It is not surprising to see the power and force of Hurricane Irma as it made landfall in Cudjoe Key, Florida as a CAT 4 Storm and again in Naples, Florida as a CAT 2 and kept going tearing through the entire state of Florida.
It is surprising to hear and read about the people that stayed behind in Key West to "ride out the storm"............one word for this : IGNORANCE
It escapes me as to why anyone would want to remain on an island or in their homes when told to evacuate. There are a myriad of comments from people who claim they have stayed behind but not sure why, simply that they just “felt compelled to stay”.
It is not an easy nor comfortable decision to leave your home and belongings but it may save your life.
If you ride out the storm and are fortunate enough to survive you will be battered and exhausted and become an extra person that will need to be supplied and looked after which adds to the burden on an already over stressed recovery system.
It is disheartening to read posts such as this from the Miami Herald depicting Florida Key residents anger, lack of cooperation and understanding for the task at hand by Law enforcement.
Fury at the Keys as residents denied access
12:00 p.m.: Tensions ran high at the entrance to the Florida Keys late Monday morning as families waited in the heat to return home. Some still hadn’t heard from friends and relatives who had stayed behind.
Officials from the Monroe County Sheriffs Office said they were only letting utilities companies and a few contractors from the Department of Transportation pass. But after two unmarked cars went through the checkpoint, Keys residents waiting at a RaceTrac gas station erupted in protest.
“That’s bullshit!” a bearded Keys resident, who refused to give his name, shouted at the police. “Those people are tourists!”
When a deputy sheriff approached him, the man put his hands behind his back and dared the official to arrest him.
“People are dying in there. They’re thirsty, they’re hungry,” he told the official.
“I say we all just get in the car and drive. What are they going to do? Shoot us?” another man yelled to the others waiting at the gas station.
“This stuff right here is the reason why next storm they aren’t going to get people out of the Keys,” said the man, who identified himself as a Cudjoe Key resident but did not want to give his name. “I’ve been in the Keys for 40 years. This is the first time I ever evacuated and it’ll be my last.”
— KYRA GURNEY
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/weather/hurricane/article172537476.html#storylink=cpy
The reality is that everyone in the keys will need help to rebuild, electricity and cell towers are down, water filtration systems are not working and its damn hot! The residents of the Keys love to say that they are living in Paradise but it looks like their Paradise is lost.
I hope those that stayed behind have solar power packs, water filtration tablets, basic canned and packaged foods. There are hospitals in the keys but in all honesty anyone who is really sick does not want to be treated in the Keys let alone during a major weather catastrophe.
It is a very difficult time for millions of people and animals throughout Texas, The Caribbean and now Florida. Unfortunately panic builds with lack of basic necessities and comforts which we take for granted on a daily basis such as clean water, food, clothing, shelter. There is also a feeling of helplessness and not knowing what to do next. When people are not given tools to help them rebuild their lives they suffer physically and mentally which adds to the devastation of a natural disaster.
May calmness and patience prevail for the safety and well being of everyone affected.
Please donate to Disaster relief funds for both people and animals that are displaced and need our help.
Key West Customs House