No judgement. Perhaps more people would be willing to evacuate if Government agencies didn’t truly lock them out of the affected areas when they try to return to their homes after the storm has passed.
Obviously this isn't always the case, but Wilmington is one of the spots hit hardest by Florence, and it's not the government keeping people out: It's the Cape Fear River. It's literally blocking the roads.
Some of the islands ARE refusing people who aren't residents or business owners (I understand they have a long-standing system of passes that prove "you belong", which are given out before hurricanes), but that's to prevent looting -- and, truthfully, if you're not a resident or business owner, what business do you have on those islands at this point? No one's going for vacation right now. If you're visiting a relative, the relative can meet you at the bridge and vouch for you /allow you in on his pass.
Given that most people who "choose" to stay do so largely due to reasons related to poverty, I would say no.
I don't think so. I have a good bit of family in Wilmington (and many of my friends and coworkers have family there too). Of those who chose to stay, finances were not mentioned as a factor. Not at all.
They say they want to stay because they want to be present to "fix things" immediately (and that's not unrealistic -- one of my family members had a tree "leaning" towards the house after the storm, and because he was home, he was able to get someone to take it down quickly. If he'd been away from home, the tree might've fallen on the house.) They stay because they fear looters.
But mostly they stay because they've stayed for previous (often smaller) hurricanes, and it's worked out okay, and they figure it'll be all right. And for MOST people, it will be all right -- after a couple scary-bad days -- but for someone, it's not going to be all right. Not at all. More than 30 people have died in this last hurricane.
That’s really easy to say, but someone already has a pet, they are told to evacuate. Pet isn’t up to date on shots. What exactly are they supposed to do at that moment?
I can't see a justification for not keeping your pet up to date on shots.
I feel for those who felt like they had to stay. Sometimes leaving just isn't a choice. I left for Matthew, and I will tell you that leaving can be pretty darn expensive (if you can find a room, that is) and you are at the mercy of whatever hotel you can get in to. If you end up having to stay multiple nights that can break a budget pretty quickly, not to mention having to possibly pay to stay somewhere if your home is damaged while trying to negotiate with insurance (if they even have any).
Yeah, finding and affording a hotel for an unknown number of nights can be expensive, but being injured in the hurricane is expensive too. Shelters are free and widely available; I've helped with setting them up (for tornadoes, not hurricanes, but I'm going to assume they're similar).
I have never understood why people stay to prevent looting. Everyone with posessions worth looting has homeowners insurance that will replace your belongings. Just take photos and document what you have before you leave
Looting is a problem in situations like this, but -- as you say -- insurance will replace things. They can't replace your spouse or your child.
And that was people don’t seem to always understand. It takes resources to evacuate and stay evacuated. Resources some people just don’t have
It’s very easy to say that everyone in a hurricane area should have an find set aside. There are people along the gulf states that have never been ordered to evacuate that may be told to for the next storm. These storms are not an every year occurance. I mean hurricanes are but not where they hit. If someone has an evacuation fund, chances are they will have to use it before the next storm for other life emergencies that are honestly more likely to happen.
I'm sure some families are genuinely making all the right financial choices and still aren't able to save, but -- truthfully -- most of us have some fluff in our budgets. Cable TV, eating out, lottery tickets. All but the poorest of us could put away a few dollars a week, and after a while it'll add up. Saving an emergency fund -- for most of us -- is possible.