Another Quick #Update – #Evacuation? – #HurricaneIan

/ Marcia Meara

Thanks to all of you who are wishing us well here in Florida! It’s greatly appreciated!

Nancy Homlitas mentioned evacuation ahead of Hurricane Ian in her response to my earlier post, and I thought maybe I’d best clarify what’s going on currently. They have just ordered a mandatory evacuation order for Hillsborough County, because it includes Tampa and other communities that are on either the Gulf or Tampa Bay, and they are very likely to have heavy flooding and storm surges there.

Evacuation has never (that I know of) been ordered for Seminole County/Orlando area because we aren’t on the coast, and seldom have major flooding, though we can certainly get plenty of wind. The damage we received during Hurricane Irma was from a tornado spawned by the storm, but those can and do pop up randomly with or without hurricanes, and can’t be predicted.

When it comes to evacuating, it is not a good idea to do so if you aren’t told to, because the roads will already be jammed with those who really NEED to get out of their area. I just heard over 300,000 people are expected to be moving out today. I know the traffic on major northbound highways will be bumper to bumper. Because of that, we will not evacuate unless we are told to. It would just complicate things even more. But we also will NOT IGNORE evac orders for our area, should they tell us to go.

Basically, our best option right now is to lay in supplies (did that yesterday) and hunker down to ride it out. In my life time, I’ve been smack dab in the middle of some of the worst storms in Florida’s history, and being smart about our safety during them is just automatic. So far, in this case, our best bet is to stay here, though of course, there are no guarantees. Hurricanes are fickle, fickle things. 

If the situation changes, and we have to grab the cats and go, I’ll do my best to let everyone know. But I haven’t given up on the storm changing course, or even weakening considerably after crossing Cuba. You just never know with these events.

Thanks again for ALL your well wishes, and rest assured, we will do everything we can (even evacuating if necessary) to stay safe. I’ve still got some things on my To Do list, and I want to be around long after this storm in order to take care of them. 😁

I’ll be sending prayers out to all of you in the potential pathway of this storm. Please stay safe, folks, and don’t ignore any evac orders that might come your way.  We’ll try to do the same!

See You After All the Wind & Rain Dies Down!

24 thoughts on “Another Quick #Update – #Evacuation? – #HurricaneIan”

  9. Thanks for enlightening those of us who are in states without a lot of weather calamities about severe storm protocol. I suppose if the cell towers blow over, the electric power lines are trashed, and the internet goes down, your experience would serve you well. I’d be out of luck! Your Guardian Angel will certainly be busy! Take care, Marcia.

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    • First wind and rain at 2:00am tonight (so officially Wed morning). It looks bad. 😩Thank you so much, Nancy. I do hope our Guardian Angel is looking after my son & family, 2 hours north of us, first, and then us! Mostly, I hope there are a LOT of guardian angels on duty so we ALL are safe! 😀

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  10. Sounds like a solid plan, Marcia. And you are so right. It is not good to add to the chaos on the roads if we don’t have to.

    We won’t evacuate either, unless it’s coming right over us and is predicted to be a strong Cat 1 or even a Cat 2 by the time it gets to us. We’ve never had a true hurricane make it this far inland. It’s always a tropical storm by the time it gets to us.

    Those are bad enough, but we’ve endured quite a few in the 18 years we’ve lived here. This time, we have a new roof and new windows, so house is more “up to code” to ride out a bad storm.

    Hope all goes well where you are!! Hugs from Gainesville!!!

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  12. Sending protective energy your way, Marcia! I’m in South Florida. We are no longer in the cone, but I can tell you that the outer bands are on us, and this storm is UGLY. It hasn’t stopped raining since yesterday, and I have no doubt my neighborhood is flooded. I’m just hoping my SUV can make it through the “swamp” and get me to work and back. Lol! Stay dry and stay safe. XO 🙂

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      • We’ve just gotten some outer bands. It’s predicted that we will feel tropical storm winds tonight. School is closed for Wednesday and Thursday in anticipation of strong winds and flooding. We are so far from where the eye will hit, so I’m worried about you and those in this storm’s path. 😥

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