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https://theconversation.com/evacuating-in-disasters-like-hurricane-milton-isnt-simple-there-are-reasons-people-stay-in-harms-way-240869>
"As Hurricane Milton roared ashore near Sarasota, Florida, tens of thousands of
people were in evacuation shelters. Hundreds of thousands more had fled coastal
regions ahead of the storm, crowding highways headed north and south as their
counties issued evacuation orders.
But not everyone left, despite dire warnings about a hurricane that had been
one of the strongest on record two days earlier.
As Milton’s rain and storm surge flooded neighborhoods late on Oct. 9, 2024,
911 calls poured in. In Tampa’s Hillsborough County, more than 500 people had
to be rescued, including residents of an assisted living community and families
trapped in a flooding home after a tree crashed though the roof at the height
of the storm.
In Plant City, 20 miles inland from Tampa, at least 35 people had been rescued
by dawn, City Manager Bill McDaniel said. While the storm wasn’t as extreme as
feared, McDaniel said his city had flooded in places and to levels he had never
seen. Traffic signals were out. Power lines and trees were down. The sewage
plant had been inundated, affecting the public water supply.
Evacuating might seem like the obvious move when a major hurricane is bearing
down on your region, but that choice is not always as easy as it may seem.
Evacuating from a hurricane requires money, planning, the ability to leave and,
importantly, a belief that evacuating is better than staying put.
I recently examined years of research on what motivates people to leave or seek
shelter during hurricanes as part of a project with the Federal Emergency
Management Agency and the Natural Hazards Center. I found three main reasons
that people didn’t leave."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
