Coastal Residents Reminded To Heed Evacuation Order Despite Hurricane Fatigue

September 8, 2008 6:34 a.m. EST

Key West, FL (AHN) - Thousands of tourists left Key West Sunday, ahead of Hurricane Ike's landfall in the U.S. after it battered the Caribbean. Despite the mandatory evacuation traffic was not heavy as expected as some residents are hesitant to leave after their experience of Hurricane Gustav weakening before it had a landfall.

The frequency of hurricanes and the subsequent evacuation orders is tiring some coastal residents that public officials are worried more will ignore orders to leave or stock supplies.

Houston is one area where hurricane fatigue is starting to set in. Andy Berman, a medical office manager who recently relocated to Houston from Chicago, complained to the Houston Chronicle, "There are so many names coming by - it's Gustav, then Hanna, then Ike... It's like a herd of animals. It seems like the media needs something to talk about."

In Louisiana, as residents of Crescent City continue their journey back home Sunday, Gov. Bobby Jindal expressed apprehension that some residents are not heeding evacuation warning. "We are likely going to have to become accustomed to evacuating more frequently than when we were younger," Jindal explained to the Houston Chronicle.

One of those not convinced to leave is Megan Brewer, a bartender who lives in the Heights. Because Brewer's house is made of solid brick, she is confident it could provide adequate protection. She said was not willing anymore to sacrifice a lot like when Hurricane Rita hit their area three years ago and she had to sit through five hours of standstill traffic along U.S. 59.

But the energy industry is not taking the hurricane warnings lightly. Oil and gas producers which sent their crew back to platforms and rigs have slowed down deployment as warnings of Hurricane Ike approached, according to the U.S. Minerals Management Service. One-fourth of the personnel from 717 manned platforms in the Gulf of Mexico have been evacuated and 10 of 121 Gulf rigs removed their staff.

Meanwhile, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said it has sufficient food and medical supplies in the Gulf states, leftovers from the Hurricane Gustav stockpiles. The agency is waiting for updates from weather forecasters to signal if it should move its supplies or not.

But traffic was light on U.S. 1, the only highway north, indicating a significant number of residents decided to wait for an indicator that Ike would be a stronger hurricane before they would consider evacuating, said Irene Toner, emergency management director for Monroe County in Florida.