Current:Home > ScamsSheriff takes grim tack with hurricane evacuation holdouts-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
Sheriff takes grim tack with hurricane evacuation holdouts
View Date:2024-12-23 23:02:07
Floridians along the coast who decided to stay put and ride out Hurricane Helene got a grisly warning from the local sheriff's office.
“If you or someone you know chose not to evacuate,” wrote the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office, “PLEASE write your, Name, birthday and important information on your arm or leg in A PERMANENT MARKER so that you can be identified and family notified.”
The warning, clearly referring to identification of post-mortem remains, was aimed at people who ignored mandatory evacuation orders and warnings about the storm's oncoming wallop. It's hard to see the message as anything but "stay at your own peril at the risk of death."
The sheriff’s office posted the warning to Facebook Thursday afternoon hours before the storm had arrived and scores of people lost power. Law enforcement also asked residents hunkering down to send an email to the sheriff’s office with their names, addresses, contact information and the number of people and pets at the location.
Hurricanes have pummeled the small rural county between Talahasee and Gainesville over the past few years. Idalia, a Category 3 hurricane, made landfall at the gulf coast county in August 2023 and Hurricane Debby, a Category 1, made landfall in August.
Forecasters expect Hurricane Helene, a Category 4, to cause storm surge of to 20 feet high.
Gene Taylor, a former public official in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, when Hurricane Katrina made landfall there in 2005, offered another foreboding tip to people considering riding out a potentially deadly storm surge. “Have life jackets and an ax, in case they have to chop through the attic roof to get out.”
Many people were rescued from rooftops when the water rose after Katrina and in other locations after severe flooding.
Contributing: Dinah Pulver Voyles and Doyle Rice
veryGood! (7321)
Related
- Larry Hobbs, who guided AP’s coverage of Florida news for decades, has died at 83
- San Francisco Becomes the Latest City to Ban Natural Gas in New Buildings, Citing Climate Effects
- H&R Block and other tax-prep firms shared consumer data with Meta, lawmakers say
- Marc Anthony and Wife Nadia Ferreira Welcome First Baby Together Just in Time for Father's Day
- 'The Penguin' spoilers! Colin Farrell spills on that 'dark' finale episode
- FBI Director Chris Wray defends agents, bureau in hearing before House GOP critics
- Prosecutors say man accidentally recorded himself plotting wife's kidnapping
- Scientists Join Swiss Hunger Strike to Raise Climate Alarm
- Multi-State Offshore Wind Pact Weakened After Connecticut Sits Out First Selection
- Meta allows Donald Trump back on Facebook and Instagram
Ranking
- New Orleans marks with parade the 64th anniversary of 4 little girls integrating city schools
- Six Takeaways About Tropical Cyclones and Hurricanes From The New IPCC Report
- The Sweet Way Travis Barker Just Addressed Kourtney Kardashian's Pregnancy
- A Personal Recession Toolkit
- Blake Shelton Announces New Singing Competition Show After Leaving The Voice
- X Factor's Tom Mann Honors Late Fiancée One Year After She Died on Their Wedding Day
- Microsoft applications like Outlook and Teams were down for thousands of users
- Kim Zolciak's Daughters Share Loving Tributes to Her Ex Kroy Biermann Amid Nasty Divorce Battle
Recommendation
-
Bowl projections: SEC teams joins College Football Playoff field
-
Exxon announced record earnings. It's bound to renew scrutiny of Big Oil
-
Why higher winter temperatures are affecting the logging industry
-
Looking for Amazon alternatives for ethical shopping? Here are some ideas
-
John Krasinski is People's Sexiest Man Alive. What that says about us.
-
To all the econ papers I've loved before
-
Scientists Join Swiss Hunger Strike to Raise Climate Alarm
-
FBI Director Chris Wray defends agents, bureau in hearing before House GOP critics