Gulf Coast States

[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.