The Navy released us all at the same time with Hugo, though there were some who took leave and left a day early. We had no compunction about pulling our kids out of school to evacuate, it just made sense. But most of us working there grew up with these fiesty storms and knew it was coming at us no matter what the weather channel said. You just have to follow your instincts and pray. These storms can be rough, sure, and cause a lot of damage but if you are prepared you can make it. Remember they are all sound and fury and you will be inside and to the interior of your house. Use common sense - DON’T let the media scare you and be prepared to be without air-conditioning for several weeks. It will be a good time to get to know your neighbors and share. Hugo did damage, but he also brought neighbors together.
It’s funny you say that. We went out to make last minute checks on the property, and our neighbors were all doing the same. We just came in from a long chat with all of them exchanging numbers, etc and making sure our elderly neighbor who is a shut in knows we are here. Really, we just tied everything down, boarded stuff up and are preparing. We live on the crest of our road, so we have never had flooding issues before, and we have only one large tree that poses any direct danger to the house. I won’t leave my animals, and we have so many friends with deployed spouses who are staying, so we have chosen to weather this all together.