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Showing Original Post only (View all)TO FLORIDA DU'ERS AND FRIENDS: Friday is too late. TOO LATE. Head by THURSDAY to high ground. [View all]
Last edited Tue Sep 5, 2017, 08:09 PM - Edit history (2)
Head by tomorrow to high ground. Gainesville, at least, if not the state line.
Some older people just can't handle shelters. The electricity will be out, no fresh water and sewerage services will compound the wait until weeks of water draining are over. I suggest that if anyone can get into a car to drive to shelters, they should pack for a week, even a MONTH, vacation -- that means all your valuables, documents, etc., and head toward the Georgia line for a hotel.
I've been through Category 2, 3, and 4 hurricanes. Irma, being the fastest in recorded history, makes it much more dangerous to stay in Bradenton or anywhere West of I-75. I can't stress enough that if you have the resources, you'll be better off as far away from the West Coast as possible.
Don't wait until everyone else goes. Be ready by Wednesday to hit the road. Evacuees from South Florida will make I-75 a parking lot by Thursday. You can always turn back if it dies down to a tropical storm. But it will only dip to Category 2 after it makes landfall in Florida. The islands will slow it down, but since we don't know what these double wide homes can handle, it's best to leave, not stay in them.
I'm wishing you all the graces of the creator. But please. Trust me. I can't stress enough that your lives are more important than your homes. The flooding will be biblical all around the Florida West Coast.
There is no point in crowding in a shelter when you can get better telecommunications, water and sewer service toward the state line. When it comes to a Category 5 hurricane ANYWHERE, it's far, far better to err on the side of too much caution than not enough.
This hurricane is nothing, nothing, to trifle with. Again, plan for crowds from the south on the highways and leave EARLY. Better to endure the hardship of packing and unpacking and leave EARLY than to sit in heavy traffic from coastal evacuees. All alternative routes will be washed out but the major highways. Wherever you live in Florida, this will be a flooding disaster.
Look carefully at the hurricane route for West Florida in this National Weather Service report. This is going to be worse for you than Harvey was for Houston. When it comes to Irma, it's MUCH better to be a wrong pessimist than a wrong optimist. Pack your important documents, valuables, pets and get OUT. Get moving. Be safe.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2017/09/05/catastrophic-hurricane-irma-now-a-cat-5-is-on-a-collision-course-with-florida/
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