Gov. Ralph Northam lifted a mandatory evacuation order on Friday that had been in place all week in anticipation of Hurricane Florence.
On Monday evening, residents of state-designated Zone A around Hampton Roads and the Eastern Shore were told to leave due to threats largely of flooding from storm surge.
The rescinding of the order came as the National Weather Service also lifted tropical storm warnings for the region.
Still, one has to wonder if the entire situation could have been handled better.
For those that follow Wrisk.com, as well as tracking the European model, by late Monday, it was apparent Flo was not tracking close to our location. Landfall was looking like Wrightsville, Wilmington or Myrtle Beach, or even further south. Unfortunately, orders to evacuate were made 5 days prior to landfall.
The order to evacuate sent everything into a tailspin, forcing mass closures and unnecessary loss of millions of dollars for businesses, and lost wages for workers. Schools were shut down and sporting events had to be canceled.
Of course, you can’t put a price on lives, hindsight is always 20/20…now that we’ve said the right things, let’s just say it–Northam’s issuing a mandatory evacuation this time was a huge blunder. Maybe start with a voluntary evacuation, and if the scenario becomes more imminent, a mandatory evac? In the Carolinas, yes you had better run…but up here?
Just to be clear, Donald Trump and colluding Russians were not involved, so don’t even try to go there.
Video: Wait for it. To show just how much people overreact sometimes, watch the drama unfold in this Weather Channel video: