The time to think about the next hurricane is **NOW**

[Grammy23]

22. We live inland on the Gulf Coast...Pensacola, FL.

We stayed through Ivan bevause my husband's job required he secure his work area and by the time that was finished, it was too late to evacuate. So we hunkered down. We are old hands at this hurricane business, having been through several over our lives. We are not near tidal surge areas and flooding is unlikely given the location of our house. However, my husband announced a short while ago that if it appears we will get a direct hit, we will be leaving. Sitting out a storm is stressful and difficult. But...it is the time after the storm that gets to you. Lack of power, low water pressure, water not drinkable, fuel and food supplies running out, etc. And that is if the damage is minimal. It is much harder than you imagine. The September heat and humidity is brutal. We've been there---done that. So we will watch this one...Irma....closely and make a decision once the reliable forecasts indicate a high probability it will be in our area. That will probably be a week or more from now. But we are updating several times a day so if the time frame speeds up, we are ready for that, too.