TRIGGER WARNING I can’t believe some people aren’t evacuating in Florida

[Newsenmum]

I really don’t mean to be insensitive. This hurricane Milton is terrifying but I’m really struggling to understand this. I know there are some awful situations where people can’t drive/are disabled or elderly and feel helpless but what I CAN’T understand is people not trying. Like they’re completely putting their head in the sand.

I’m part of a few mum Facebook groups that are mostly American. I kid you not, people are staying in zones with their little babies where there is mandatory evacuation. Some reasons why they aren’t leaving:

• my dog is aggressive and won’t be allowed in the shelter, so I’m staying put with him and going to hope and pray. Why is the dog worth more than a kid?
• i have too many animals which don’t fit in the car, I’m worried about the chickens (!!) again.. wtf? Basically suicide for their kids because they don’t want to leave chickens!
• im from flORIda so I’ll be fine! Hopefully it’s not as bad as they think. I don’t want to disrupt us. wtf??
• my babies have a block safe room and that’s ‘normally fine’

There are other Americans trying to send them money, urging them to go storm shelters or at least a bit more inland!

These are people in areas that have 15ft storm surge, there is so much debris already around that is going to be trashing their houses. If they want a certain death for themselves then fine but can’t get over them not saving their babies 😭😭😭 all because they won’t leave the bloody chickens that are going to drown either way!!

Uber has been transporting people free of charge to shelters.

Absolutely. When you take the responsibility of a pet on, they trust you to be their protector and care giver. You can’t renegade on that.

I think people were scared to leave in case they got stuck in the car somewhere. That would be awful. I can understand not wanting to leave pets , it would be very difficult. So many emotions and thoughts going through these poor people's mind. I'm thinking of them.

Stunned at the stupidity of some people. I can't believe what I'm seeing - I've just been watching a webcam at the southernmost point in Key West Florida and amongst others saw teens dancing, a father and a child posing for a photo and literally hundreds of others taking turns to pose to wave at the web cam and pose for photos. The waves are knocking people off their feet and they think it's fun. Fuckin idiots - all of them.
Southernmost Point Webcam - Key West

So, you'd just write the name of your baby on its body somewhere and hope for the best?

1 in 4 don’t have fuel. It’s being brought in my police escort. So you can imagine it’s probably more localised some areas have none and others have some

Storm surge will only affect certain areas. If you live out of the range of the surge, in an area that doesn't flash flood, and in a sturdy home with no dangerous trees around it—and if you have enough water, food, meds to see you through the immediate recovery phase afterwards—it's not likely to be a life-threatening situation. A terrifying one, and uncomfortable until electricity is restored, but not typically life-threatening.

The images you see after storms will always be of the worst-hit areas, because they're what people want to see, but most areas are nothing like that. There will downed trees and powerlines, roof damage, etc, but typically the utter destruction of the storm surge area is not as widespread as it might seem from the news coverage. It doesn't extend that far inland and won't affect most people's homes.

Making the decision to leave is difficult for many. You'd have no idea how long it might be before you'd be able to return to even assess the damage to your home.

Surely you just pack the dog in the car and leave it in there for a few days and take it out for extra walks in a desperate situation, not just wait to die. A lot of people go completely irrational when faced with dangerous situations. Oh well, you live and learn. Or not...

The thought of people stuck as they don't have fuel or being just stuck in the car when it hits is horrific. Can't imagine having to write my name on myself in case I don't make it. Just awful

I can believe it @Newsenmum. Human's are complicated creatures and sometimes act in "illogical" ways. You can see this all around the world. Also some really can't go.

I'm not sure it's worth trying to get out now. Time is short and the roads are gridlocked. Cars are not safe places to be in a hurricane. The force of the rain smashes windscreens, they are at risk of falling trees, winds that can blow them over, flying debris, rising rivers and land slips.

I hope everyone will be OK.
I hope governments will take Climate Change seriously and start doing the hard work of managing these calamities and reducing the risk of damage.

I love that. We could do with saying that to ourselves at least once a day.

I genuinely do not know what I’d do if I couldn’t take my pets. I wouldn’t leave them, I don’t know what that would look like

I’ve a family member in Tamps Bay and we’re worried, we’ve asked if they’re evacuating and they’re staying put as the roads are gridlocked so they can’t get out. We’re really worried but I’m not sure what else they can do if they can’t leave. Think they’re going to go to a shelter

I think Hurricanes are so common perhaps they become a bit blase. When we went to florida there was a hurricane coming whilst we were there we were at a watepark at the time and it suddenly closed. They were so relaxed just said there's a hurricane coming. Flight was Brought forward so we could get out before but it was downgraded to a storm in the end. Us Brits were worrying and they were like don't worry it happens all the time. Maybe they are hoping it's not going to hit so hard. I really hope so for their sake.

leave the dog in the car where?

editwd because that sounded narky and I didn’t mean it to!

I just mean where have you gone to?

There is free transport offered to shelters - but many still don't want to leave.

Are they concerned about looters and protecting their homes?

So you’d let your daughter have a dead mother rather than you have a dead horse?? Genuinely don’t understand that.

Right. And in a 15ft storm surge when the water means you are swimming out of the second floor windows of your house or sitting on the roof hoping not to be swept away, in hurricane force winds, huge waves filled with massive debris crashing around, cars floating past, lightning overhead, in the dark and with absolutely no chance of help - how exactly are you going to “protect” fluffy the cat?

I understand saving an animal if you can and sacrificing material possessions or money or your own comfort in that endeavour. Sacrificing the life of your actual human family and dependent children just to keep fluffy company while it dies seems absolutely bonkers to me.

Personally, I'd say when you take on the responsibility of bringing a human into the world, and they trust you to be their protector, then you shouldn't be throwing in the towel on that duty for a pet.

What I don't understand is why they don't separate lanes on inbound roads off, and mark them as officially 'outbound'. It's daft to have 4-lane highways empty opposite the gridlocked outbound ones, when they could be separated into just 2 inbound and 2 additional outbound.

I know from people who go to Disney that many houses have a special hurricane room?
Maybe people have them and want to sit it out.. For me I'd rather drive away and spend nights in my car if necessary? Or tent next to car if I couldn't afford a motel.

Unfortunately I remember from hurricane katrina the "shelters" " were hell holes where girls got raped.

What's ids though is people not filling up with petrol days before just in case? No buses or trains running?

@SnugglyJumpersMakeItBetter indeed

I knew a family who stayed through a hurricane in Florida, them and the police chief. Everyone else had buggered off sensibly.
There's a fear in a disaster, of leaving your home. Weird as it sounds. Like you feel you can protect it somehow. But it's like being gravely injured and being too scared to go to the hospital. At least your home is familiar to you. Some people would rather die in their home than some place unfamiliar.

OP is not talking about those people.