Say older, because, well am.
Your soil is not dry and water runoff will be huge issue.
Ive never been a first responder, but i was in New Orleans day after Katrina.
Was there to check on a customers data center and to verify water had not penetrated.
Also, my father was a Navy Botswain.
He spent 2 years on the ocean.
Served as a senior botswain on USS Galveston and USS Ticonderoga, the since scrapped ships.
My father is since dead, but he said to me before going to Louisiana.
Hold back. Do not go early.
He explained how the worst of the storm is outside your perimeter.
It is on the farside when coming from the west.
Worst is east side!
He also warned, under no circumstance get in front of the surge.
He explained, this storm energy you cannot comprehend and the water will be high.
He went through several hurricanes.
As a Navy Boat guy?
Hurricanes, during his time, meant, the sailors inside the hull, prayed to God, the Botswains did their duty topside.
Times have changed (doppler radar and Navy no longer runs thru storms) and the Navy no longer needs guys like my dad, but bad weather is still here.
2 things will leave you with.
Recently people have been reporting people tied to trees.
Damn right, they were tied to trees. Wasnt anything, but last survival attempt.
Water rises. You go to the top of your house.
Water keeps rising.
Smart cookies know that roof might not be tall enough, so they grab rope before going up there.
Why rope, because the human being knows in that crazy moment, they need rope.
Same as my father when a boat was going under and the rigging had to be perfect.
Wish my father was still alive. Would love to talk to him, because the path of this storm and the energy it has?
CRAZY, it is a person killer for sure.
Finally, Milton, is potentially the worst storm I have ever seen. Not because of wind, but because of water deluge.
You come across as having an interest in US Naval history. One harrowing twenty hours in December 1944 Halsey sailed the 3rd fleet into Typhoon Cobra. It severely damaged the fleet sunk 3 destroyers and killed many hundreds of men. Wiki link is marginally accurate. I've read several books on the topic and thought it might interest you. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoon_Cobra
So damn cool, you brought that up. My father told me about that when I was a young kid. I've never read books about it, but it is on my must read.
There is a critical point that happened in the Navy, that my dad used to talk about.
WW2 ships were not what he called 100 year storm ships. A storm could take them out and often, did.
He served on 2 end of WW2 ships that were no longer needed after the Vietnam War, the time he served.
He hated, but loved those ships.
They were not meant to be serving as they did. Way past their prime.
The Navy had their new class of ships that did not divert from weather.
The 100 year storm ships.
The bad boys of new steel class of ships.
My dad, was like, wtf.
Why am I subject to this as a sailor. Was a crazy time.
But, my dad knew how to secure rigging on those older ships.
He was so proud of that.
They knew things we don't. God bless you for sharing.
The book Halsey’s Typhoon has a ton of details on the storm. And it’s a great read.