I don't evacuate. Period. I live in a small town 75 miles north of Houston, Texas. Hurricane Rita hit 3 weeks after Hurricane Katrina and the news and pictures were vividly imprinted on everyone's brains. People flowed out of Houston and surrounding areas in a panic. A trip that would take about 1 hour took 22-28 hours. Several people died in their automobiles from heat exhaustion. Cars ran out of gas and there was none to be found. Our small town wasn't even a destination, but thousands were stranded here. We opened our schools, churches and homes. Most were respectful, but people running in a blind panic is not a pretty sight. Our junior high campus was completely trashed. Several thousand took shelter there and they destroyed the place, even rubbing feces on the walls. And everywhere they went on every highway and back road coming out of Houston, people threw out their trash. Nasty B*@T*+D*.
All businesses were closed. Think NO gas, NO food, NO NOTHING. And no one was prepared.
So before you evacuate, think about it. Do you really want to be caught up in the running of the lemmings? If where you live is that dangerous, then maybe you need to rethink things. Natural disasters are everywhere, but you don't have to be stupid about it. Look around and do what you can do to make your home a safe place to be. After Hurricane Ike dropped a massive oak tree on our house, we removed 2 more that were right next to our home. Do I miss them? You bet I do. It was like losing friends.
I have lived in southeast Texas all my life and hurricanes are a way of life. Many of you deal with major snow storms, wildfires, volcanoes, tornadoes and other disasters. Prepare for these to happen. Have a safe place to take shelter if you can't evacuate. Being one in a crowd of thousands is not where you want to be.