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Tips and Anecdotes For Riding Out a Hurricane From a Native Floridian
For all of those new Floridians out there
One of the joys of being a Floridian is dealing with periodic hurricanes. It has been less than a year since Hurricane Ian ravaged the community just to the south of me. Here we are again, staring down yet another hurricane with an I name. (Darn you, I-named hurricanes!) This will be my third I-named hurricane in the past six years (Irma, Ian, now Idalia.)
I have stared down and ridden out some scary storms, including Ian, Dorian (near miss), and Matthew. Over the years, I have learned quite a few things about getting through these stressful times.
People tend to wig out in the face of an oncoming storm, and you can’t blame them. The news is always painting a dire picture. The forecast always looks terrifying. But you don’t have to wig out. You can make it through.
I was born in this state, and God willing, I’ll die in this state. I love Florida. Every storm is different, but there are some shared experiences that carry over from one to another. Here are some of the tips and anecdotes about making it through a hurricane.
Don’t Panic
Don’t panic. Panicking helps no one. Every year, I pass people rushing by in the grocery store with a cart filled with about 900 water bottles. Don’t be that person. Get what you need, wait in line with everyone else, and don’t hoard.
As someone who has done this a few times, I still have old cases of water stashed in my attic from previous hurricanes. You don’t need to freak out and hoard. Chances are you won’t need any water bottles, much less a whole flat cart full of them. You also don’t need to be a dick to other people, either. We are all in this together.
Pay attention to the news. Stay alert. Prepare. Get what you need. But please don’t panic.
Don’t Evacuate To Another State
Before Hurricane Irma, I had an employee working under me who freaked out. They cracked under the pressure. They panicked. His wife was pregnant, and they were wigging out. They evacuated to Alabama. They drove nearly 16 hours to escape the storm. While our area got some…
