I did this morning.

In a parking lot whilst waiting for a bus.

I did this morning.

In a parking lot whilst waiting for a bus.

Would you evacuate?

My wife and I bought a bunch of food, batteries, etc and are chilling, but we are 45 minutes inland. I would definitely evacuate if we were on the coast. The biggest thing we have to worry about inland is power outage. The wind is gusting here, but they aren't predicting structural damage inland, with the exception of damage caused by downed trees.

Do I look like a bundle of sticks? REAL men don't evacuate! I'd strip down, buck naked, stand in the face of the storm like Karnov, and scream, COME AND GET ME, YOU MOTHER FUCKER!!!!!

A lot of people can't afford to leave their homes.

Sure they can. It's not that expensive to leave your house. There were buses running up until Sunday at 7pm across the whole region, and those who lived in a mandatory evacuation zone chose to live in a mandatory evacuation zone.

There is a reason that we didn't get a place directly on the coast. Anyone who chooses to do so should have an adequate plan for things when the mandatory evacuation begins.

It can be rather expensive to leave your house, especially on a moment's notice and for a week or longer.

From what I heard many "squatters" decided to stay-put based on lessons learned from Hurricane Hugo. There are many stories about how homes were left with minor damage while their residents found harder times in the "safe zones". Has there been anything similar to that in this case?

Where did you hear that? Hurricane Hugo was in 1989. I doubt it was relevant. Most of the people that stayed did it because "Hurricane Irene wasn't that bad".

However, the answer is no. Much of the "mandatory evacuation zone" saw significant damage.

Even as early as Saturday morning, basically all television and radio was saying that the worst case scenario is happening. Anyone who stayed because of Hurricane Hugo was, as shakes would say, an idiot.