Locals with Florida ties keep eyes on Hurricane Irma
Hurricane Irma was barreling through the
"I told the ladies at work ... 'I'll take a tornado any day. They come, drop and go,' " Kohl said. "This, you're just watching it get bigger and it gets closer, and you're just watching it for days, coming your way, and they're talking about all the devastation."
Her husband, Whitey, recently retired from the insurance industry but is staying in
The Kohls now have a residence in
But as they watched more news coverage of the storm's predicted strength, they decided that might not be the best idea. If Irma does hit
"We live off a freshwater canal that comes in from the ocean, so we were worried about storm surge," she said Wednesday. "We went ahead and left last night, which was a good thing. Already in
Also in short supply were hotel rooms. The couple is traveling with their son, daughter-in-law, two grandsons and their dog. Despite traveling clear into
"We're all one very happy family sleeping in the same room -- with a dog," Kohl said with a chuckle. "But this hotel is full starting Friday. So we spent two hours this morning calling hotels in
They finally found a vacation cabin near the Appalachians in
They're also learning a lot about hurricanes -- something that is foreign to native Kansans. Besides rushes on gas and supplies, they were told to shut off water and utilities in their home, bring in any outside furniture and decor, and run a bathtub full of water in case supply is cut off, she said.
"People like us, we didn't know what to do," Kohl said.
From Hays, former south
Ring serves as
One important tip that can go overlooked is to ensure those affected have cash on hand in case of prolonged power outages, which make it impossible to use debit and credit cards, Ring said.
Ring shared a photo on social media that shows the storm could be as wide as 400 miles -- that's approximately the distance between
"It's literally going to cover the state of
Ring personally has experienced hurricanes during his time in
"As the hurricane comes across, especially as the eye comes over, you have this lull period where you can actually go outside and the sun is shining," Ring said. "Then the other half of the hurricane comes over."
While Kohl said she would prefer a tornado to a hurricane if she was forced to choose, Ring has a different take on the situation.
"I would take a hurricane over a tornado any day," he said. "You have time to prepare. We have tornadoes that fall out of the sky. ... Tornadoes form so fast out here, sometimes you don't have time to get to a shelter."
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