Evacuate for a hurricane? 60% of Floridians say not unless it’s a Category 3

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Hurricane season officially starts Wednesday, June 1st, and according to new data from AAA, more Floridians are concerned about this year’s hurricane season, compared to last year.

Although more residents are concerned, less than half of the people surveyed have an evacuation plan.

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If you don’t work in the news industry, your attitude about whether to stay or go when a storm is headed our way likely depends on your previous experiences.

Since Action News Jax Courtney Cole has been covering hurricanes, she said she’s found that people living in low-lying areas, like Jacksonville Beach, tend to wait it out.

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“Get a plan in place now!” Barbara Quinn exclaimed.

“Once you’re in the hurricane, you’re stuck!” Wes Quinn told Cole.

Quinn said unfortunately it’s something he and his wife Barbara had to learn the hard way.

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“The first year we were here, in assisted-living, it was a brand new facility. And we chose to stay. And there was a point in the middle of the hurricane, when it was kind of scary,” Wes Quinn said.

According to the latest data from AAA, 25% of Floridians surveyed said they would not evacuate after receiving a warning.

Leonard Richardson said he believes it’s harder for people to just leave when they have roots here.

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“Floridians know! I’ve been here through a couple of them, you know what I mean? Ultimately, if it gets too bad I guess we’ll get out,” Richardson said.

Sixty percent of Floridians said the storm has to at least be a Category 3, or they’re staying put.

Action News Jax First Alert Meteorologist Garrett Bedenbaugh warns against that behavior.

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“It doesn’t take a category 2, 3, 4, hurricane to make it a bad scenario for us in Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia. So you want to have an evacuation plan. You do want to know your evacuation zone,” Bedenbaugh said.

The number one reason Floridians don’t leave is because they can’t bring their pets, or don’t have a safe option for them. The next reason is that people said they don’t know where to go.

Those are two things we can help you with. You can find answers to those questions and more in our free Action News Jax First Alert Hurricane Guide.

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