Hurricane Evacuation Etiquette

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alicia-w
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Hurricane Evacuation Etiquette

#1 Postby alicia-w » Tue Jul 12, 2005 9:37 pm

Okay folks, I'm sure all of us who have ever evacuated from an oncoming storm have something to offer here.

One of the first things I noticed is this:

When driving and travelling through traffic lights on city surface streets, please dont sit out in the intersection waiting for the line in front of you to move. When the light turns red, NO ONE can get anywhere. It isnt fair that vehicles driving in the cross pattern have to sit and wait for you to get your keister out of the intersection when you could have waited.

Dont get into fights at the gas station and for crying-out loud, dont cut the lines. You dont have any right to do that.

When driving on the interstate and going only 20 mph, dont ride up the tail end of the guy in front of you so merging cars cant get in. You arent going to get anywhere any faster by doing that.

We went to east Tennessee and folks seem to typically as where you're from. The minute we said Florida, they were all sweet and sympathetic. One place, we didnt even have to pay for our breakfast. For dinner that night, the lady threw in free dessert.

We drove back yesterday and what a cluster that was. LOTS of rude people pulling trailers, driving in the left lane of the freeway and going 20 miles under the speed limit. GRRRR.

The back roads went much smoother and we were able to find gas too.

Anyone else have any etiquette points to offer?
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#2 Postby alicia-w » Tue Jul 12, 2005 9:39 pm

can one of the moderators please delete one of these? i dont know why it posted twice.... thanks.
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Evacuating is not a vacation

#3 Postby Acral » Mon Jul 25, 2005 5:37 pm

1. Try to stay relaxed around those you are with. When you are far from home, and worried if you even HAVE a home, stress can grow by leaps and bounds.

2. You don't like that parking lot that used to be I-65, neither does anyone else. Let cars over, and be courteous.

3. SECURE anything that is on the roof of your vehicle. My windshield does not like YOUR suitcase falling on it.

4. Once the bands start coming in you are SAFER to stay where you are at.

5. If you live on an island (like Gulf Shores), at LEAST leave the island.

6. If you stay, be prepared to lend assistance to your neighbors.

7. Be patient with the gawkers. They simply do not know any better.
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Long Island

#4 Postby LongIslandExpress » Mon Aug 01, 2005 8:23 pm

Hi,

This is all textbook ways to properly evacuate. However, can you imagine the mass hysteria that might occur if there were a strong cat.3 or possible 4 storm to hit Long Island, after it was forecasted to go out to sea but 24 hrs or less are all people have to shelters?

Imagine the stores? forget about it. Marshall Law might be activated

Nick
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#5 Postby GalvestonDuck » Mon Aug 01, 2005 10:09 pm

Welcome to S2K, Nick!! (Not sure I'd wanna call you LIE, but that is the abbreviation up there for it, right?)

LOL! "Forget about it!" Ya really say that there, huh? :) Just kidding with ya!

Again, welcome aboard!
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#6 Postby Persepone » Wed Aug 03, 2005 10:40 am

Hi Duckie and Nick...

I believe the correct pronunciation is:

Feggeddiboudit...

I think Long Island public officials would have to address a potential hurricane threat with local shelters (and the time to think that through and make citizens aware is now--not when a storm is imminent). Getting off Long Island can be a nightmare in the best of times (ask commuters).

Unfortunately, just about everwhere--and certainly on the East Coast, there are just more people, so there are more houses, houses where there were no houses in the past, etc. etc. etc. So yes, in areas such as Long Island, where hurricanes are few and far between (but do strike!) there would be exponentially more damage than in previous storms and potentially much more danger.

If I were an individual, I'd take a good look at my house, how it is situated in relation to the shore, its elevation, etc. and then I'd look at the structure and see if there were things that could/should be done to make it "safer" from wind, etc. And based on what I figured out, I'd make my own plan--for a "safe room" if hunkering down made sense--or an evacuation plan (preferably to some other on-island location--just a safer one). And yes, I would have an "all purpose" emergency kit.

I think that there is a lot to be said for individual and family preparations for all types of emergencies. No one plans to have a house fire, for example, but keeping smoke, heat, CO detectors, etc. in the house and their batteries fresh and having a few fire extinguishers in strategic locations and running periodic fire drills for your kids--making sure there are two safe ways out of every room in the house where practical, etc. can and does save lives. Granted that if you live in a highrise apartment building, you are much more dependent on the fire department for a safe exit than if you live in a ranch house, there are still things you can do to make your home less of a fire hazard, etc. Well, the same logic applies to all sorts of "emergencies"--hurricanes among them.

I'm old enough to remember when there were virtually no warnings about severe weather. These days we often have lots of warnings. So why do people wait until the snow builds up on the roads to go out for the prescription refill or the baby formula, etc.? Go figure! I think the same is true for hurricanes...

On the other hand, I'm not sure you would need martial law before the storm (although you would after it because of looters, etc.) because New Yorkers are pretty remarkable when it comes to emergencies and they tend to be remarkably calm, resourceful and helpful to others. I'm prejudiced since I'm a native New Yorker (Manhattan), but I've been there for a bunch of bad stuff and am always very proud of how they respond.
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EMERGENCY TRAFFIC

#7 Postby NFLDART » Thu Sep 22, 2005 12:37 pm

just as a note: Please pay attention to Emergency Vehicles as well. :D
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#8 Postby tornadochaser86 » Sat Sep 24, 2005 11:42 pm

dont wait till the last minute to evacuate tank up on gas even if u are only going a short distance away example houston evacuation problems
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#9 Postby tornadochaser86 » Wed Sep 28, 2005 11:31 pm

be prepared to evacuate if u live near a high risk area as storms tend to wobble and or change tracks occasionaly ie Ivan Mobile Alabama
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#10 Postby Roxy » Thu Sep 29, 2005 10:07 am

don't just pack up and leave without preparing your house, it's not your neighbors responsibility to bring in your hose and other flying objects.
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#11 Postby Dionne » Wed Jan 04, 2006 9:20 am

Roxy wrote:don't just pack up and leave without preparing your house, it's not your neighbors responsibility to bring in your hose and other flying objects.


What qualifies as "other flying objects"?

Your neighbors trees? Your neighbors roof? The power companies telephone pole? The pieces of glass taped together that came from God only knows where?

With all due respect. There was only so much we could do to prepare for Katrina.
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#12 Postby alicia-w » Mon Jan 30, 2006 12:18 pm

the lawn furniture, potted plants, hanging plants, etc.

you'd be surprised what folks leave outside without any thought of where it might end up.
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#13 Postby george_r_1961 » Sat Jul 29, 2006 9:12 pm

Please keep the horn blowing in bumper to bumper traffic to a minimum. It adds to the already high stress level and doesnt accomplish anything. If you see another evacuee broke down do SOMETHING to help them. Most but not all of us have cell phones..at least offer to call someone for them. If your car does break down..GET IT OFF THE ROAD!!! Im sure you wont have any trouble finding someone to push your disabled vehicle off onto the shoulder or a parking lot or anywhere else but in a lane of traffic during an evacuation.

If you go to a a shelter dont act like a spoiled brat. Its not a hotel. Be considerate of your fellow evacuees. That means keeping the noise level down especially at night when many are trying to get some much needed sleep. If you have any type of medical training..RN, LPN EMT..or first responder make your skills available if needed. Help keep the shelter clean; rodents will be out in force after a storm so it would be prudent not to turn the shelter into a rat feeding station.

When you attempt to return home and police tell you that you cannot return yet(of course you should have already checked this) dont give the officer a hard time. Unless you want to be "sheltering" in jail. The police have families and homes too and must deal with their own storm related issues as well as protect the public. Ditto for firefighters and rescue workers. Do as they ask.


I sincerely hope that NONE of us have to implement anything posted in this thread for many many years...better yet never. Last year was enough for a lifetime
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rainstorm

#14 Postby rainstorm » Sat Jul 29, 2006 9:15 pm

lets pray for a slow season
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#15 Postby NFLDART » Fri Sep 01, 2006 3:54 pm

Just remember we are all in this togethor
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