Hurricane plans? (Galveston, Donna: homes, to live, safe)

[oregonbirder]

Do you have a personal/family evacuation plan for hurricanes? When was the last time you evacuated, how far away did you have to go and how long before you could go home? Also wondering how that works as far as your job - do they give you time to evac or do they expect to work until last second? I'm guessing the closer it gets to expected arrival the worse the traffic and so the longer to get out?

I notice today you stayed at about 68 degrees ( while we are in the upper 80's don't see that switch often!) does that feel cold after the summer heat or does it just feel great? I read you are in a drought and the rain is quite welcome

[Poltracker]

Originally Posted by oregonbirder

Do you have a personal/family evacuation plan for hurricanes?

Every Family should have emergency plans and have a hurricane kit ready when the season starts.

When was the last time you evacuated?

Can't speak for Corpus but many evacuated for Donna last year over at Padre. Certainly many people evacuated for Ike in Galveston/Boliver areas.

how far away did you have to go and how long before you could go home?

If you use public transport provided by the government, you will go where they send you and return when they bring you back. If you have your own transport, it is up to you. Ideally, you will at least get far enough inland so that storm surge will not affect you or far enough to find a secure building if you are in a trailer or other structure that cannot stand up to a storm. You can come back when you are allowed. This depends on the amount of damage and how long it takes for the government to make the roads safe for passing. Actually, if you stuck it out or evacuated to a nearby area, you may still want to leave for a while as the electric can be out for a while (around 2-3 weeks during Ike). Hurricane season is also the summer season and the weather after a hurricane w/ no electric can be brutally hot and humid.

Also wondering how that works as far as your job - do they give you time to evac or do they expect to work until last second?

Generally up to your boss. Most companies are pretty good about it though (the bosses ant to leave too) as long as as everything at the company is secure. This however presumes you are not in a vital position. In which case, you may have to ride it out or may be assigned to a safe alternate work location.

I'm guessing the closer it gets to expected arrival the worse the traffic and so the longer to get out?

Sometimes. It is always better to get out earlier. Look at what happened to many folks on Bolivar during Ike. They wanted to avoid traffic (memories of Rita) and waited to the next morning to evacuate. Sadly it was too late as the storm surge had already started in, blocking the roads. Many were rescued by helicopter, but many also died trying to escape or stay put.

[oregonbirder]

very helpful, thanks!

[texdav]

Yes. I evacutated for sevaerl storms that never came near my area . I last years eavucted for gustav and Ike. Edwardo hit my area but we were not evacuted then because it whyent from tropical stoprm to 90MPH whe it hit early in the morning. Branches down and no eloectricity for about 48 hours but i had a genrator I bought after rita.Rita I was gone for ten days until the electricity came back on and they would let people come back to live. Came back after four days to cleanout the firg ;make temporary reparis to roof the left and beleiev me unless you had to return to didn't want to it was likde a ghost town with nothiung much opened.During Ike elctricity was out agian teb days then returned home. I evacualted about 100 miles north each time so as to be out of the electric damage area. I know alot that did go far enou8ghy in Rita and had to leave to go further north.If you saw coastal areas within miles of Rita basically wiped out and area with no levy protection 30 miles from the coast; flooded as water pushed up rivers;'canals and bayous in Ike to roof top level ;you would decide real quickly the getting out is vital.These were areas than survived the 130 MPH winds of Rita but the storm surge of Ike made that look like nothing.Boliver had homes that I can rememeber from 50 years agoi wipoe off as if they were raked off the map.There wasn't even grass left in the yards.Yes ;i take it seriously and plan ahead especailly when i heard people on boliver talk about being sweep from the surge at the beach over the land into the bay behind it and rescued 20 miles north in the bay hanging on to a ice chest and a life preserver. Some still not accounted for.OP is from Corpus and frankly a Ike storm with storm surge of 12 feet will cover the land for miles inland;rememeber everything was raised 12 feet and a seawall put in like 15 ft after the 1912 storm in galveston or it may have looked like Bolivar.Be prepared is what i am saying.