So You're Gonna Evacuate from Irma

SSgt75

SSgt75

Well-Known Member
Supporting Member
Joined
Jun 10, 2017
Messages
720
Location
Hillsborough, NC
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
Do you have friends in high places? Above the flood plain, that is and away from the storm's path.
Are you just going to jump in your car and head out of town?
Where are you going to go? Where will you stay? How long?
What will you have to go back to and when will you get back?

Lots of questions about evacuating from the coming storm.
Will you stay with family or friends? Do you just pack a few clothes and show up?
Or do you plan it like a camping trip and take food to share?
How do you know where you're going will have food and water enough for your group too?

I see all these stories about everywhere running out of bottled water and see posts in the Irma thread about water bobs and other storage devices for water. How about food and shelter? Also saw the posts about chain saws. You'll need axes, gas and oil, Long pry bars, heavy gloves and all kinds of equipment if the storm takes out your or you neighbor's trees. Heavy rope.

How much "stuff" can you take? Are you taking the Prius or the F250?
When are you going to leave? Think about the roads and all the traffic and traffic accidents that will occur. Do you have enough gas to get where you're going? Will gas be available on the way?

Just a few ideas and questions that came to mind as I read the news and the threads here.
So, Whatcha gonna do?
 
We're on top of a hill with Deep River about 30-40' Barlow and across the hwy from us.
Not worried about flooding. Might get some water in the garage from overflowing the courtyard with rain.
Other than that, We've got water, dry/can goods, firewood , 2 propane tanks, portable stove/ grill.
A 31' Motorhome with propane and generator.
The most I'm worried about is losing trees from the wind. I do have a good 20" saw and know how to use it, I just don't want to for that!
Wait and see what happens , help the town folk if and when it's needed.
 
Last edited:
Stay put because I am pretty far inland so I do not usually have to deal with hurricanes and their major distruction and out of a flood area. All tools here and Wood stove works for heat and dinner if needed and generator for water from well and have some stocked on hand.


This country boy will survive just fine.

Tornado would be biggest concern at this point for me.
 
We had many calls from patients today that were wanting to evacuate but they didn't know which way to go. I heard that nothing was available in the Atlanta area but, I'm not so sure that Atlanta would be out of the danger zone.
 
Reminds me of people evacuating Florida and Savannah before Hugo, only to be hit by the storm in Charlotte. This one could go the same way.

We'll stay put here in Hickory town, but I expect we'll have a wet basement to deal with if the storm comes this far inland. We keep water and food on hand anyway, plus we can filter creek water, so we can live for a while if power goes out.
 
The Green Heron said:
Sometimes....there is nowhere to run, till it's too late.
Click to expand...
hp468 said:
That's the problem I see here, nowhere in the SE is safe at this point.
Click to expand...
I had lunch with my boys in Wilmington today. I gave them both some cash and instructed them to keep their cars topped off between now and the weekend. I told them they'd hear from me with updates, but at some point it was going to be up to them.
 
Last edited:
I'm just going to keep a close eye on it. We're not leaving town if it becomes apparent that it could hit here. Hugo did quite a bit of damage to Charlotte, so with a storm like this one, no one in the Carolinas or Virginia is immune from catastrophic damage.

However, and I mentioned this in the other Irma thread, I am fortunate to own a business and a very well built building 7 miles from my house that we can flee to, if the eye of the storm comes our way. The offer I put out still stands as well. If it's apparent we are going to get a direct hit, and you and your family need a safe place to retreat to, send me a PM. We'll get it done.
 
Last edited:
All I know for sure is my beach trip is cancelled. We should be okay here after we secure all the patio stuff. Only 1 tree close enough to the house to cause minimal damage. Only issue may be extended power outage and food loss from freezer.

Then, if you can get here, big BBQ at Tigard and Lily's.
 
Living near the coast (north east NC) my wife and I always are ready for storms. Just a fact of life living here. Water & food are always stocked. That way we do not have to run out to the store to find they have run out of water. This time of year we keep extra gas on hand for the generator. We do not let the vehicles get below half tank and if we know a storm is coming like now the vehicles are kept full so if we do need to leave we can. (they also serve as extra fuel for generator)

We do leave if a hurricane is a 4 or higher. We first consider heading to Fredericksburg, Va. Oldest daughter lives there. Second choice is Zebulon, youngest daughter. Third choice we head NW towards Kentucky. Does not mean we will get all the way there or stop there that is just are plan of action. We always take keepsake type things that we could not replace. Food and water depends on where we head to. We do take both vehicles loaded.

We do board up the picture window no matter if we stay or go. Outside stuff gets put away or tied down. Generator (portable with manual disconnect) gets tested Quarterly and always tested when we get word a storm is coming. Test run was done Monday connected to the house. Realized that I do not have a spare spark plug so that will get picked up in the morning.
 
Well.
You notice I haven't offered to put anyone up. It isn't that I'm not willing, it just looks like I'm as likely to be hit in WNC as someone in Wilmington.
This monster is 400 miles wide, that's from my house to New Bern, just ain't not getting away from this bĀ„tĀ¢h till it's too late.
Y'all are welcome to come, but my place is gonna be dang dangerous if we get a foot of rain and even gusts of 60mph.
I don't see this being anything close to what Ivan wrought on WNC, because no model shows her stalling out like Ivan or Harvey.
Some models say she misses WNC altogether, but we won't know that for sure until we are in the 24-36hr window.
Going west of Florida through the straits is the worst kind of juju for WNC.

Fact is boys....she is gonna hit the Carolinas. I'm worried about my interests, but my prayers are with you my friends from Murphy to Manteo to Savannah.
Some of us are gonna take a hit, it's inevitable.
 
I'm going to be right where I am and working....going to be a dam long week. Packing a bag for my car as I have no idea how long it will be before I get home, hopefully daily.

Good post, a lot of things to consider.
 
Bring in the Triad, I'm not too concerned about the wife and I. We keep fairly well stocked up on food, water, fuel, batteries, etc. all the time anyhow. I will top off the auxiliary diesel tank on my truck and all our other vehicles have full tanks.

Her folks live in Calabash, so we're probably going to go get them this weekend and bring them up here to stay with us for the duration, unless something changes. We do have a camper and boat in the Topsail area. I might bring the boat back if I have time, but may have to just wish for the best. They're both insured, but I don't know how hurricanes factor into that. But in the end, they're just "stuff". The in-laws are the priority.

I think our daughter and her family in Raleigh should be OK. They've been keeping an eye on it and making their own preparations, but if it looks like the storm will hit them, they'll come over here too. If it looks like it's going to hit Kernersville, we'll just hunker down here. That's the problem, nobody can predict where this thing is going to go and how strong it will be when it gets there.

Like many here away from the coast, my biggest concern is trees coming down if the storm comes our way.
 
I couldn't leave if I wanted.
My dad refuses to leave his place and I can't leave him.
 
I've had my Polaris loaded on the truck since the middle of August. I've been meaning to take it off for a few weeks but I've had a strange feeling about unloading it for weeks.
I think I'll leave it on for another week at least. I'll load up my chainsaws this weekend. It may come in handy, along with tow straps and chains.
 
We've got a possible two sets of relatives and animals coming up. That's what happens when you read the FEMA maps before you buy and when you build check how water sheds on said property. We might have a places or two out back that could see water standing but there are no flood plains near the house or out buildings. The house has drain tile because of the basement and the gutters are tied into it that is piped off into the back bottom. Now trees are a different story ... no pines and mostly healthy oaks but their are a couple popular trees that I am not sure about but not to near the house. One day I'm going to put in a good 20kW diesel generator ... after the kid graduates college.
 
NCFubar said:
their are a couple popular trees that I am not sure about but not to near
Click to expand...

Poplars tend to lose limbs before they break. Strong trunk weak limbs=good? I've never seen many uprooted poplars. Where is @Scsmith42 he knows way more bout that than I do.

Now watch a big poplar fall on my house.
 
Last edited:
hp468 said:
That's the problem I see here, nowhere in the SE is safe at this point.
Click to expand...

Topeka Kansas would be the safest bet right now....if you can get accross the Mississippi. Wichita if you plan to stick to 40 through Memphis.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I live on a lake lot, but contrary to what you might think, I'm screwed.

I rent. We're screwed. 7 mouths in my house and 6 on some sort of meds. Can barely keep a weeks worth of groceries.

We're screwed.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
The Green Heron said:
Topeka Kansas would be the safest bet right now....if you can get accross the Mississippi. Witchita if you plan to stick to 40 through Memphis.
Click to expand...
Id rather take my chances here than go back to that place
 
Screenshot_2017-09-06-21-00-55_kindlephoto-193113157.jpg

A concern right now is that we've had some pretty soaking rains already this week, the ground is already soft. I can tell you they are already opening dams upstream, the cape fear was high today...that's gonna be a problem.

This is a picture of the train trestle over the river in the downtown area, the high water picture as last October. Just to give you an idea of what occurs here. Left picture is normal, right picture is flooded...that's ALOT of water. It's about 60-70 feet from trestle to water normally.
 
Last edited:
The Green Heron said:
Poplars tend to lose limbs before they break. Strong trunk weak limbs=good? I've never seen many uprooted poplars. Where is @Scsmith42 he knows way more bout that than I do.

Now watch a big poplar fall on my house.
Click to expand...
And they have already shed 2/3 of their leaves. I'd drop em but they can be good shade for the broodmares ...
 
Having lived on the coast for 10 yrs or so, I am always semi-prepared for hurricanes. We don't live near a flood plain and have a 8+' crawl space, so we shouldn't have any water issues. Only 2 trees big enough to do any damage close by but they are not on my property, so I have to hope for the best with them.
 
Living in Greensboro I don't think I have much to be worried about. Generator is ready but I do need to top off on gas. Have food and water and don't live near a flood zone. More worried that my work will send me to Florida to help down there while my family is here dealing with bad weather.
 
Miss Lily said:
Then, if you can get here, big BBQ at Tigard and Lily's.
Click to expand...

Dang right. Big BBQ should be the plan. If things go south in N. High Point and we decide to retreat to my office, there are just a few items we're taking with us: A change of clothes, some food (plenty of 5 gallon jugs of spring water already there), a few firearms and plenty of ammo, and....... our portable gas grill along with plenty of beer (wine for my wife).:D
 
I live about 20 miles from the coast or as @The Green Heron puts it 400 miles east of him. We've had a bunch of rain here and the lot at work is wet but my property drains supper well. When everyone else is flooded we have water, but it's not standing water.

The plan was if it was going to hit us at a 4 or above we were heading south to my parents house in centeral Florida. If they were going to get hit they were comming north to us. My dad swears it's not going to hit him because his in ground pool/patio needs a screen, his house could use a new roof, and he's prepared. We'll see how that turns out.

The new plan is to stick it out and wait for power to come back on. We're literally the last house on the power companies line. It usually takes a week to get power back once lost. The people across the 40 acre field have it 2-3 days before we do.
 
Firearms and ammo are high on my list of necessities. The world can be an ugly place in times of desperation.
 
With where my house is positioned flooding is not a concern. God made a promise with a rainbow and He would have to break that promise for my house to flood. What I'm concerned about is the wind. Combine the wind with enough rain and the crappy clearing job done on the pines around here and you could have a problem. My only other concern is a long term power outage.
So if no trees hit my house and we don't loose power for weeks, I'm fine. I keep enough on hand at all times to support my family for a week or better.
 
Well, I'm in Clayton and my house sits on high ground.

I have no where else to go except to those who have offered space here.
But, I'm going to stay here at my house, with my son & his cat, should his power go out or whatever.
Besides, being an Army Vet, he can help... :)

I have enough for, let's just say, "a while" in food/etc.

I may get just pine limbs down or I may have whole pine trees down or the tops.
I'm prepared for either or both.

I can offer a place to stay, but it's gonna basically be on the floor of my living room/kitchen and whatever space you can find in the rest of the house.

I have a means to keep my food from spoiling and I have a means to cook.
What else do I need? :D

In all seriousness....anyone who needs a place to stay, you're welcome here.
Just know that this area may or may not be "hit" by the after effects of Irma.
 
Don said:
You folks saying that you're in G'boro and aren't too worried......look up Hurricane Hazel.
Click to expand...

Great point Don. And I well remember how much damage we saw inland after Hugo hit.
 
Don said:
You folks saying that you're in G'boro and aren't too worried......look up Hurricane Hazel.
Click to expand...
Don't have to look it up. I remember it very well. Went out in the back yard during the eye and all was quiet and still. Mom made us come back inside before the back side hit (or she would have hit our backsides). Afterwards we drove around the area and saw the most incredible sights - street signs ripped out and slammed through brick walls like a straw through cheese. All kinds of other damage all over the place. As a kid I couldn't believe that "wind gusts" could inflict such damage.

During Fran we had four trees down on the house. The first one, an oak, had uprooted and landed on the roof over the kids' bedroom. A huge limb had snapped off but penetrated the roof and stopped 2 inches from going through the ceiling right over their cribs. Had that limb not snapped off it would have killed both of them. They were not quite 2 years old at the time and sleeping soundly. I was up and after the crash and power outage I went out in the middle of the night with a flashlight and saw the trees on the house. The next day was even worse when we could see all the trees that were down around us. I think we counted about 54 downed. I really don't want to go through this again with Irma.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom