Why would anyone stay in The Keys?

[SHRED]

I hope they don't have any relatives to grieve.
Wow.

[uppityperson]

1. No transportation out?

[womanofthehills]

17. There were evacuation buses out the the Keys on Thurs and Fri

[uppityperson]

18. Ah, thanks for the info

[gordianot]

2. Sounds like they are staying in Hemmingway's house.

18 inch blocks highest point on the island state of the art generators. Still sounds dangerous.

[democratisphere]

27. Jaqui Sands and 9 others are staying in support of Hemingway's House

and over 50 cats that live there. Dedication and love of feline beasts. I get it.

[janterry]

30. Better to put a few in a car and head on out

though it's too late, now, I think.

[cwydro]

57. That's only 10 people.

There are thousands who didn't evacuate.

[madaboutharry]

3. People are stubborn.

I remember there was a man who refused to evacuate when Mount. St. Helen's was about to erupt. I never forgot his name because his name was Harry Truman. Of course he was killed.

[Hoyt]

6. I remember that guy too.

https://m.

[janterry]

31. terrible way to die

[roamer65]

12. Definitely true.

If we could predict earthquakes, there would still be people that would stay. Many are that bullheaded.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

16. That guy had a point.

84 years old. Losing that house would have killed him anyway.

[Hoyt]

4. I wouldn't, but some of the old folks have been through it before. Plus,

projections of wind speed and area change. Sounds like Irma is going into Cuba, which wasn't predicted earlier. It could significantly weaken or even turn. But, I would have left Keys a week ago. There's too much chance of a big storm surge.

There was some reporter on with Chris Hayes tonight who said his elderly parents live in the Keys and are staying there. He was seriously worried about them, though.

[brush]

28. I have two brothers-in-laws and their wives who just moved to Florida in the last...

couple of years from New York. I get it that a lot of New Yorkers move to Florida because of the weather but it makes no sense to me.

It's not like hurricanes damaging Florida is a new phenomena, and the storms are just getting worse.

I couldn't live in peace knowing that every year about this time there's a chance of getting wiped out.

I'm worried about them now even though they moved to Orlando. This storm is projected to sweep the whole of the Florida peninsula.

[applegrove]

5. Just crazy.

[BigmanPigman]

7. I wouldn't be surprised if it goes even further west and it could go up to the

panhandle after being over the Gulf and gathering some more steam. These things often take really crazy paths that resemble an old Spirograph design.

[RKP5637]

9. Yep, still very unpredictable! n/t

[Scurrilous]

13. It's been skewing west all day.

The latest advisory has the eye going over lower to middle keys and missing the southern tip of the mainland entirely. A couple of days ago it was predicted to go straight into South Beach.

[Liberal In Texas]

8. Because people don't really know what's about to hit them.

Big fun, have a few cocktails. Ride it out.

But then.....the lights go out.....the water comes up.....the roof blows off...the car slams into the bedroom...black...

[Major Nikon]

19. I rode out a direct hit from a Cat 3 back in the 80's

I was in a solid building a few miles from the beach and it just sounded like any other big storm. We didn't have any sense of the scale of it till going outside the next day.

[cwydro]

41. People in the Keys are quite aware of what a hurricane does

My god, the responses on this thread.

DU's armchair psychologists...too funny.

[Lotusflower70]

10. It's mind boggling

But some don't want to leave because they don't want to come back to a destroyed house. For some, it's too much psychologically. This is what they know. And by staying, they control their reality or version of it. That sense of helplessness to the power of nature is turned on its head by staying. At least symbolically. Also the government telling them what to do and they reject authority or don't trust it. Of course for others, they don't have the financial resources to leave.

[yardwork]

33. I think you're right about the psychology for some. They choose denial.

[Lotusflower70]

55. Denial is a powerful thing

But very scary and sad at the same time. I have seen it many times. It's how some cope. I survived hurricanes and now I try to help others.

[SweetieD]

11. I read that there are about 10 to 15k they estimate are in the keys now riding it out.

[roamer65]

15. I hope they have their SSN written on an arm and leg.

It makes identification of bodies much easier.

[cwydro]

46. What a lovely thing to post.

When there are those of us who have friends and relatives in the path of this monster. There are DUers there right now.

Your compassion is underwhelming. Smh.

[QED]

53. That's actually what people in Houston were told to do.

I don't see it as a lack of compassion but rather an acknowledgement of a grim possibility.

[cwydro]

59. Such a clever post.

Are you disappointed now?

[cwydro]

40. Last night it was reported that less than half left.

Keys population 75,000 to 80.

Approx 30,000 have left. That's less than half.

No one I know has left.

[davsand]

14. "I'll stay as long as the rum lasts."

No lie. This is what I was told by a friend in Florida earlier today. Makes me sad, but she's over 21 and usually seems sane. I'm terrified for her.


Laura

[Skittles]

20. don't judge

there are many factors involved

[cwydro]

39. Thank you.

Sick of these preachy threads.

[benld74]

21. I saw a Tweet tonight from some guy

Who stated his GF GParents, 85&83, are staying in their Keys home.
Needless to say, that caused explosion of replies asking where?, somebody needs to save them, please

[braddy]

22. When I was a kid they were called hurricane parties, where the hardy decided to drink and see what

happened, sometimes they were there when it was over, and sometimes they weren't.

[Ghost Dog]

47. Too much drink? You're fucked

Heads in the sand.

[cwydro]

56. Yeah, because everyone in the Keys is a drunk.

[Grammy23]

23. No one should claim ignorance of what happens when a hurricane moves over land.

It has been documented many times. Some have filmed a storm as it happens. Others survey the area after the storm is gone. We have all seen the pictures or videos. It is not that we don't know. We do.

But there is a curiosity about what a storm like that looks like, sounds like and feels. There are always dare devils who do risky things that the rest of us would never do. They "think" they can find a safe place to observe the storm and still stay safe from the surge, flying debris and high winds. They want to be able to say, "I was there!"

And then there are the stubborn ones who have been through storms (not a cat 5) and really have no freaking idea how different a Cat. 2 or 3 storm is from a Cat. 5. They minimize the danger, poo poo the possibility that things will turn out badly and generally turn a deaf ear to the warnings. You can't reason with them. Some will die. Others will get lucky but will have a horrific tale to tell.

And finally, there are those who freak out at the thought of leaving their home. They believe that if they are present if something happens that they can protect their possessions from looters or more damage from being out in the elements. They also tend to minimize the risk they are taking, but once they decide they will stay, you might as well talk to the wall.

Lots of reasons why people stay instead of evacuating. There is a kind of denial that takes place, too. No one wants to believe that their town, their home will be damaged or destoyed so they just refuse to believe it will be as bad as they say.

[SHRED]

24. Great analysis

[Not Ruth]

25. The Keys attract a lot of quirky people that do not feel like they belong anywhere else

Which is what I love about it

[Ghost Dog]

49. Good point!

(although I recommend leaving US-UK entirely).

[Not Ruth]

26. I know a non quirky person that is staying

His business is there, a business which relies on weather reports, which he has had issues with over the years, so he has radar, a fast boat and subscribes to many premium weather services (private forecasters that apparently give better forecasts than what you see on the news.) Similar to campaigns relying on their own private polls vs what we get on the news.

[JI7]

29. many reasons, from feeling like they have nothing else to just refusal to believe in the dangers

[beachbum bob]

32. a sense of denial and the fact that the Keys have not been hit by a destructive storm in

decades. No longer a matter of "if"....the Keys are going to be hit and destruction will be massive as developers covered the shorelines with condos.....between storm surge and 20+ft waves, beachfront development is all at risk

[cwydro]

36. News to me.

I was there for Georges and Wilma just to name two.

People lost homes and cars in both. Storm surge in both, heavy winds in Georges. Georges destroyed Key West's historic houseboat row.

I never evacuated either, nor do most people. I have many friends there now.

Try to refrain from judging. Smh.

[beachbum bob]

44. I knew people lost when Camile hit biloxi MS, they thought they "could ride it out"

judging people?....don't think so, not when I have attended memorial service for some one who's death was based on their stubbornness and denial

[cwydro]

45. Apparently, you didn't know that several severe storms have hit the Keys recently.

Not like this monster, but we've experienced great damage and are aware what's involved.

[beachbum bob]

48. you just stated the obvious...NOT THIS MONSTER

I lived in Ft Lauderdale area for 4 years, been all over the keys before the insane development that happen and almost all those people have never been in a monster storm. I have seen the afteramth of the worse storms to hit american in my lifetime. Camille and Katrina. Taking a chance with clearly monster storm in the Keys is just pure ignorance and placing yourself and others around you harms way for absolutely no good reason.

I have 2 kids and 3 grand children ready and prepped on east coast of Florida near west palm beach. Their house are concrete block solid, they live miles from the coast, have all the shutters up and supplies in for 2 weeks of no power. They are now under little threat but where they are, they could deal with a hit from Irma. The Keys can not

[rusty fender]

58. Does a judgmental opinion by

a stranger on the internet hurt more than injury or death

[no_hypocrisy]

34. In 1986 my mother was determined to stay through Hurricane Gloria,

which was a Cat 4 storm. And it was more than a default decision. While her car had a hole in the gas tank and wasn't operational, I braved the preliminaries of the storm to "rescue" her -- and initially she deferred to leave with me.

Why? She was going to a Hurricane Party. That's right.

The eye of the hurricane was going to hit where she was and she was going to risk her life, drinking the night away. She had choices and her first one was to stay and have her fun.

I yelled at her in frustration, announced my taxi was leaving in 30 minutes. She changed her mind and got in the car.

It took us more than four hours to get back to NJ.

While her home wasn't destroyed, her car was still broken, no electricity for 10 days, and big trees uprooted and littered all over the roads.

[Not Ruth]

35. I think that some people may be hoping that Irma fizzles out into a tropical storm before Florida

[Satch59]

37. The bridge may go...

Met a military guy as we stopped in SC: he left the keys and he said 30 other military guys were asked to stay to assess damage after and they think the bridge will fall and will then be airlifted out. We hit the SC evacuations latter part of the day and it seems it won't even hit there?? Lots of rest stops last night with tons of cars pulled over and people staying the night in their cars. No hotel rooms. We hit NC hotel by 2am...had reserved... We're headed to NY to family.

[Chemisse]

38. I'd stay too.

If I had a cement block house that was 150 years old and was well above the storm surge levels, generators, and a full set of supplies.

I'd still be pretty scared though!

[FLPanhandle]

42. There are many reasons not to evacuate

As someone who has lived all over the state of Florida, I've sat through a quite a few hurricanes, stayed during "mandatory evacuations", and evacuated once or twice.

I'd say the evacuation hurricanes were the worst experiences. Prepping the house, packing what needs to come with you, dealing with traffic, staying somewhere remote, not knowing what is happening to your home/property. However, the absolute worst thing is after the storm not being allowed back immediately due to roadblocks (government or natural - trees/bridges). After Opal, the roadblocks stopping residents from reentering the area was frustrating.

Honestly, unless it's a Cat 5 heading directly for me with certainty, I would be reluctant to evacuate and I live on low lying waterfront property. If I had an old cinder-block house in the midst of the city of Key West, there is no way I'd leave. Who knows when you would be allow to return.

It's hard for people who haven't been through a lot of hurricanes and stayed/evacuated to understand.

I don't blame them for staying at all.

[CanSocDem]

43. I applaud those who stay.

Shows strength of character, courage and the recognition that we're all responsible for our own lives. Deciding NOT to be played by the authorities who care not for you, but for the 'visual' that they are Trying To Help, is a commendable act of self reliance.

Their 'big picture' analysis may not be in your best interests as some posters in this thread have already noted.

.

[Ghost Dog]

50. Your "authorities" are of course disreputable.

Please observe, relatively, that might not be the bcase everywhere.

[Not Ruth]

51. Antifa would not evacuate

[cbdo2007]

52. Most likely very few people will die...

Look at Harvey and the amazing destruction and out of 5 million people still less than a hundred dead.

[Not Ruth]

54. This guy is nowhere near Florida, but still surprised that he is staying

https://www.facebook.com/fryingpan.tower/videos/1124849900980913/