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.......I will stay for no hurricane and people that decide to try and ride one out are stupid.
In general I think your statement is correct. Presumably you are talking about riding one out in an area for which evacuation was recommended by responsible authorities.
However, it may be a rational decision to "ride one out" if one is far enough inland from the point of landfall. I rode out Hurricane Andrew in Baton Rouge, Louisiana with my mother in her apartment, where I was visiting at the time. (You may recall that Andrew passed over Florida then strengthened back to hurricane status over the Gulf of Mexico before turning north and making landfall once again on the Louisiana coast.)
Baton Rouge is about 80 miles from the coast, which means that most hurricanes will no longer be of hurricane strength when they get there. Of course there was some minor damage in the city and some localized flooding, and we lost power for about 24 hours. And it was scary. However, I maintain that it was a reasonable decision to stay if one is that far inland. No one that my mother knew evacuated from Baton Rouge, and it was not recommended there if I recall correctly.
We filled the bathtub in order to have water for toilet flushing (but fortunately never lost water pressure) and we had foods on hand which did not require cooking. I taped the windows with duct tape to avoid shattering if they were broken (none were), and off course we had spare flashlight batteries on hand. It was an interesting experience.
The main problem is potential looters. In some places more than others. Where I live - I don't worry about it too much. Because I live on a barrier island where you need a government issued pass to get back after a storm. It's certainly not a perfect system - but it's better than none. And looters generally tend to come out after storms - not before.
I read stories that some people who died or were injured on Staten Island during Sandy stayed in place to protect their property. But don't know whether the stories I read are true. Robyn
We are on an island with three beaches and two small towns. You can only get to by bridge or ferry and in emergency you need a town permit to get back if you have left until they issue the clear.
My Wilmington , N.C. friends have already left for relatives more inland. They ar smart as they've been in the middle of it too many times to stick around to wait and see.
Bada Bing we were going to be there this weekend as we often try to avoid holidays and are heading to Virginia. Depending on the path of a storm we normally will be either at the beach or in Raleigh. If it is barreling up 95 oh well we can always head North. Still will be near 95 but oh well.
In general I think your statement is correct. Presumably you are talking about riding one out in an area for which evacuation was recommended by responsible authorities.
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That is exactly what I am talking about. If the authorities, evacuate you, there is a reason. Also, by staying you could endanger their lives.
There's a poster on C-D that I follow in the weather section under hurricanes. Being new to FL I had ended up in the weather forum and he/she was posting maps of possible tracks for a then unnamed Sandy and was sticking with the European computer model, following other weather blogs and sites. I was in FL and DH was in NY at the time. It was eight days out and I told him a possible big storm was brewing, off of FL and tracking north. It was early but it showed it going up the coast to NY and to keep an eye out.
NOAA and the Hurricane Center were following another model that was predicting a route going out to sea and didn't get it right until four days before landfall.
In FL I had three days of wind, no storms as she was off the east coast. DH was okay in NY, the major storm surge affected the Hudson River by us with water heights not seen before, with flooding and of course power outages.
I had been in FL for a little over a month then and just happened across this poster, who is Cambium. I was able to alert DH and he had extra time to secure our house and prepare, because of a poster on C-D.
In general I think your statement is correct. Presumably you are talking about riding one out in an area for which evacuation was recommended by responsible authorities.
However, it may be a rational decision to "ride one out" if one is far enough inland from the point of landfall. I rode out Hurricane Andrew in Baton Rouge, Louisiana with my mother in her apartment, where I was visiting at the time. (You may recall that Andrew passed over Florida then strengthened back to hurricane status over the Gulf of Mexico before turning north and making landfall once again on the Louisiana coast.)
Baton Rouge is about 80 miles from the coast, which means that most hurricanes will no longer be of hurricane strength when they get there. Of course there was some minor damage in the city and some localized flooding, and we lost power for about 24 hours. And it was scary. However, I maintain that it was a reasonable decision to stay if one is that far inland. No one that my mother knew evacuated from Baton Rouge, and it was not recommended there if I recall correctly.
We filled the bathtub in order to have water for toilet flushing (but fortunately never lost water pressure) and we had foods on hand which did not require cooking. I taped the windows with duct tape to avoid shattering if they were broken (none were), and off course we had spare flashlight batteries on hand. It was an interesting experience.
But - in your case - you weren't "riding out a hurricane". We stayed put through "Hurricanes" Frances and Jeanne. Because - even though we're on the coast - they hit us as tropical storms (although they hit other parts of Florida as hurricanes). Neither was a picnic (both were relatively strong tropical storms) - but we didn't feel like our lives were at risk (or anything close to it). IOW - what you did makes perfect sense to me.
FWIW - before a storm hits - you'll have tropical storm watches and warnings - and hurricane watches and warnings. Their guidance is normally very useful. OTOH - some areas have their own peculiar issues. Like parts of the outer banks of North Carolina - some of which are being evacuated this morning. Because there's only one road in/out - and it can get (and has been in the past) wiped out by less than hurricane conditions. Robyn
So, looters: Does this mean a gated community is better to deter looters OR do these gates not work during power outages so it doesn't matter?
We lived in a gated *guarded* high rise on Biscayne Bay during Andrew. In a mandatory evacuation area. The building was shut down - and all the staff left (most except a few really stupid residents left too). We didn't have to worry about looters. Because we were under 14 feet of water during the storm . And - when the waters receded - our security force came back ASAP (employees were given bonuses for their great work).
Note that there *was* a lot of looting post-Andrew. But not in our part of town. Most of the looting seemed to take place in areas where residents could least afford it:
Don't know how things would work in other communities in other storms. I'm not too worried about our particular house (also in a gated guarded community) these days. Even if our security force didn't return ASAP after a storm. The house is very secure (you can't even break our impact windows with a fire ax). I have faith that our sheriff's office would enforce the "pass requirement" for people entering after a storm. And we have decent insurance. Robyn
But - in your case - you weren't "riding out a hurricane". We stayed put through "Hurricanes" Frances and Jeanne. Because - even though we're on the coast - they hit us as tropical storms (although they hit other parts of Florida as hurricanes). Neither was a picnic (both were relatively strong tropical storms) - but we didn't feel like our lives were at risk (or anything close to it). IOW - what you did makes perfect sense to me.
FWIW - before a storm hits - you'll have tropical storm watches and warnings - and hurricane watches and warnings. Their guidance is normally very useful. OTOH - some areas have their own peculiar issues. Like parts of the outer banks of North Carolina - some of which are being evacuated this morning. Because there's only one road in/out - and it can get (and has been in the past) wiped out by less than hurricane conditions. Robyn
Staying in the outer banks and ignoring evac orders is insanity as you note
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. And - when the waters receded - our security force came back ASAP (employees were given bonuses for their great work).
