Originally from Ballybofey, Co Donegal, Karen Catterson Lapierre has been living and working as a nurse in Florida for the past 15 years. Her residence in the city of Brooksville is in Hernando County, north of Tampa. Despite her area being under mandatory evacuation due to the impending devastation threatened by Hurricane Milton, Lapierre, along with her partner Mike and their dog Spencer, have chosen to stay. As she finds herself in the heart of a mandatory evacuation zone, she noted that, due to a series of unfortunate events, she now has no other options but to brave the storm.
The Category 5 hurricane is due to land on Thursday morning, promising powerful winds nearing 210km/h. It follows on the heels of Hurricane Helene, which wrought severe damage two weeks prior. US President Joe Biden has labelled it potentially “the worst storm to hit Florida in over a hundred years”.
The mandatory evacuation notice was pronounced by the fire service but Lapierre, tangled in her work commitments, was unable to leave early. The situation worsened as roads-filled with other potential evacuees-forming long queues and frequent petrol shortages at gas stations made it nearly impossible to flee. Further hampering her plans, Lapierre experienced a flat tire, but with local businesses and services shut preparing for the hurricane, repairing it has become an insurmountable task.
To put the current situation into perspective, Lapierre highlighted that I-75, a main Florida interstate, has been clogged up for days. A typical six-hour trip to Georgia has now taken twice as long since the evacuation orders came in.
“Experiencing a total gridlock on the highway, we felt unprepared to desert our home”, irks Ms Catterson Lapierre, indicating that deserted homes are often the victims during severe weather disturbances. “In circumstances like these, particularly when your home has been affected, looting is not uncommon,” she affirms. She reckons that roughly half of her neighbours in Brooksville ignored the compulsory evacuation preceding the hurricane.
“Although everyone’s considerably tense, the choice to evacuate was there. A majority simply lacked the funds to do so”, she explains, referring to the financial implications of staying in hotel accommodations in Miami or the northern panhandle region. “Not everyone possesses the financial means, especially the retirees in our community who mostly rely on fixed incomes and simply can not afford to vacate”, states Lapierre.
Lapierre notes those who chose to stay back will depend on power generators and non-perishable food supplies. Prior to returning to Brooksville from a brief stint away, Lapierre and her partner purchased water and other necessities in Georgia, aware of the depletion in supply in Florida due to panic buying.
She explains most hospitals will continue to operate and accept ambulances even during the hurricane. However, certain facilities, like her local hospital, have been under lockdown with a dedicated ‘hurricane team’ on duty for the next few days. These hospitals will only admit emergency cases during the hurricane.
Living in a recently-built property with hurricane-rated windows, Lapierre says they are bracing for the worst and hoping for the best. Asserting that she worked laboriously to earn everything she possesses, she expresses fear at the thought of losing it all. “Although fear hasn’t overtaken me, the safety of my house remains my biggest concern”, Lapierre shares.