Florida Native Slams Critics of People Who Didn't Evacuate: It's 'HARD'

As Hurricane Ian damage assessments come in, the internet is flooded with images of people needing rescue from the storm's wrath. Some on social media are criticizing Floridians' decisions to stay put during the major storm rather than evacuate.

Hurricane Ian ravaged Florida on Wednesday, hitting the state's west coast with the force of a major Category 4 hurricane. Sanibel Island was decimated in the storm and the Sanibel Causeway was so severely damaged that it cut residents of the island off from mainland Florida. Trapped residents had to be airlifted from their homes and while some applauded the heroics of the rescue, others questioned why it was necessary at all.

Phoebe Gavin, a career coach and Executive Director of Talent and Development at Vox Media, said there are countless hurdles preventing a person from seeking safety in advance of a storm's arrival. Gavin, who grew up on Sanibel Island but now lives near Washington, D.C., told Newsweek that some people on the internet are going as far as to say those who didn't evacuate "got what they deserved."

"[They are] very comfortable making lots of assumptions about the victims of the storm and refusing to extend empathy to them. They're comfortable making lots of assumptions," Gavin said.

Gavin ignited a debate on Twitter after she posted that "evacuating is hard," something she said she knew from experience growing up "low-income on Sanibel Island." Her tweet was liked more than 62,000 times and retweeted more than 8,000 times.

In response to her tweets, some people posted memes joking about low-income people living on Sanibel Island.

"'Low-income' on Sanibel? That seems like an oxymoron," one user tweeted.

"Low income on Sanibel Island? Please. They didn't evacuate because they were lazy science deniers," another said.

Others questioned why the government allowed people to live in areas subject to natural disasters.

"Would they rather go be even poorer in a different state or be dead in Florida?" one Twitter user tweeted at Gavin.

Gavin told Newsweek challenges are steeper for a low-income person when it comes to evacuating.

She rejected Sanibel Island as a place only for middle-class or wealthy people to vacation. Her family has lived on Sanibel Island for four generations and experienced dozens of hurricanes, all of them as low-income people.

"We have to think through every single stage of what that means," she said. "There are a lot of people who weren't able to evacuate or evacuate quickly because their employer won't let them leave without threatening their jobs."

Models first showed Hurricane Ian barreling through Tampa Bay area, and evacuation orders were issued for Tampa Bay. However, the day before the hurricane hit, Governor Ron DeSantis warned of its changing path. New models showed Hurricane Ian hitting further south than Tampa Bay, traversing across the state and exiting into the Atlantic Ocean before curling back north and hitting Jacksonville and then South Carolina.

While some people can afford to evacuate even if it ends up being unnecessary, Gavin said people with tight budgets can't afford to waste money on constant evacuations.

Gavin said an evacuee will easily spend $1,500 and likely more when fleeing a natural disaster. That number also doesn't account for any lost wages.

"Low-income people are usually paid on an hourly basis and they don't have sick leave, they don't have paid vacation," Gavin said. "So, that time away from work is time they are not making any money. They're spending money they don't have to not make money they need."

Evacuation costs include transportation, lodging, and supplies. Those challenges increase if the person doesn't own a car or have family who will host them. And although shelters can provide temporary and free relief to those in need, Gavin said it's often difficult to determine which shelters are open. Those with pets or various disabilities may find it even harder to access shelters.

Gavin's parents still live on Sanibel Island and were able to evacuate. They're both self-employed and Gavin credited them for not having to seek approval from a supervisor to leave their job for the reason they were able to leave.

Not everyone has that same access. Her parents also were able to stay at a friend's condo in Fort Myers free of charge.

Although her parents were able to evacuate, Gavin found her parents' home on Sanibel Island didn't escape the hurricane unscathed. The roof was damaged but intact. That poses the final challenge for a low-income evacuee: they don't know if they'll have a home or job when they return.

"They might still have a home, but also everything could be ruined inside," Gavin said.