"Mobile homes" flipped

Yes, easy for those "commandos ". I am a native of the discussed area. Went through the Rita evac. Never again. 18 hours from Houston to San Antonio. Normally a leisurely 3hr drive. Saw a lot of meanness and folks trying to prey on others.

Saw folks with utility trailers loaded with big screen TVs and one small cooler with beer and soda. Most of the 3 million here are clueless about survival/evac items.

I left with family with food, pioneer tools, diesel, gasoline,water, ways to purify water, first aid and emergency medical supplies, etc, etc. I did not own a RV at that time.

Those that were stuck with their beer and big screens wanted my water, food, gas. Traffic was moving at 1 to 2 mph on average. Some folks were stuck on the interstate highways for 8 hrs straight without moving an inch. They ran out of gas on the road.

They left with no provisions. They had no experience or knowledge of how bad it could get and expected the government or others to provide for them.

My wife and I altered our rules after that.

We will stay for a Cat 2 storm. If there is a hint that it will be a cat 3 and hit within 100 miles of us. We will leave. That means we will leave up to a week before land fall. It means a good chance that I will leave for nothing because it will probably miss us.

Life changes though. MIL lives with us now. I travel for work. Away from home all the time with a visit every 3-6 months. MIL unable to travel. Health prevents nothing more than a trip to doctor. That 10 mile trip is an all day ordeal.

S&B is in an area that I know has no record of flooding in the last 100 years. We stock food,water, other supplies during the off hurricane season. Before season starts we check generators, store 100 gallons of gas in the separate storage area. Gas is prepared for long term storage.

Battery stockpiles are updated with fresh items. Documents and evac items are always ready to grab and go.

This is not easy or cheap. I afford it because I we do not go out every weekend for dinners and movies. We choose to allocate our disposable income to be ready for a downturn instead of on entertainment. I guess we are ants instead of grasshoppers.

I am a native of this area. I know what to do and if I need to leave an area fast then that Rv may just get left behind. I use hurricane Humberto as an example. It was a TD in the morning. Weather service said worst case a TS by late night. Landfall during the night. Was not supposed to do anything. Was 90 miles south of RV as a TD. Went to bed at 9pm it was a TD.

Woke up at 2AM with RV rocking hard. 90mph winds and eye of hurricane 12 miles south of RV. I was stuck and had to ride it out.

By time they know where it will really go it is almost too late to leave.

If I was going into snow country I would talk to a native from that area. Not a person from the city's in New England area that depend on the government to tell them what to do.

Whether to go or stay is a tough decision. Also when to go. What would you do?
Houston freeways are clogged at a normal rush hours. When would you go?
Many people are unable because of health or economic reasons to evacuate.
Second guessing anyones decision is foolish.
Send some money to the Red Cross instead of insulting those who stayed.

Well I think I can see both sides.

I lived in tornado alley where all the warning you got if you were lucky was a siren going off just minutes before your house was lifted off the foundation and you are running calling Auntie Em, Auntie Em. I've sustained serious damage from 2 tornado hits on two of my houses.

I now have a winter home in Florida and have stayed during the summer months also which means Hurricane Season.

I'm sorry but maybe it's because I have lived with and been exposed to 'instant' disaster with no warning. But...

I kinda DO have a problem with people who do not pack up, move what they have to when a hurricane is predicted to hit where they are located. Especially when they are give A WEEK IN ADVANCE notice to do so. I'd of given my eye teeth to have that kind of advanced warning when the tornado hit my house. :(

So I don't have a lot of sympathy for those that say that they caught by the surprise of a hurricane. :R

Now I have all my important papers in a waterproof container, The MH outside is filled with water, gas, and propane at all times.

Since I have been down here in Florida I have packed up and moved out of dangers way twice. Taking my time to pack and go because with hurricanes I do get a weeks advance notice. Can't do that with a tornado coming down from the skies bearing down on your butt. :C

rockhillmanor wrote:
Well I think I can see both sides.

I lived in tornado alley where all the warning you got if you were lucky was a siren going off just minutes before your house was lifted off the foundation and you are running calling Auntie Em, Auntie Em. I've sustained serious damage from 2 tornado hits on two of my houses.

I now have a winter home in Florida and have stayed during the summer months also which means Hurricane Season.

I'm sorry but maybe it's because I have lived with and been exposed to 'instant' disaster with no warning. But...

I kinda DO have a problem with people who do not pack up, move what they have to when a hurricane is predicted to hit where they are located. Especially when they are give A WEEK IN ADVANCE notice to do so. I'd of given my eye teeth to have that kind of advanced warning when the tornado hit my house. :(

So I don't have a lot of sympathy for those that say that they caught by the surprise of a hurricane. :R

Now I have all my important papers in a waterproof container, The MH outside is filled with water, gas, and propane at all times.

Since I have been down here in Florida I have packed up and moved out of dangers way twice. Taking my time to pack and go because with hurricanes I do get a weeks advance notice. Can't do that with a tornado coming down from the skies bearing down on your butt. :C

A lot of people do not have these options. Unreliable or no vehicle, no money, nowhere to stay, family members who cannot travel... life deals everyone a different hand.

How many just figured its a good way to get an insurance payout and left the RV behind? RV comprehensive insurance would cover you in most cases in such a disaster, as its not anything like flood insurance on real property.

TomG2 wrote:

I did some quick calculating. At three people per vehicle, it would have taken one million cars stretching over 5,000 miles to totally evacuate Houston. That and a lot of spare beds. Not everyone has the ability to jump in their car and drive to safety.

A single 4 lane freeway (2 in each direction) can handle about 200,000 vehicles per day (assuming they route all traffic in the same direction).

I count 5 freeways departing inland and/or away from the storm, many with more than 4 lanes. This is in addition to numerous non-freeway alternative routes.

They knew about the storm for well over a week.

Yes, it's a huge task to move that many people but a hurricane is not a surprise. They literally have hurricane evacuation plans all laid out and updated at the cost of millions each year.

If we were talking about 5% of the population couldn't get out, I might buy it but the vast majority choose to stay.

drsteve wrote:
A lot of people do not have these options. Unreliable or no vehicle, no money, nowhere to stay, family members who cannot travel... life deals everyone a different hand.

Sorry having no money or being disabled doesn't mean you can't evacuate.

There are a ton of gov agencies, charities, churches, and the like that are there to help the less fortunate for free, IF they choose to seek help.

And the advance warning of hurricanes gives them plenty of time to seek that help BEFORE it's too late. Not making plans for a disabled family member in advance of a pending hurricane is just unconscionable.

Heck a homeless person could get help out of town if he wanted to! :W

We winter in Aransas Pass Tx. Have friends who had to get out quick when things changed. What do ins. companys do, do they pay for camper damage? Or do they say, " why didn't you get it out of harms way" coverage denied? We summer in Illinois. So not familiar with it all!

Mortimer Brewster wrote:

My point here is that Thursday was a day of huge change. If someone was either working or not paying attention to the news that day they could have very easily been caught unprepared. I'm appalled at the callous attitude and ignorance of some posts. Not surprised, just appalled.

Not surprising that so many want to feel smug, smarter,and superior to those who do not have a RV ready to take them to safety. I would not want to be one of the five percent that could not get out. The rich folks would most likely be in good shape. I don't think many of them remained at risk anyway. Does anyone on here really think that people with the wherewithal are sitting in Houston with no water, no electricity, no food, and trying to survive while standing in four feet of water? Not many would make that choice, if they had a choice.

Those that think mandatory evacuation of a city the size of Houston is a good idea, should consider the deaths at a big soccer game. It does not happen during the game but when the fools charge the exit. For the guy who pointed out that the highways could carry a lot of traffic. That is true, but where are they going? Will their family, friends, medications, and special needs be waiting for them when they get where??

I feel pretty rich since i am not having to deal with Harvey. But not smugly rich.

valhalla360 wrote:

They knew about the storm for well over a week.
Yes, it's a huge task to move that many people but a hurricane is not a surprise.

I'm curious as to where you got your fact that people knew about the storm for well over a week. Apparently you know more than the National Hurricane Center.
The storm hit the coast on Friday. Two days previous on Wednesday the wind speed was 35 mph. It would be very tough to convince millions of people to evacuate given what was known on Wednesday. At that point the public was warned of possible hurricane conditions. Keep in mind that assuming you can get those people to move, you also need a place to put them all.

The real surprise was how quickly the storm intensified the day before it hit the coast, which was why more didn't evacuate.