JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — If told to evacuate your home ahead of a hurricane, would you leave?
According to a new survey by AAA survey, 25% of Floridians would not evacuate for a hurricane warning.
Kelly Wilson has worked in St. Johns County Emergency Services for 16 years. She has heard all kinds of reasons why people don't heed evacuation orders.
She remembers during Hurricane Matthew she heard, "There were folks who got scared. So they called 911 and said 'we need someone to come get us.' The water was rising in their house, and there was no one to get out there in time."
She helped when hurricane Michael hit the panhandle. During that storm, people who chose not to evacuate the area also called 911.
Wilson said, "They are literally gut-wrenching phone calls. Their homes were going down around them and people could not get there to help them."
AAA’s survey this year shows that 25% of Floridians would ignore hurricane evacuations warnings.
"Of those who said they would evacuate, they said they would only leave their homes if it was a category 3 or stronger," AAA Spokesman Mark Jenkins said.
Why stay put?
Those surveyed this month said because they didn’t know where to go, they couldn’t afford the gas prices or a hotel stay, they didn’t want to leave their pets, and maybe if they stayed behind they could repair damage to their homes.
Wilson’s response: leave if told to. It could save your life.
"We have a lot of new people, a lot of people who have recently moved to St. Johns County," Wilson said. "We want those folks to find out today: do you live in a hurricane evacuation zone?"
If you do, then plan. If you have a pet, Wilson said there are pet-friendly shelters and hotels. If money is tight, don’t travel too far.
"You don’t need to go to Orlando or Atlanta," she said. "You don't need to drive 100 miles. We just need to you to get out of that evacuation zone."
That could be to a friend’s home or to a shelter. Ultimately, Wilson said neighborhoods are evacuated because of the threat of rising water.
And she’s heard that story too from people who did not evacuate. "They said they don’t know when the water’s going to stop rising. 'It’s thigh deep now. How high is water going to get?' I don’t want to ever be standing in my house, having that conversation with myself or my family, asking 'how high is the water going to get?'"