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Pre-Andrew mobile homes are death traps. The standards were raised tremendously after 1991, and that's why mobile homes built prior to that cost considerably less. You're taking a chance riding it out in a 25 year old model.
I woulod definite leave as I have live thru a area where storms have hit all my life. If a storm surge like Iks(cat2) is coming it acts like no wind strom I have ever seen. It looked like everything near the coast was raked over not even leaving grass.Areas with rivers and channels 30 miles from the coast were under 8" of water from surge that had never flooded with any other storm. Town of 3500 homes in that city had 4 that were not flooded out.
First, if you're thinking about heading out for an evacuation, get yourself a personal navigation system and a couple of gazetteer paper map books. The idea is to stay off the Interstates and on what are essentally secondary roads as long as possible. Your neighbors will know someone who has horror stories of getting stuck on I-65 in Alabama during the botched Hurricane Opal evacuation plan. I'd also think going east or west instead of north because it's easier to get to a point where the storm is going to miss. Think Tallahassee, Lake City, Jacksonville, Gainesville, etc.
As far as staying in a mobile home, even with retrofits, a 1980s model is not going to be as safe as a post-Andrew mid-90s home that had to meet all kinds of stricter HUD hurricane codes. I'm going to go against the grain and say I'd probably stay in the storage building built to category 3 wind speeds. Home is home and it's no fun being 200 miles away and not knowing what's going on.
In a mobile anything stronger than a CAT 1 I would leave.
I had a home on Miami Beach built solid concrete in 1926. Honestly If I had a strong home inland with shutters and up to code anything but a 5 I would stay in. Why is a school gyms safer than a well built home?
Well, it depends: what kind of building do you live in, when was it built, what your elevation is in relationship to the surrounding land, whether the storm is mostly wind or mostly rain, whether you have trees in your yard and what kind....
Charley was a Category 1 when it exited Florida, and it kicked our butt. OTOH, I've ridden out Category twos with not so much as a flicker of the cable TV.
In general, I go with the "Jim Cantore factor":
If the Weather Channel is broadcasting live from within 50 miles of your house, pay attention.
From within 20 miles of your house, be concerned.
If it's 10 miles, get your house ready for a good hard storm.
And if it's 10 miles and Jim Cantore's doing the story, RUN.
haha this made me laugh. we've been watching him all week on TWC for Hurricane Week and enjoy how excited he gets over the storms......and we're moving to Florida next week actually so this is pretty relevant to us.
Staying in a mobile home in a hurricane is not smart, imnsho. Sure you might be inland, and that might protect you from the storm surge, but the tornados level mobile homes. that's where death and destruction tends to be at its worst.
Staying in a mobile home in a hurricane is not smart, imnsho. Sure you might be inland, and that might protect you from the storm surge, but the tornados level mobile homes. that's where death and destruction tends to be at its worst.
Staying in a Mobile Home during a Hurricane is like playing Russian Roulette or signing your own death warrant.....
Even staying in a mobile home in a strong tropical storm is iffy
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