A Reason For NOT EVACUATING From A Hurricane
This past weekend, our son and I (Charlie) were down at Myrtle Beach for a golf tournament that he was participating in.
On Sunday afternoon, the news came from South Carolina officials that there was to be a MANDATORY evacuation of parts of the Myrtle Beach area in advance of Hurricane Dorian.
And it would begin Monday at noon.
His last round of the tournament was scheduled for 9:20 Monday morning.
The golf course is on the campus of Coastal Carolina University, and the campus announced IT WAS CLOSED TO STUDENTS starting Tuesday (Monday, of course was a holiday).
We weren’t concerned about the weather (the earliest the storm would/could hit the area was Wednesday-Thursday), although by the 12th hole, we would be.
In less than 40 minutes, more than 2″ of rain fell and the remainder of the tournament was cancelled. Weirdly, this shower was in no way, shape, or form associated with Dorian.
Before Hogan and I got in the car to head home, I spoke with a father of another player who lives there in Conway, SC. I asked if he was leaving in preparation for Dorian. His response of “No” was not a suprise. Growing up in Houston, I’d become all to aware of what we called the “Island Mentality” when it came to storms from the citizens of Galveston-who NEVER evacuated (it seemed). What was surprising was his rationale.
“I learned the last storm that it’s easy to get out, but getting back is a royal pain in the a**. It took more than a week to return and the stress of wondering what we’d find was too much. I’d much rather face it as it happens and immediately afterward, even if the living is hard.”
Wow. I never thought about that before.
I don’t think I would be willing to risk my life over property, but then again it’s easy to say when you are not faced with the issue.
What do you think you’d do?
