Why Some Families Face Hard Decisions During Hurricanes

I grew up in the suburbs of Cleveland and moved to the Tampa Bay area of Florida eight years ago. Since then, I’ve had to worry about nine hurricanes. We live far enough inland that we aren’t typically mandated to evacuate, but each time, as my family receives updates about the intensity and path of a storm, we have to decide whether or not we want to leave our home for safety.

Initially, I received immense pressure to evacuate from caring relatives who don’t live in hurricane-prone areas. They’ve since stopped, trusting my husband and I’s judgment. But that’s not the case for many of my friends who are also transplants. 

There are also many hostile comments online judging people who don’t evacuate—so much so, TikTokers have gone viral for their videos defending the various reasons why many don’t. Like the TikTok video mentions, a key reason for not evacuating amongst many Floridians I know is they can’t get time off of work until hours before the hurricane makes landfall. 

Another big issue is the cost.

Many families in the storm’s path can’t afford to leave their homes. Research shows lower-income households are more likely to live in vulnerable areas. Families may have no one to take them in temporarily, and are unable or uncomfortable going to storm shelters. 

The Rise of Natural Disasters

The number of natural disasters have been increasing worldwide, and the U.S. has had 400 weather and climate disasters since 1980. 

Of course, sometimes evacuation is necessary. Florida’s Division of Emergency Management’s website states, “the greatest threat to life from a hurricane is storm surge flooding,” which can occur from the abnormal rise in seawater level during a storm. It impacts people living on the coast and barrier islands, and even inland as it also can affect water levels in the area’s lakes and rivers. 

Hurricanes can cause trees to fall on homes, power outages, and often tornadoes. Hurricane Milton, for example, caused at least 15 tornadoes in South Florida, and another 19 in East Central Florida.  

“If you are in an evacuation zone that is ordered to evacuate by local authorities or in a flood zone, you should evacuate no matter what,” Florida’s Division of Emergency Management website also states.

But it’s still a difficult decision, one that about 5.9 million people living in the 11 Florida counties under mandatory evacuation orders had to make during 2024’s Hurricane Milton, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, per the Associated Press. 

The Cost of Evacuating During a Hurricane

I’ve learned it’s not as simple as packing up and leaving during a hurricane, especially when you have kids. 

There’s all sorts of other things to consider with evacuation: What is the storm’s predicted path and intensity? Can you get time off of work for a week to evacuate–and not fear losing your job? Can you find a hotel with rooms available? Do you have friends or family to stay with whose home is in a safer environment than yours? Can your vehicle (if you have one) safely arrive at your evacuation destination? Is there somewhere to take your pets?  

And hurricane evacuations are about five times more expensive than they were 20 or so years ago, according to NPR. 

Evacuation costs can add up quickly, depending on various factors, including how long you will be gone. A survey of evacuees during Hurricane Harvey, which struck Texas and Louisiana in 2017, found those who stayed at hotels or motels spent a little more than $2,300 on average.

This is money not every family can dish out. According to a 2023 study by the Federal Reserve System, 37% of American adults wouldn’t have been able to pay an unexpected emergency expense of $400 through cash, savings, or a credit card. 

Rulon Washington, Wells Fargo’s Executive Director of Mortgage Sustainability, says it’s hard to put a price tag on how much an evacuation could cost a family, but notes it’s often pricey—especially in the midst of inflation.

“You think of this inflation when it comes down to food costs, gas prices. [And] if you have to evacuate to another area, the cost of the hotel has risen because of the demand [since] other folks are evacuating,” he says. “So, evacuating can be extremely expensive.”

Being Prepared Is Important but Not Always Practical

A Wells Fargo survey in 2021 found 54% of Americans live in areas that had experienced severe natural disasters in the previous three years. But it found most Americans were not financially prepared for the event of a natural disaster, with less than half saying they have an emergency savings account. 

“Preparedness is essential,” says Washington. “When there’s not a plan in place, it becomes extremely difficult to bounce back from any type of disaster.”

Washington, who is also a father and a Floridian, stresses the importance of stockpiling savings and having cash on hand in case of power outages, which could lead to debit and credit cards and ATMS no longer functioning. 

He also encourages families living in hurricane-prone areas to increase their savings during hurricane season, which runs June through November. It’s also a good idea for families, no matter where they live, to have an emergency fund, in case a sudden natural disaster, such as a tornado, flood, or earthquake, strikes their area.

But this can be difficult for many families who are living paycheck to paycheck. New research shows that’s the case for about 35% of households making less than $50,000 a year, along with about 20% making $150,000 a year.

Understanding Through Experience 

When my family evacuated from Tampa Bay to Tallahassee, Florida, during Hurricane Ian in 2022, we spent $300 for our 36-hour stay at a hotel, and another $200 on fuel and meals. 

Two years later, we learned on October 5, 2024, that Tropical Storm Milton had formed off the coast of Mexico. The next day it became a hurricane. We decided to head to Alabama to stay with relatives—a privilege not every family has. But we were left with two days to fly out, as the Tampa International Airport closed at 9 a.m. that Tuesday.  

Flights felt out of the question. Weekday roundtrip flights to Birmingham, Alabama, from Tampa, with one stop, on a short notice trip can cost a minimum of about $1,000 for a family of four (not including baggage), and typically more than $2,000 for a nonstop flight. That also doesn’t include parking and rental car fees. 

So, we drove. But driving can be difficult too, especially when it’s more than eight hours with two toddlers. 

We had to take our son out of school and leave Monday morning, about two and a half days before the storm made landfall. We wanted to avoid the traffic backlog of driving the Gulf Coast’s only interstate that takes you out of Central Florida to Georgia—a route many would be taking.

We got out of Florida in the nick of time. By Tuesday, the day before Hurricane Milton made landfall, many of the gas stations in the Tampa Bay area had run out of gas. There was also traffic backed up for miles on the interstate. 

Even still, the ride was challenging because we found ourselves in the backwoods of Alabama looking for a bathroom for our son. Our daughter randomly had an upset stomach. She kept saying, “I want to go home.” I felt so awful telling her, “Baby we can’t go home.” I was so flustered by the time we made it to my in-laws house in Alabama. 

We were there for six days and spent around $440 on gas and food. We stayed about two and half days after the storm made landfall, because we had to wait to make sure the roads were clear, gasoline was available, and that our power was restored before we returned. 

For all of these reasons, every time a hurricane is coming, each household in its path has to make the very stressful decision of doing what’s best for them—and often a lack of resources or help makes it even harder.