Meet the Floridians Who are Staying During Hurricane Irma

As Hurricane Irma barrels toward Florida, government officials have pleaded with residents of the state to evacuate, but some are preparing to stand their ground instead.

As reported by the New York Post, many Floridians have chosen to board up their windows and doors and just ride out the storm.

“No. 1, I don’t have anywhere to go,” said Carl Roberts, a Florida attorney. “Hurricane damage is primarily water rising. And I’m on the 17th floor. I have security shutters, so I should be quite safe here.”

Roberts is said to have an abundance of Chinese food, a case of bottled water, and a near-priceless view of the action from his 17th-floor condo on the Gulf front.

He claims that those are all the essentials he needs in order to make it through the storm.

Over in South Beach at Mac’s Club Deuce, the operators have boarded up, but wrote “We’re Open Irma” on the plywood covering the windows.

Inside, the jukebox is still on and patrons are still enjoying a drink and playing pool.

“Where am I going to go?” Kathleen Paca, one of the club’s frequenters said. “It’s not going to be that bad. I’m on the second floor and have impact windows. I’ve thrown coconuts at my windows and they don’t break.”

Paca and Roberts aren’t the only ones either. There are many Floridians who are choosing to wait it out rather than abandon their homes and head to safer areas.

Last Wednesday, Florida’s Gov. Rick Scott released a statement on the impending landfall of Hurricane Irma.

As reported by CNN, Gov. Scott said, “If you’re told to evacuate, get out quickly. We can expect additional evacuations as this storm continues to come near our state.”

By emphasizing that citizens should “get out quickly” we can only assume this meant officials were preparing for the worst of the worst.

The issue that arises here, however, is that mass evacuations can cause serious traffic jams that lead to highway gridlock which can extend for miles.

This happened with evacuation attempts of hurricanes in both 1999 and 2005.

“Evacuation orders are going to be given in a timely manner so people have time to evacuate. But if you wait, that’s when the problems are going to happen,” the governor continued.

The storm was predicted to be a category 4 hurricane when it hits Florida, and it appears that at this current time it will only hit at a category 3.

“A storm of this size can have effects statewide, and everyone must be prepared,” Scott said.