SOME INDIANS IN FLORIDA STAY PUT AS OTHERS LEAVE TO SAFETY

NEW DELHI : Some of the Indian families in Florida chose to remain at their homes, while others moved to safer areas as Hurricane Irma hit the state.

“We started driving on Friday, and have come quite far from our home,”Satish Nigam, a resident of Naples, Florida, told HT over phone. “The storm was not supposed to affect us, but after it changed its path, we decided to evacuate.”

When HT spoke to him, Ni g am and his family had reached the city of Destin, and were headed to New Orleans in the neighbouring state of Louisiana to wait out the storm.

“Some neigh bo ursa re staying back. That, and good planning by the (US) authorities ensured that we had no problems getting out,” he said.

“This is such a big evacuation, but apart from having more than ordinary traffic on the road — meaningthe drivewas slow —all things have been smooth.”

Nigam did have one worry on his mind — his house in Naples. “I have insurance, but my worry is that if the roof itself flies off, there is little we can do in terms of claims,” he said.

But another family of Indian origin, in Fort Lauderdale, said they were staying back.

“We received non-mandatory evacuation orders and were told it was our personal choice whether to leave or not, so we decided to stay back,” Usha Venkatachalam told HT.

“We are more than 30 km away from the shore, so we are better off to ride out the storm. We also have hurricane-proof windows and a shelter in our house, so we are prepared for the storm.”