Whether it's first responders, people working in animal shelters, those with disabilities or people with a language barrier, evacuating is often far more complicated and difficult for some than it is for others.
Jonathan Franklin, NPR NewsTwo people work on boarding up a house in South Tampa Bay, Florida, on Tuesday, before Hurricane Ian hits the area. , both local and state officials activated emergency plans — urging residents to evacuate from high-impact areas.
But when it comes to evacuating from Ian’s path, residents such as Sharon Charles told NPR that they have no choice but to stay put and ride through the storm.Charles, who cares for nearly 20 pets, said that many hurricane evacuation shelters don’t accept animals, with only a few allowing only one to two animals; leaving those who don’t want to abandon their pets no other choice but to stay in their homes. Whether it’s first responders, people working in animal shelters, those with disabilities or people with a language barrier, the reality is often far more complicated for those who can’t easily get up and evacuate to safety. “Evacuation is not as easy as it may seem if you are outside of the evacuation area,” said Cara Cuite, an assistant extension specialist in the Department of Human Ecology at Rutgers University.people made during Hurricane Sandy in 2012, says it’s not as simple as one may think when you’re not in the moment. “It’s easy to think: Of course, people should just pack up and leave,” she said. But for “people with disabilities, those with pets or simply [if] you don’t have a car or enough money on hand to leave, that can make it really challenging.” Allan Juhl ties up his canoe while his partner Katie Falcon and their neighbors Ashley Palacios and her brother Andres Garcia look on in the Palmetto Beach neighborhood of Tampa, Fla., on Tuesday. All of them are staying put for now. Depending on a family’s financial situation, evacuating away from a storm can be costly. “Many modest- to low-income households simply don’t have the cash or credit,” said Joshua Behr, research professor at Old Dominion University,Behr emphasized that the poorest may often wait until the last minute to evacuate, resulting in little to no availability for affordable hotel rooms. “When you go through that cycle once or twice, you’re more skeptical,” he added. “There’s a sense of storm fatigue. You tend to wait and see.”When English isn’t someone’s first language, planning for a natural disaster such as a hurricane makes things a tad bit difficult. And while many emergency warnings and notices are now printed in both English and Spanish, there’s still a gap when for those who speak other languages. More than 400,000 households in Florida speak Haitian Creole as their primary shared language, according. Tens of thousands of Floridians speak Portuguese, French, Chinese, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Arabic, German, Russian, Italian or another language as their primary shared language at home. “While looking at an evacuation map at a county in Florida, I saw they have it in both English and Spanish and thought ‘OK, that’s great.’ But also there are people there who may not speak either language,” said Cuite. Cuite says alongside the language barrier being an issue for people, there are also different levels of literacy to account for. “Some people may not be able to read, which makes things like finding their evacuation zone a challenge,” she said.There are elderly people living alone in flood-prone areas who might be able to evacuate, but just need extra help to do so. “They might be elderly residents who are living independently. And so, you know, they’re relying upon the government,” John Renne, professor at Florida Atlantic University’s School of Urban and Regional Planning, said in a“The more we can bring in social service organizations, nonprofit organizations to help them with their evacuation, even if it’s only for a few miles, the more prepared and the better everyone will be, and the less tragic the event could become,” he added.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
San Diego food insecurity grows; people of color more likely to face hungerThe report found that the county's hunger relief sector is meeting about 75% of the need, and an additional 11.9 million meals per month would be needed to achieve a nutrition-secure San Diego, where everyone has access to enough healthy food.
Read more »
Hurricane Ian swamps southwest Florida, trapping people in homesHurricane Ian, one of the most powerful storms ever recorded in the U.S., swamped southwest Florida on Wednesday, turning streets into rivers, knocking out power to 1.8 million people and threatening catastrophic damage further inland.
Read more »
Biden warns oil industry not to 'gouge the American people' as Ian hits FloridaBiden said the hurricane “provides no excuse for price increases at the pump.'
Read more »
Opinion: As Bill Walton's homelessness complaints show, San Diego residents want sidewalks, parks backOpinion: As Bill Walton's homelessness complaints show, San Diego residents want sidewalks, parks back [Opinion]
Read more »