evacuation: stay or go?

Sandy has rekindled an ongoing debate in my house with Mrs. Hanna about when to evacuate in a severe weather situation. we're on a barrier island in NC; for us, it's a theoretical question at the moment....but the situation has come up before and will come again just as surely as it has come for Jersey.

i talked to several buddies trapped in AC today and they confirmed what i have always argued: far better to be trapped at your house after the event rather than go crazy offshore for days, unable to get back onto your island, with no idea when and what you will return to. my friends are already cleaning up, drying out etc...and while they will be without power for the foreseeable future, they are more than glad to tough it out as needed.

of course, all of this is predicated on the size of the event, but assuming it's under Cat 3, would you stay or go? and for those who are living it right now (and our best thoughts and wishes are with you), did you make the right decision?

We stayed, and it wasn't a big deal. I agree that it's better to not be stressing about the what-if's for the next three days. That being said, I had a feeling that the winds wouldn't really be the issue in this storm, just the rains and tidal surges. If this had been a hurricane with any more strength wind-wise I think it wouldn't have been as cushy, but since my particular residence isn't often flood-prone it ended up just being a couple days of going stir crazy.

I live right across from Assaateague Island in md and watch the storms like a hawk. I would say if it was going to be a direct hit or just north of the eye on anything over a minimal hurricane I would probably evacuate. This storm was probably the most damaging that I have ever seen down here. There was major flooding, trees down, no electricity etc and we were at least 100 miles south of the eye. When it was all over this morning we jumped in the car and couldn't even get a mile from the house before hitting a flooded out road and had to turn around. I can't imagine anything bigger hitting dead on, that could get really ugly.

My wife and I live on Long Beach Island, and we left. As much as it kills me to have a pretty good idea of what has happened to our house, and know it's going to be days before we can get back there to assess the damage, I think we made the right call. The first responders had enough to worry about without having to risk their necks rescuing my sorry ass. And being there would not have made the damage any less. At least our family and friends know we're safe, and we're staying somewhere that has power and internet and we can continue to earn a living. We'll need the money in the coming weeks, probably months.

We'll go back as soon as they reopen the bridge, and get to work cleaning up and rebuilding. Lots of our friends opted to stay, and I respect their decision, as I hope they can respect mine.

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Originally Posted by RonG

My wife and I live on Long Beach Island, and we left. As much as it kills me to have a pretty good idea of what has happened to our house, and know it's going to be days before we can get back there to assess the damage, I think we made the right call. The first responders had enough to worry about without having to risk their necks rescuing my sorry ass. And being there would not have made the damage any less. At least our family and friends know we're safe, and we're staying somewhere that has power and internet and we can continue to earn a living. We'll need the money in the coming weeks, probably months.

We'll go back as soon as they reopen the bridge, and get to work cleaning up and rebuilding. Lots of our friends opted to stay, and I respect their decision, as I hope they can respect mine.

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Agreed+1. What this guy said.

the core of my argument has always been that, assuming you're an able-bodied individual (which i am), the actual physical risk to life and limb is generally not that significant - my house is built to hurricane-standard building codes, it's on pilings that puts it about 20 feet above sea level. and if my windows blow in or a chunk of my roof comes off, i'd rather be here to deal with it rather than return to to it days later. of course, i'd cheerfully send loved ones offshore (one less thing to worry about) but it would be hard to get me to leave.

edit: and to anyone who knows CB, my backup plan has always been the Mariott - walking distance to the biggest concrete structure around with it's own generator, a bar, and comfortable rooms to crash in.

Able body..check. Under cat 1 or 2..check. Get the wife and kids the hell out of the way couple days before. Much better to be there and able to protect what is left and start digging out immediately. No electricity and water is tough but I can't handle the unknown. You have to make sure your are safe during the peak of the storm, close enough you won't be denied access back to your home but never put a strain on first responders. Everyone in a hurricane zone should add that to their "secret spot" list.

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the core of my argument has always been that, assuming you're an able-bodied individual (which i am), the actual physical risk to life and limb is generally not that significant - my house is built to hurricane-standard building codes, it's on pilings that puts it about 20 feet above sea level. and if my windows blow in or a chunk of my roof comes off, i'd rather be here to deal with it rather than return to to it days later. of course, i'd cheerfully send loved ones offshore (one less thing to worry about) but it would be hard to get me to leave.

edit: and to anyone who knows CB, my backup plan has always been the Mariott - walking distance to the biggest concrete structure around with it's own generator, a bar, and comfortable rooms to crash in

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I like your style... with in reason I'd stay (have stayed)...plus if you don't mind toxic water and have some ear plugs you can get some waves for all your troubles.

if i lived in one of these affected areas, depending on the actual location of my house, i would probably evacuate. there's so many other factors that go beyong cleaning up. where are you going to go to the bathroom, do you have enough food for 2 weeks incase the power is can not be turned on, gas leaks, your plumbing could be severely messed up, if you had to get food more than likely you would have to travel by bike and getting the food back would be a *****, having to deal with looters, every night would be by candle light or flash light. i think the risks outweigh the benefits, but i always play it safer than sorry. I may be boring, but that philosophy has helped me countless times when others were in regret.

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Originally Posted by super fish

if i lived in one of these affected areas, depending on the actual location of my house, i would probably evacuate. there's so many other factors that go beyong cleaning up. where are you going to go to the bathroom, do you have enough food for 2 weeks incase the power is can not be turned on, gas leaks, your plumbing could be severely messed up, if you had to get food more than likely you would have to travel by bike and getting the food back would be a *****, having to deal with looters, every night would be by candle light or flash light. i think the risks outweigh the benefits, but i always play it safer than sorry. I may be boring, but that philosophy has helped me countless times when others were in regret.

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c'mon, you surf, right? you're already a risk-taker - it's just a question of degree;)

life as an evacuee is no picnic, either: where do you spend the next week or two? friends? relatives? that gets old quick...or the expense of a motel...or, god forbid, a shelter?

the inconveniences are relative: the aftermath is gonna suck no matter what, so where would you rather be?