TAMPA, Fla. — On the eve of the official start of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season, AAA just published the results of a new survey, and some of what it reveals, they say, is concerning.
For example, the auto club found that nearly a quarter of Floridians said they would completely ignore hurricane evacuation warnings — and the reasons behind the responses were sometimes surprising.
The survey found that while overall more Floridians, 27%, are concerned about this year‘s hurricane season, nearly three in 10 don’t make advance preparations. About 44% don’t have an evacuation plan.
And one out of four says they would ignore evacuation warnings altogether.
“When you’re told to get out, you should get out,” says AAA Spokesman Mark Jenkins. AAA says people offered lots of reasons why they would stay home.
Nearly one in three said that they don’t have a safe option for their pets. Almost as many said they have no idea where they would go and nearly one in four cited the recent spike in gasoline and hotel prices, making an evacuation too expensive.
“Start setting aside an evacuation budget so that you’re not worried about the cost of those items when it comes to getting out of harm’s way,” Jenkins suggested.
Perhaps even more troubling, they found, was that even among respondents who said they would evacuate, 60% said only if the approaching storm was a Category 3 or stronger.
The problem with that strategy, said Jenkins, is that hurricanes can rapidly intensify near the coast and even a weak slow-moving storm can cause deadly flooding.
“And if you are there, stuck in your home in the water starts rising, you know, you’re probably wishing that you had gotten out when it was safe to do so,” Jenkins said.
With so many people moving to the region, Jenkins said it’s important, that people take these storms seriously. And with recently redrawn maps in Pinellas County, thousands in our region might be ordered to evacuate even earlier.
As for folks who cited those reasons why they wouldn’t evacuate, Jenkins says now is the time to get answers to address those questions and concerns and make a plan.
AAA also recommends getting flood insurance. They say nearly 40% of all flood insurance claims come from homes that aren’t considered to be in high-risk flood zones.
Homeowners' insurance policies generally don’t cover flood damage, and there is a 30-day waiting period for all new flood insurance policies. So, if you wait until the storm is approaching, said Jenkins, it will be too late.