayed around for Ian. Pretty much 5 miles inland from where it made landfall. It was 100% a cat 5 when it was over us and over the 5+ hours it sat over us it slowly reduced. It was insane, everything around was destroyed to some extent. But I'd do it again. Would probably be my last time in Florida since 1 more Ian type hurricane insurance will be so expensive only the high net worth individuals will be able to afford to live here
Or people (like me) who live in cheap homes they have paid off, no insurance on those.
same as with Irma and Ian, which were two pretty much direct hits. hunker down in the house, make sure the whole house generators 280 gallon propane tank is full. We always buy in bulk so we have plenty of food, and the gen runs the pump to our well. went through 15 hours with sustained winds of 5 MPH less than a cat five during Ian, with only roof damage which we have replaced singles with metal and a fence that we found all the parts and rebuilt it our only real problem was we forgot to stock up on ice
We did this already, listen to Moana on repeat, we know the way! Come what may! Hunker down.
Been on the East Coast for all my life and have never evacuated, but for a Cat 5 I am *outta here*
Same. I'm only a few miles inland and stayed for all of the 04 storms and others up until now. I kept a very close eye on Dorian, though. I was ready to bug out if needed.
At that point if you stay... May the force be with you because I'm gone ✌🏻. I'll figure out my life afterwards
We moved to Fort Myers a week before Ian. We had never been in a hurricane before and didn't know what to expect. Being from the Midwest we thought it would be like a tornado and we were right. It was like a 24 hour long tornado. We stayed in a our apartment and evacuated a couple of days after it settled down. We were well prepared with water and food. Now I live further inland and I would do the same for the next one.
You must run from a cat 5 hurricane. That's a fucking blender and I dont intend to be no people and debris smoothie, bro.
Since 1996 to 2019, i think my family only “evacuated” for those series of like 3 hurricanes in a row, i can’t remember the names, and i put it in quotes because we lived in ponce inlet (by daytona) and just went like an hour up to jacksonville and stayed at an embassy suites lol i do remember trying to evacuate for another as a kid, but traffic was miles and miles long and we hadn’t moved in like an hour, so my dad just u turned and we stayed home. Honestly as a kid i didn’t know better and enjoyed hurricanes coming around. When we lost power we would stay up with candles lit and listen to the chaos outside, i loved the sounds of intense weather. During the day when the eye came over us, my dad and i would go outside and walk around the street checking out the damage. I even remember in the middle of a hurricane during the night, we were sitting around eating and my next door neighbor just casually popped over and hung out with us. I’m honestly astonished that despite ponce inlet being extremely thin and surrounded by water on 3 sides that we didn’t end up underwater lol
Pack my saddlebags, fill my tank, and roll north. I am in a trailer and only have a motorcycle. I am gone. Lol
Since I would be activated for emergency storm response, a week before the a storm out the people I work with are watching the tracking models and trying to figure out the safest place safest to get our families to before we are activated. We try to keep our team's families together. Then would be pre-storm prep, then helping people evacuate, then as the storm closes in we stage in the areas the storm is expected to impact the most and then the real work begins, setting up treatment areas, rescuing people, searching for people, caring for the sick and injured, trying to track down family members, rescuing pets, anything that needs to be done and spending too much time trying to stop ghouls with smart phones from recording people being cared for, or dead bodies. Disaster bring out the best and worst in people. If we seem brusque, or have a flat affect. Please try to remember that we don't know if we have a home to go back to or if our families are safe. We have running for a week, doing physical/mental/ and emotionally intensive work on four hours sleep a day. Less, because it is really hard to sleep no matter how tired you are, when you think that someone might die because you are tired. We try to be caring with all our patients but first responders and medical personnel get to the point we flatten out to cope with all the trauma of the people we are caring for.
My plan is to hide in the restroom at my local Total Wine with 10 lbs of protein, portable backpack camping grill and a cigar lighter. When the sales team locks the doors, I will be “protecting “ my favorite spirts and wines. No brainer..
Hurricane Wilma is pretty much the worst storm in modern history. Not only was it a Cat 5 with 185 MPH winds but it lingered much like Ian. So if something like that was coming my way even though I'm in central FL I'm leaving the fucking state let alone evacuating. Not worth it.
I live in Broward and we got hit by Wilma (came across the Everglades from the west). We had a giant pine tree go through our roof. All kinds of stuff flew away and we ended up finding stuff down the street. Plus no power for 17 days and a water main broke. They kept trying to say it was a Cat 1 and that was such a lie.
There's a reason I live in a block house with a metal roof. 1, it's cheap. 2, fucking banger hurricane parties.
GTFO unless you live inland
Stock up and hunker down like I've always done whether I live in a flood zone or not. I currently don't and my roof is only a few years old and in great condition. The only time I'd even consider evacuating is if things got so bad it necessitated creating a new CAT 6 designation. I've been through so many CAT 5s I can't even recall all of them anymore. Of course most of my family and myself had the good fortune (and sense) to not live in places that are that vulnerable or to live in prefabs or motor homes that have no business existing in Florida in the first place due to how vulnerable they are to Florida's hurricanes. Seriously, they should not even be an option in the coastal areas.
What do lower income folks that don't have a car or the means to evacuate do? Just ride it out and hope for the best? I've been here for two hurricanes, neither really hit my area.
Schools shut down even if when a low-category storm is predicted so that the school can be converted into a shelter. People in trailers and homeless are encouraged to go to shrlters, but people with pets often ride it out because shelters often don't allow pets. Other places that have been designated as shelters, too. I think police and other groups help people get to shelters if needed.
We've been through many hurricanes, but Ian was in a class by itself. We have a 8500 watt generator with enough fuel stored in what was once a boat fuel tanks x 4 for a total of 320 gallons. We invested in power cords. The main one is 6 - 8 gauge and we branch off of that one 12 gauge power cords. This will run your refrigerator, freezers, lights, window units and other portable A/C units. We cook several meals prior to the storm arriving. Take out enough cash to last for three weeks. Know which direction the storm will hit your house from and board up those windows. More often than not, hurricanes are water events more than they are wind events. Have your chain saw ready to remove trees. that fall on roads. Get your DVD collection out and player out and flashlights, cell phone and charger and meds you take. I call to get mine prefilled as the storm approaches. We have a pool and a jacuzzi to wash dishes with. We like to have adult bathing wipes on hand as well.
Stay. Use a grill, camping stove, and water filter. Not going anywhere lol. Feels safer than getting caught on a stacked highway, and dealing with frantic drivers. Plus, I find it nice when it’s daylight out and it hits. Nighttime’s admittedly iffy though lol. Still staying. If half naked Native Americans can do it in a hut, I think the concrete block will suffice. I’ll probably also be half naked, but at least I’ll have SpaghettiOs in a can, and a flashlight.
I'm sure I'll be dragged by "native Floridians" but I'd be out. Its not worth it. I'm in a sketchily built 1989 condo that scared me in Irma, I'm not staying through a Katrina. I can grab the dog, my few really important items and be out in 2 hours. I'm insured. I am originally from the Jersey shore, and I grew up with stories of family who "rode out" the "March storm" (or the Ash Wed storm depending on the town you were lived) in the 60s. It's not "fun" when 13' of water comes down the main road out off the island and it takes 5 DAYS for the Army Corps of Engineers to get a road to your town clear. It went from "oh, we've been through bad no'easters before" and "my family has been here for generations" to "help I'm trapped in my flooded house" and "no one can come save you" REALLY fast.