Here's our new "Refusal to Evacuate" doucument - we give this to people who refuse to evacuate before an impending river flood:


You have been advised to evacuate all persons from this structure due to an impending river flood. You have refused to do so despite being offered immediate transportation assistance and free shelter.

We now advise you that once flooding begins, emergency medical services, fire suppression and rescue services will not be provided, for the duration of the flood and possibly for some time after floodwaters recede.

Once flooding begins, your phone and electric service may no longer work. Your drinking water may be contaminated. The structure you are staying in may be severely damaged and may collapse. Your electrical system may become a lethal hazard when in contact with water. Toxic and/or flammable materials such as heating oil, propane tanks, kerosene, sewage, paint, pesticides, solvents and other unknown highly hazardous materials may enter this structure during flooding.

You will not be able to drive on the roads to escape later if you change your mind.
Your refusal to evacuate could lead to the loss of your life and the lives of others who may be in this structure.

You have been given this notice because despite these risks, you have refused to evacuate. We have made an extraordinary effort to give you the opportunity to evacuate and will make no further attempts. You are now on your own.

I don't even live near a river, but you wouldn't have to ask me twice after seeing the damage caused by flooding. You'd have hoped that people would have learned from Katrina. Perhaps it will be a final wake up.

You need to add something like:

Your refusal to leave may result in recovery teams having to collect and identify your body, along with the bodies of others within this structure. Raging flood waters can possibly rip the human body apart. In order to make identification easier, one Identification pouch, and 4 bracelets have been provided. The identification pouch goes around your upper arm, the other 4 are for your wrists and ankles. The one on your forearm contains a place for your drivers license and 2 cards for basic identification information (hair color, eye color, weight, height, etc...), next of kin notification, and the serial numbers of the bracelets around your wrist and ankles. Please give the filled out second card to the notifying official.

Veritcal Upper Arm (Arm)

Tyvek Brand serialized ID bracelets (Ankle)

Very Sobering!!!

Galviston suggested that those who stayed behind write their social security number on their arm with permanent. I wonder how many followed that advice?

Apprently not...

The river is coming up again...we're going to do evacuations (again)...this will be my third time through this is the last 14 months.

We're already hearing grumbles of "it's not a big deal" ....

We'd be ready, willing, and able to evacuate, should we be advised to do so, but we would not leave behind our pets. Some people laugh, but they are part of our family. Would you guys lend people like us a hand in that situation, or would we be on our own?

-- Craig

Hah, have them write their SSN on as many body parts as possible with a water resistant marker to aid in reassembly after the flood <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

The shin bones connected to the thigh bone ....


<img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

Sorry, dude, we can't handle pets. Until you've been in a rescue situation, especially a WATER rescue situation, you have no idea just how hectic and hazardous it is - and how little room there is in the evacuation vehicles. If you have to take your pets, then you have to get yourself out. I know that I'd miss my cats, but I also know that in the event I needed to evacuate, I'd leave them behind, no question about it.
I know how strongly people feel about their pets, and more so if they have kids and a "beloved gerbil" or dog. But at the same time, my job is to save HUMAN lives first, and then, possibly, other lives (like pets). Not to mention pets are NOT allowed in a shelter.

So, yeah, if you refuse to go because we can't handle your pets, you're on your own. It's a cold calculus. I can accomodate you and your family, and your dog might take room that one more person needed to get out, so the dog goes. Not to mention the nightmare of two barking, fighting dogs in a boat or in an evacuation center.

No pets. That's the way it is.

I've always felt that waiting until the fire/flood/hurricane is at the door is a really stupid thing to do, but we see it all the time on the news.

If I leave, I'm leaving with a dog, 3 cats & 4 chickens. I'm not planning on going to a shelter. I'm not waiting until the last minute. I'm going to put my important stuff in the truck and I'm taking off.

What's so hard to understand ? Just get out of the way!

Sue