Anyone have family/friends in Tampa who refuse to evacuate?

[Anonymous]

I have two sets of friends who live waterfront in Tampa. One refuses to evacuate. The other has. They are obviously worried about their homes. I'm concerned with their lives.

[Anonymous]

Florida, what can you do? Tampa expat

[Anonymous]

This is really location dependent. If I was in an apartment on the 3rd floor+ I wouldn’t leave either.

[Anonymous]

Not leaving is dumb. Your home or apartment can survive the storm, but afterward you can have no electricity or running water for days. It sucks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is really location dependent. If I was in an apartment on the 3rd floor+ I wouldn’t leave either.

What about a waterfront house on Old tampa Bay? Stupid? Crazy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is really location dependent. If I was in an apartment on the 3rd floor+ I wouldn’t leave either.

What about a waterfront house on Old tampa Bay? Stupid? Crazy?

Do I have to pick?

[Anonymous]

Have your friend read about those in the Panama City area who were hit by Hurricane Michael in 2018. Many were not in the evacuation area and stayed, then the hurricane intensified unexpectedly as it made landfall. My mother was one of those. She was trapped in her small house for hours and was lucky to survive. Once she got out, she had to spend the night in her car because the roads were unpassable. She relocated to Alabama due to lack of local options and died a few weeks later from cardiac issues that were undoubtedly exacerbated by the stress of the hurricane and its aftermath.

[Anonymous]

I think it’s hard but part of loving someone is accepting their autonomy to take the risks they choose.

[Anonymous]

A lot of the homes in Florida have hurricane rooms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A lot of the homes in Florida have hurricane rooms.

Do these have their own electricity and water supplies? Because that's the main problem in the aftermath of a hurricane.

[Anonymous]

Eh. I am from a hurricane area and have never evacuated for a Cat 3. It’s just not bad of a storm. A Cat 5, or something that was a Cat 5 for a long time and carried that possible storm surge? Different story.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Eh. I am from a hurricane area and have never evacuated for a Cat 3. It’s just not bad of a storm. A Cat 5, or something that was a Cat 5 for a long time and carried that possible storm surge? Different story.

I'm more worried about the storm surge than the winds. They are waterfront and their area will certainly be flooded and if they are very lucky, their house will not be, but they will not have water or power for sure.

[Anonymous]

My family members are heading inland to Orlando last I heard. Staying in a waterfront house is a bad idea with the forecast, but there's nothing you can do to make them leave.

[Anonymous]

People always do this. I will say the projections for a direct hit have moved south a bit towards Ft Myers. Although anyone in Tampa should still obviously evacuate. Yes we had relatives who stuck it out in Panama City a few years ago and there were severe consequences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Eh. I am from a hurricane area and have never evacuated for a Cat 3. It’s just not bad of a storm. A Cat 5, or something that was a Cat 5 for a long time and carried that possible storm surge? Different story.

I'm more worried about the storm surge than the winds. They are waterfront and their area will certainly be flooded and if they are very lucky, their house will not be, but they will not have water or power for sure.

It’s not a big deal to be out of water/power for a few days. We fill up the bathtubs and buckets for flushing the toilet/sponge baths, and keep drinking water for at least a week. Not a problem, even if not particularly comfortable.