Better safe than sorry.
That was the phrase many Hurricane Dorian evacuees used Tuesday as they relocated to the Atlanta area to wait out the powerful storm.
And many of them echoed the comments of Ormond Beach, Florida, resident Bubba Harry, who evacuated to the Atlanta Motor Speedway campgrounds.
“I’ll be glad when it passes, so I can go back home,” said Harry, 34, a husband and father of three, who just moved to Florida five weeks ago.
Evacuees were unwilling to risk their safety and grateful they made that decision, particularly after watching reports of storm damage in the Bahamas.
Some metro Atlantans with Bahamian relatives waited anxiously to hear from loved ones.
Covington resident Shameaka Russell Leggett has not heard from her parents and a host of other relatives who live on the tiny Abaco Islands, where the storm stalled.
“I don’t know how to feel,” said Leggett. “I’m just waiting to hear and not hearing anything. My cousin said this is like a movie. She sent me pictures, and in some places it’s pretty much gone. It is just horrible.”
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Leggett is working with others in metro Atlanta’s Bahamian community to collect supplies to send back home.
From Atlanta Motor Speedway officials offering their campgrounds as shelter to the Atlanta-based United Methodist Committee on Relief contacting partner organizations in the Bahamas to residents offering their homes, metro Atlantans were helping evacuees in many ways.
Clark Atlanta University opened its doors to Bethune-Cookman University’s football team after they could not return to their campus in Florida after playing a game here Sunday. The team ate on Clark Atlanta’s campus and stayed at a nearby hotel. The team practiced on campus Tuesday afternoon and hoped to leave Wednesday.
“We wanted to make sure we could lend a helping hand,” said Clark Atlanta’s head football coach, Tim Bowens.
At the speedway, a row of about 20 recreational vehicles were parked near the main entrance. Most were from Florida; a few from the South Georgia coast. All paid close attention to the storm’s path.
“You never know about these things,” said Rick Bogue, 67, who lives near the Kennedy Space Center, which is about a half-hour north of Cocoa Beach, Florida.
The speedway has power supplies and other equipment for RV owners to connect to water and electricity, so evacuees there said they had everything they needed. Many made the most of it by checking out a race or sightseeing.
Like the Bethune-Cookman team, Florida residents Milton and Helena Coleman were visiting in metro Atlanta and learned they could not return to their home, near Orlando. The retirees munched on fruit in their RV Tuesday, enjoying the hospitality.
“We’ve met a lot of nice people here,” said Helena Coleman, 68.
John Hannon, 64, a retired firefighter from Jupiter, Florida, arrived Friday and planned to begin their return Tuesday evening. His wife’s company was hoping she could return to work Wednesday.
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In Woodstock, Connect Live, a concert venue, has opened its doors to those fleeing Dorian. So far, though, no one has sought shelter in the former church building, said Kimberly Testa, its co-owner. Connect Live has a coffee shop, restrooms and space to sleep. She said people could be operating under a false sense of security because the hurricane stalled for so long over the Bahamas.
“If (evacuees) are looking for space, we’re happy to accommodate,” Testa said.
HOW TO HELP
The Bahamas Consulate General Atlanta is accepting emergency relief supplies for the islands in the Bahamas, according to a post on its Facebook page.
Supplies can be dropped off at consulate offices, 2970 Clairmont Road NE, Suite #290, Atlanta. The phone number is 404-214-0492.
Needed items include blankets, batteries, chainsaws, generators, baby items, disinfectants, cots, flashlights, bug repellent (DEET free) and cooking utensils.
Salvation Army donations can be made by telephone at 1-800-725-2769 or online at HelpSalvationArmy.org.
