Thousands flee, or at least try to

AFTER A WEEK of watching Hurricane Harvey devastate Texas on her television, Lidia Perez had no intention of sticking around Florida for a look at the real thing.

Perez, 36, of Fort Lauderdale, managed to snag a seat on a JetBlue flight that touched down Friday afternoon at LaGuardia Airport as Category 4 Hurricane Irma barreled toward the Sunshine State.

“It took hours just to book the ticket,” she said. “I was on hold for so long. I was just hoping they had seats left. It’s been frustrating. There were so many people trying to leave all at once. It’s crazy.”

Perez said watching the horrifying scenes of floods and massive destruction from Texas added another level of fear for Floridians.

“We kept watching the TV and kept thinking that could be us,” she said. “I hope it’s not like they’re saying it’s going to be. I hope they’re wrong.”

More than 660,000 residents of South Florida were under an evacuation order Friday.

For Miami resident Maria Hernandez, the third time was the charm in her efforts to escape Irma’s wrath.

Hernandez, 54, and her husband landed in Queens aboard the same JetBlue plane after their two earlier flights were canceled.

“We didn’t think we were going to make it,” said Hernandez after the flight arrived on time at 2:20 p.m. “I thank God we got out. I pray everyone else makes it out safe.”

The couple fought through hours worth of heavy traffic to reach the airport as thousands of people fled Miami.

The pair were headed to wait out the storm with relatives in Brooklyn.

“We did not want to leave, but we had no choice,” Hernandez said. “It was not worth risking our lives to say . . . I’ve never seen something like this in my life.”