Gulf Coast States

[Kevlar281]

I’ve never understood why they call it mandatory evacuation if it’s not mandatory.

[BabyPiNK_FL]

I don't get it. Unless you live way too close to the beach or have a really poorly built house why would you evacuate? Here we don't mass evacuate, we open inland shelters for those who absolutely need to. (Ex. too close to the beach, mobile home, elderly, scared, sick, etc.)

[AGDee]

Originally Posted by BabyPiNK_FL

I don't get it. Unless you live way too close to the beach or have a really poorly built house why would you evacuate? Here we don't mass evacuate, we open inland shelters for those who absolutely need to. (Ex. too close to the beach, mobile home, elderly, scared, sick, etc.)

This quote has been weighing on my mind since Friday given the level of destruction from this Category 2 hurricane. Please don't think I'm picking on you, BabyPink, but I fear it's this kind of nonchalance that led people to stay on Galveston Island and parts of Houston even though they were warned that they could face death by staying. I've only heard them warn people to this extent twice.. Katrina and Ike.. and both hurricanes had massive levels of destruction in highly populated areas. I do hope that if you're ever faced with this (and I surely hope you aren't) that you don't try to ride it out. It's just not worth it.

[SWTXBelle]

The entire island of Galveston is "too close to the beach". You simply cannot make a home that close to the beach that is not liable to damage by wind - or even more deadly, the flooding. Very little of the island is actually protected by the seawall.
That is why there was a MANDATORY evacuation order - everything pointed to a tragedy in the making as Ike came closer. I fear that too many residents thought that this storm would turn at the last minute as so many in the past have done. Many were probably either old timers who thought they had been through the worst, or newcomers who had no knowledge of the 1900 storm, Carla, or the like. The false alarm and nightmare evacuation before Rita also probably lead to many not taking it seriously.
I am really afraid of what they will find as they go through the worst of the island's damage.

[AGDee]

Originally Posted by Kevlar281

I’ve never understood why they call it mandatory evacuation if it’s not mandatory.

If they say mandatory and you don't evacuate, then they can't be expected to be responsible for your safety or rescue. We can't technically, in the US, force someone out of their home, can we? We can say "This is a mandatory evacuation and if you don't leave, don't expect us to help you"

BabyPINK_FL: They are evacuating low lying regions because the storm surge could be more than 20 feet (one estimate just said 30-35 feet) along with 12+ inches of rain and winds of over 120 MPH. 120 MPH is equivalent to an F2 tornado. Why take chances? ETA: It seems like they evacuate the Keys fairly regularly.

[Kevlar281]

Originally Posted by AGDee

If they say mandatory and you don't evacuate, then they can't be expected to be responsible for your safety or rescue. We can't technically, in the US, force someone out of their home, can we? We can say "This is a mandatory evacuation and if you don't leave, don't expect us to help you"

Yeah I saw that on the news today, I guess it's a result of our litigious society.

/sidenote: All the ice cream at the corner store is half off.

[BabyPiNK_FL]

Originally Posted by AGDee

If they say mandatory and you don't evacuate, then they can't be expected to be responsible for your safety or rescue. We can't technically, in the US, force someone out of their home, can we? We can say "This is a mandatory evacuation and if you don't leave, don't expect us to help you"

BabyPINK_FL: They are evacuating low lying regions because the storm surge could be more than 20 feet (one estimate just said 30-35 feet) along with 12+ inches of rain and winds of over 120 MPH. 120 MPH is equivalent to an F2 tornado. Why take chances? ETA: It seems like they evacuate the Keys fairly regularly.

Oh yeah. they do. But usually it's mostly the tourists that leave. Some Monroe County (Keys) people take up shelter on one of my uni.'s campuses, but the building is never filled and usually I hear that it's mostly the homeless in there. Plus that is almost a different country so I didn't really think about there. How low lying are those areas? Just wondering.

[AGDee]

They're saying that the seawall in this one area is 14 feet at it's highest, 8 at it's lowest and storm surges could be more than 20 feet. Sounds pretty serious to me.

Amazing to me how big this thing is. The satellite image shows it's taking up almost the whole Gulf.

[Kevlar281]

Originally Posted by AGDee

They're saying that the seawall in this one area is 14 feet at it's highest, 8 at it's lowest and storm surges could be more than 20 feet. Sounds pretty serious to me.

The seawall is 16 feet. The highest point on galveston island...20 feet.

The waves are already cresting over the seawall. I got to admit I'm getting a little nervous about this one.

[LaneSig]

Originally Posted by AGDee

If they say mandatory and you don't evacuate, then they can't be expected to be responsible for your safety or rescue. We can't technically, in the US, force someone out of their home, can we? We can say "This is a mandatory evacuation and if you don't leave, don't expect us to help you"
BabyPINK_FL: They are evacuating low lying regions because the storm surge could be more than 20 feet (one estimate just said 30-35 feet) along with 12+ inches of rain and winds of over 120 MPH. 120 MPH is equivalent to an F2 tornado. Why take chances? ETA: It seems like they evacuate the Keys fairly regularly.

I don't remember if I saw this commercial in North Carolina or Florida. They played tapes of people calling 911 and asking for help during a hurricane. The dispatchers had to tell them that the police were unable to help them. It was a PSA to let people know, if we tell you to evacuate, you need to evacuate. We won't be able to help you at the height of the storm.