To Evacuate Or Not: Some Stay Put To Avoid Clogged Highways, Gas Lines

FLORIDA — Five years ago this month, Hurricane Irma made landfall twice in Florida, bringing damaging winds to the state and causing coastal surge and rainfall flooding. Now, Category 3 Hurricane Ian heads toward the state with the prospect of storm surge levels not seen in 100 years, a foot or two of rain in central west Florida and winds over 100 mph.

With Ian looming, parts of Hillsborough, Pinellas, Manatee, Sarasota and other counties are under evacuation orders — some mandatory, some voluntary.

While so many residents evacuated during Irma, a number of Floridians have decided to stay put for Ian, despite the potentially historic storm surge and devastation the state could face.

Like millions of other Floridians, Joan Hepsworth of Pasco County left the state during Irma, making an 18-hour drive to Mobile, Alabama.

“That’ll never happen again,” she told Patch. “I should write a zombie apocalypse novel about gas-thirsty zombies towing their 40-foot yachts.”

After pummeling portions of the Caribbean as a Category 5 storm, Irma made landfall twice in the Sunshine State on Sept. 10, 2017 — once in the Florida Keys and again near Marco Island, according to the Weather Channel.

It was one of only five hurricanes to ever reach a maximum sustained wind speed of 185 mph or higher, reports said. That wind speed was maintained for 37 hours — the longest on record. Ahead of the storm, nearly 7 million people — about a third of Florida’s residents and visitors at the time — evacuated, WUSF reported.

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Ester Venouziou of Gulfport told Patch that during Irma, she, her boyfriend and their three cats stayed close to home by going to her brother’s block construction house just a few miles away in a non-evacuation zone.

Her brother has since moved to Seattle, though, “so this time, staying home, unless they issue mandatory evacuations,” she said. “I’m staying positive, but ready to ride things out for a few days/week if needed! The usual supplies: flashlights, batteries, water, snacks. Not really getting into the storm frenzy.”

In the Sarasota area, Hallie Smith said she initially planned to remain home during Irma and even prepared to stay in advance.

“However, the news freaked me out to a point where I panicked and at midnight, after watching the 11 o’clock news, decided I was going to pack a bag and evacuate,” she told Patch. “I took my mom and her dog, and we headed north. With no reservations at a hotel, no plans to meet up at a friend’s house. Finding a hotel was a nightmare because they wouldn’t take dogs.”

They finally found a hotel in Orangeville, South Carolina, Smith added. “We waited there for a couple of days only to have the storm follow us. I vowed after that trip to not evacuate (again). So, this time, I’m hunkering down.”

Elisha Evangelisto of Manatee County also evacuated during Irma and “it was everything you heard about (it,)” she said. “Shortages of gas, long lines and people stuck on the side of the road because they ran out.”

It was a difficult drive, as the storm changed paths while she was on the road. When she learned that her rental was more in the path of Irma than her home was, she turned around to return to Manatee.

But they “had to cross rushing water, closed parts of the highway and other scary things” along the way, Evangelisto told Patch. “There were no rest stops. You had to stop anywhere to get gas and luckily, we had gas cans.”

After purchasing her home in 2018, she decided to never evacuate again.

Ally Koval of St. Petersburg was a first-year Eckerd College student during Irma and new to the state, making it her first Florida hurricane. Not sure what to do, she and a group of friends evacuated to Lithonia, Georgia, where they rented a large Airbnb home, explored the city and enjoyed their “hurrication,” she told Patch.

Her approach to Ian is much different, she added. “I didn’t know Ian was really happening until (Saturday).”

Having lived in the state for five years now, her anxiety around hurricanes has subsided some, though she did pick up some water and other supplies.

“This is me 2.0 from Hurricane Irma,” Koval said. “How long you’ve been here has a lot to do with it and the (news) coverage, I feel like Irma had more coverage. If it does really come and actually hit us, we’re going to have a miserable week. We didn’t prepare so, so much, where it’s like yes, we have everything we could ever need. We’re going to eat peanut butter and sandwiches for every meal.”

Deb Kelley of Tampa evacuated to her mother-in-law’s home in Lutz during Irma five years ago. The home lost electricity for two weeks, a large tree in the yard was split down the middle and a tornado lifted the house from its foundation, she told Patch. “We are NOT going back there. We are in an evacuation flood zone, but we are staying put with our pets.”

In St. Petersburg, Cyndi Vicker and her husband decided to leave during Irma, largely to keep her 95-year-old mother-in-law, who lived in a nearby retirement community, safe and comfortable. They also brought their two cats, setting up litter boxes in the trunk.

They decided to head to north Georgia, where they had hotel reservations. “There were tons of people on the road. I couldn’t believe it,” she told Patch.

The storm’s projected path shifted and, ultimately, followed them north. “We lost power in Georgia on Monday and had the high winds,” Vickers said.

The worst part was the traffic home, which crawled along the interstate, she added. What was normally an eight-hour drive, took them nearly 18 hours. “It’s just really hell getting up and out of Florida when evacuating and then trying to get back.”

With Ian, she and her husband mulled the question “should we stay or should we go” for days, she added. “But we knew what we were facing trying to get out and then trying to get back…Ultimately, we decided that staying makes sense.”

To prepare for Ian, they purchased a new water filtration system, portable solar panels to charge devices, rechargeable camping lights, battery-powered fans and other items.

“It’s not going to be the best, but those couple of things can make it better,” Vickers said. “Is any of that sound reasoning? Who knows?”

Related:

• Tropical Storm Ian: How To Prepare For Power Outages
• Evacuation Orders Issued Ahead Of Hurricane Ian In Manatee County
• Hurricane Ian In Sarasota: Evacuation Centers, Closures, Sandbags
• Where To Find Gas In Tampa Bay Area: Hurricane Ian Evacuation
• Hurricane Ian: If You Don't Evacuate, You're On Your Own: Sheriff
• Hurricane Ian: Hillsborough Residents In Zone A Must Evacuate Now
• Hurricane Ian: Clearwater Mayor Declares State Of Emergency, Closures
• Hurricane Ian: State Of Emergency Declared In Dunedin, Closings Listed