Editorial roundup

Evacuation orders

Sept. 15

The Savannah Morning News

Hurricane Florence had barely made landfall Friday morning when the first rescue calls came in.

“In a matter of seconds, my house was flooded up to the waist, and now it is to the chest,” Peggy Perry of New Bern, North Carolina, told CNN. “We are stuck in the attic.”

Perry and her relatives were rescued, as were hundreds of others who ignored mandatory evacuation orders and were caught in the rising waters of Florence’s storm surge. Thank God — and the first responders — for that.

The situation is dumbfounding as it is horrifying. With what was a Category 4 storm bearing down on the coast of the Carolinas, many residents ignored a mandatory evacuation order issued several days in advance.

While predictable, this is unacceptable. We shudder to think about the outcome had the storm not weakened as it approached the coast. Had Florence made landfall with 140 mph winds instead of 90 mph winds, would the rescue crews have reached the stubborn in time? Would they have reached them at all?

… The debate that raged last week — about whether to stay or go should the track change — is folly.

The next time the call comes, get out. One stubborn North Carolinian interviewed on NBC on Friday morning said, “I’ve been here 50 years and been through lots of hurricanes. We didn’t think it would be that bad.”

He was wrong and so were hundreds of others. They put more than themselves in jeopardy; they endangered the rescue crews, too. Only those whose jobs require they ride out the storm — emergency and medical personnel and a small number of media representatives — should do so. Other residents who choose to stay demonstrate a level of irresponsibility that borders on criminal.

Trust emergency management officials when it comes to hurricane threats. We thank them and support their efforts to keep our citizens safe.