Hurricane evac. advice, please?

Question

I'm 19 years old, and a military wife with a puppy. We live in Southern Mississippi, right on the gulf coast. My husband is in the U.S. Air Force, and with this hurricane Gustav coming directly at us, the USAF is sheltering him away from me. They are predicting this hurricane to be a category 3 by the time it hits here, winds from 125-150mph. My family and everyone I know lives in Michigan. Does anyone have any advice for me whether I should drive home or not? Or what I should do to evacuate? Do I need to evacuate? Any advice for a 17 hour road trip? Any help is appreciated, seeings that I flew here the first time.

Answer 1

i am facing the same thing  i got some good advice to wait and see what's gonna happen it should be in our area early monday morning. please add me to your friends and lets stay in touch.  my husband will not be leaving( he is an electrician, will be needed)  maybe we can evac together!!!

Answer 2

Yeah as of right now the threat is between Texas and the panhandle of Florida but its smart to start thinking of a plan now.

I am also an army wife stationed at Fort Polk, Louisiana. I am for the Midwest so I have no clue about preparations for hurricanes. As of now we are just gonna stock up on some batteries and flashlights and bottled water. As we get into Friday/Saturday we should have a better idea of what this storm is going to do. The current models show it stalling out on the coastlines anywhere from Texas to Alabama on Monday before moving in. We all know that its near impossible to tell where a storm will hit or when, but the general consensus is that it will make landfall sometime Monday night.  

Any Days Inn will take dogs, but I suggest you make your plans NOW, especially since you live right on the coast. I just looked at northern Louisiana for hotels from Sunday - Tuesday and they are all booked. We are also dealing with the holiday weekend, so if you want to be safe, look and book now. I mean, chances are you will be fine, but everyone is saying if you live on the coast of any of the states in the projected path get your evacuation plans in order now. Days Inn's are not very expensive and again will allow your pet for an additional $10.00 (I have 4 dogs and whenever I travel from Louisiana back home to Chicago I always stop at one)

Get the small things together, batteries, flashlights, food that can be eaten without being cooked, fill up your car's gas tanks, and get a hotel reservation. Also make sure you have food for your pet. I worked at a shelter all the way in Wisconsin that took in over 80 dogs and cats from Katrina and it was heartbreaking. Almost any hotel will take in animals, but make sure you have food and water for them as well as a traveling cage and blankets.

I am bookmarking this page because I am a novice to hurricanes and would like as much advise as I can get as well. We are about 2-3 hours inland so I don't see us having to evacuate, but  I don't want to be stuck with no plan if this thing hits us and is a cat. 4 or 5 (God I hope its not). All I know is that I would much rather prepare and not have to do anything then sit around and be out of luck if we have to go.

Best of luck to all of you in the projected path! Lets hope this storm doesn't turn into anything major.  

Answer 3

Yes you should evacuate. But if you want to drive that far go ahead but, you could just go north a rent a hotel room.

Answer 4

1st of all...they have not said that Gustav is going directly to mississippi!  2nd of all...it is several days away.  3rdly...watch your local news and follow their advice regarding evacuation.  

Answer 5

I would evacuate if it looks like it is going to hit your area. Better safe than sorry. Going all the way to michigan seems a little extreme. If you can afford it, I would just go one or two states up, get a hotel, and see how bad it actually gets. Then if it's not bad, you can head home sooner and wont have such a long drive. If you just want to go be with your family, my advice for a long road trip is lots of coffee, loud music, and water for your pup. Take any photos, thing with sentimental value that you can fit in your car, just in case it does get bad down there. Good luck, be safe.

Answer 6

as of now it could make landfall from Houston,TX to Mobile,AL. if it makes landfall somewhere were u live just evacuate cuz a hurricane with winds of 125mph is a category 3 and a hurricane wit winds of 131mph to 155mph is a category 4 hurricane  

Answer 7

You dont need to drive home, but you could drive someplace up north.  I am from the FL gulf coast, so I know what you're going through.  How far inland do you live?  They should have a projected mileage.  For us, they say 30 miles in should be ok... of course you'll still have bad weather but your house wont blow away.

I've stuck it out for lots of hurricanes...  but I've also left for my share too.  If the road trip is a problem for you, all you can do is get in the car and drive.  We're military also and we've PCSed from WA to FL, not to mention everywhere else - all you can do is take it easy and drive... and stop when you need to.  get a good radio station and lots of snacks inthe car.

Answer 8

I'd find a cheap inland motel that's about 200-300 miles away from where you live.  Many places don't mind taking in a dog if it's for evacuation purposes.  Or, if worse comes to worse, you could keep the dog in the car and sneak him in during the day if you keep him quiet.

Good luck hon and take care of yourself and your puppy.