That decision depends entirely on the construction of your home.

Somewhere along the way, in the 70's/80's, people along the Gulf Coast and /or Florida, lost sight of the destructive power of a hurricane, and started building match boxes, in the pathway.

If you expect to live on the Gulf Coast, or anywhere in Florida, you have to build for that destructive power.

That means.......what they do in Bermuda. Reinforced concrete block and terrazo construction, with smooth surface roofs, whether concrete, or tar and gravel.

That's the way homes in Florida used to be built, before the 70's, and that's what they are going to have to go back to.

If that isn't the kind of house you want to live in.....then you really have to consider moving. The storms are going to keep coming.

Now, you have to be wary of the much higher than normal storm surges associated with today's storms, and build far enough from the actual coast, to prevent a direct hit by the surge, because the storm surge is basically a tsunami......and that is a very destructive power, all by itself.

It is really all about finding ways to co-habitate with the storms. Not much different than co-habitating with any danger.....bears, floods, landslides, avalanches, etc. There are solutions, but people aren't willing to demand the proper solution before they buy.

It is time to remember why Galveston was so destroyed at the turn of the century. They built frame structures, of wood. The tsunami effect of the storm surge, made match sticks of those structures, almost instantly.

It's tornado season here. I'm waiting for Dorothy and her little dog too to go whipping by....maybe earthquakes really weren't that bad(yeah right)PJ

I feel for all those folks in FEMA trailers. They're in deep **** if storm comes round.

Not EVERYONE forgot. Some of us have actually been through hurricanes.

The storm that destroyed Galveston was in 1900. Somewhere between 6-15,000 people died, officially it's around 6,000 but was probably closer to 15,000.

I live in a house built in 1913. In Carla-60's, the house across the street was hit but a tornado & killed the woman living there. The tornado also lifted up the garage apt. that was behind my house and put it upside down on the house across the alley. The house next door was knocked off it's piers. Issac lived on 23rd, just around the corner, there are only a handful of houses in my neighborhood that survived the 1900 storm.

The 1900 storm was probably a category 3 at the most, it hit over 100 miles south of Galveston.

The Seawall was finished a few years later. In 1915, Galveston took a direct hit from what was probably a category 4. There were only a few deaths and property damage was much less than the 1900 storm.

In the 60's we had Carla, major damage, few deaths. 1980's Alicia-a 2 when it made landfall just to the west of the island. Millions in damages, few deaths.

Rita only directly killed one person, yet over 150 died trying to evacuate. Probably more. Not including cats, dogs, ferrets, birds, horses, cows and other animals that were being evacuated.

Storm surges are not quite like a tsunami. They have high winds driving them. So you get the wind, the rain, the high tides, the high waves. And it can last for days. The surf usually builds and starts destruction days before the storm comes near. We've had millions in damage on the island from storms that never came more than 1000 miles from our coast. The debris is pushed inland by each incoming wave, acting like a big battering ram. It doesn't matter if a structure is built of wood or brick, getting pounded for hours and days will destroy it. Look at Gulfport, everything was destroyed.

So we take our chances anywhere we live. An earthquake wiped out San Francisco, people live there, Mt. St. Helens blew up, and Ranier is expected to do the same. People live there.

I keep the truck full during hurricane season. The emergency boxes are ready to go. There is a 2 month supply of canned food at the ready. There are plenty of containers for water. The plywood is stored on the porch and is put up at first cause for warning. All important papers are in a lock box ready to go at a moments notice.
BUT!, if I am at work, an evacuation is ordered, I turn on the TV and traffic is backed up and people haven't moved in 4 hours, there is no gas anywhere-and Governor Perry offers the excuse "they should have filled up"-people and pets are dying, Houston has a mayor on TV instilling panic and people is SUGARLAND! are evacuating. I'll probably stay on the island and seek refuge in a stronger building.

My point is, and was, I can drown in my house just as easily as I can drown sitting in my car on the Gulf Freeway. I would have a better chance in a big structure-even if it is wood-than I would in a small truck sitting in the middle of a swamp on a freeway.

Even Bermuda loses houses and buildings during storms.
Tally HO!

you know i've heard that the factors that go into us having these extremely strong hurricane seasons have actually been this way for the last 10 or 12 years. And they'll stay the same for many years to come. We're just lucky they've only recently gotten stronger, because the capacity for them to be horrific has been there. Of course I'm hearing this second hand from the weather channel.

We are going thru the hospice thing with my dad in law. One of the questions asked at the first meeting when we signed him up was "Can they come stay with you in Spring if there is a hurricane?"

They figured (correctly) that Spring (Just north of Houston) is plenty far to get them out of the path of a hurricane.

A agree beach....anyone north of I-10 should not evacuate so the people REALLY in the path of the storm can get out of Dodge.

The panic last year blew us away.

Oh boy, I really didn't want to think about this. But I am glad it's been brought up anyway; I have needed to think about it more. We were only lucky that Rita did not do much to us last year. We could just as easily have been goners.

I hope all y'all with spouses can at least AGREE on a plan. DW and I have a BIG difference over when to leave versus when to stay put.

She is willing to ride out even a Category 3. Me, I want to go to the Hill Country or Lost Pines area, or at least a Brenham-like distance inland, at the earliest hint we're "probable" for a hit by ANY hurricane. On foot with backpacks, or jumping trains, if necessary. (Horse-rustling, even for good riders who are good thieves, is not a good bet.) I figure I can make about 20 miles a day, still. It might kill me; but then, so probably would staying put.

You can guess who "wins" on this conflict. Although I try and try to help her to see what she is likely setting us up for. I mean, assuming you can survive the thing or not be seriously injured during it, who wants to get themselves stuck in a flood- and wind-ravaged wasteland, with no essential (or even non-essential) services, that a day before was teeming with people in a fairly comfortable, even luxurious, early 2000s American urban life?! Think: law of the jungle. Wilder than the old Wild West. Diseases galore. No lights at night, except by what you can set on fire, for weeks. And CRIME?! Forget the likely pandemic of mere strong-arm robbery or murder - you would be lucky if you didn't see cannibalism in some places, at some point. I've never been that hungry, but I've been close; I can't make promises about anything if I ever was...

I thought the images of Katrina would be enough to sway her to my conservative preference for a plan. She seems to have a death wish: "my home, or my grave, or both." I'm old and not much good anymore, but I'm not ready to go yet, and especially not in a situation like that, if I can help it. God bless everyone else with safety this season!

Older folks are our greatest resource...please don't say you're not much good anymore! There was a lady at our church who was still roping at 92, most of our congregation are WWII veterans still working their ranches. They're keeping the community together while my generation expects 'someone else' to do everything. (huff!!!)
Ok, I'm finished.

When we lived in New Orleans, my husband and I HAD to stay but we put the kiddos on a plane to Houston whenever a hurricane even threatened. If we could have left, we would have. The key is to do it early!

If your wife won't leave, may I suggest throwing a hurricane party ~ one tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor?
Then haul her out ;-)

Jac, you are so funny! "So honey...what's your favorite drink tonight? Sit here on this nice,strong blanket..." PJ

Jacquelyn, thanks, you are too sweet! (and funny! you too, PJ!) 92 and ROPING?! WWII vets still ranching?! Maybe there is more time to look forward to, after all - thanks for being so encouraging!

So you lived in N.O.? My sister lived there in the 1960s. She & family rode out Betsy - the storm stripped their upstairs, retrofit bathroom right off the side of their old house. I don't know what they did...I mean, I don't know HOW they did it (I guess they used buckets in one of their closets), until they got their facilities re-built.

I would be glad to do the 1-2-3-floor party. But DW never touches the stuff. (I should never drink at all, but I still sometimes take one or two shots. But tequila does make me lose count!) About the only way I can get her to leave the house these days is if I chase her for s_x. (See what I mean? SHE knows I'm not much good anymore!)

RAP !!! I don't want to hear that kind of talk anymore ! Do you realize how much you've helped me and a lot of people on this forum and I'm sure in your day to day life.
Ropin' GM, lol, my GM was still chasing us around with a broom when she was 94.

Yes Ma'am, Jolana, I promise, I won't talk about tequila and s_x anymore (but you can't see if I've got my fingers crossed, ha-ha!).

It's a hoot every time to hang out here with all y'all! If I were to write here how much you've all helped DW & me, the forum administrators would have to censor me for taking up so much space!

Hurricane prep note to self: get one or more of those "shaker" flashlights that don't require batteries. And spare bulbs for those, if any can be had.

Love y'all! (and on behalf of DW, a LOUD "DITTO")

LOL, I meant that you weren't any good anymore, lol but if you want to pretend I was talking about that so you can be a bad boy and sneak and do it, that's fine, lol
Hi wife of Rap
jolana

Right back at ya! Lemme think...spiked punch? Maybe you'll get the s_x too! LOL!PJ