Poverty. The answer is always poverty. Evacuation is not free and never has been.

Currently sitting in the Tampa Bay area while a category 5+ hurricane comes barreling at me. I'm in flood zone D next to E so I shouldn't have any issues there. In a building that is solid brick/cinderblock construction, built like a bunker. Don't worry about me. I got water, food, and enough fat to get me through the winter as they say.

The one thing I don't have is the hundreds or thousands of dollars it would take to drive 2+ states away and get a hotel for a week. I simply don't have it. Then you have all these people in places like Missouri or Montana posting this question about why people would not evacuate. We don't have the goddamn money. It's not hubris. We SHOULD evacuate. I don't see any of the people saying this offering up a spot on their couch. We should always evacuate... somewhere other than the house of the person who thinks we should, apparently.

  • Hmm [none/use name]
    ·
    3 months ago

    To be clear I'm not singling out this comment by replying to it. A lot of other ones in this thread are saying similar things. This one is just near the top right now so I'm replying to it for visibility.

    I don't want anyone in the area getting killed because of incorrect doomposting. There are some services still available to help people evacuate.

    From the Pinellas County website: https://pinellas.gov/news/pinellas-county-issues-mandatory-evacuation-orders-for-zones-a-b-c-and-mobile-homes/

    Pinellas County has issued mandatory evacuation orders for all residents in evacuation zones A, B and C and all mobile home residents countywide, effective immediately, today, Monday, Oct. 7.

    To support evacuations, the County has announced the opening of six emergency shelters, including shelters for people with special needs and pet-friendly shelters (see full list below).

    ...

    The County previously announced mandatory evacuation orders for long-term care facilities, assisted living facilities and hospitals, and special needs residents in evacuation zones A, B and C. The County is also recommending that special needs residents in evacuation zones D and E evacuate due to the potential loss of electricity and water.

    PSTA is offering free rides to the shelters 24/7, effective from now until conditions become unsafe for buses to be on the road. Pets are allowed on the bus: dogs and cats in a crate, large dogs on a muzzle leash. For the latest information on PSTA bus service, call the InfoLine at (727) 540-1900.

    Residents who don’t know their evacuation zone can check it here.

    Barrier islands info

    The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office will be patrolling the barrier islands from Sand Key south to Pass-a-Grille and announcing the mandatory evacuation. PSTA will provide free transportation on regular bus routes or for anyone who is able to signal a passing bus or trolley.

    I checked and the other two counties on Tampa Bay have similar services for transporting people to shelters:

    • Hillborough County: https://www.gohart.org/Pages/maps-emergency-evac.aspx
      • The busses are on routes to help people evacuate, but for those unable to get to those locations "On-demand zone service is available by calling at (813) 254-4278 for transportation to the nearest transit center, where you can transfer to a route that connects to a meeting point if needed."
    • Manatee County: https://extreme-weather-dashboard-manateegis.hub.arcgis.com/pages/emergency-evacuations-and-shelters
      • "Please contact 311 for shelter transportation needs."

    Edit:

    I've created a thread to gather Hurricane Milton resources to help people: https://hexbear.net/post/3632288

    And for completeness here's evacuation transportation assistance info for the other county expecting 10-15 feet of storm surge:

    • Sarasota County: https://www.scgov.net/government/emergency-services/emergency-management/evacuation-centers
      • They are transporting people from rally points to evacuation centers.
        • "Bring a face mask and be prepared to wear it on the bus."
        • "If you cannot drive to a rally point: Please call 941-861-8856 or 941-861-8857."