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Sep 6, 2008 8:03 pm US/Eastern
Keys Evacuations Up In The Air, Residents Prepare
KEY WEST (CBS4) ―
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Guests and residents evacuate the Florida Keys ahead of Hurricane Ike.
CBS
The boards and shutters are going up at businesses all over Key West as residents and business owners get ready for Hurricane Ike.
CBS4's Ted Scouten has his eye on the people as they prepare for the worst and hope for the best.
At this point, tourists should be on the mainland. Many took the advice, not many cars can be seen on the Overseas Highway, or at local gas stations. "We're going to do a little bit of shopping, and then we're headed north in car," said Alana Robinson, visiting from Tazmania. Keys officials say they believe most of the estimated 15,000 visitors are gone.
But many are staying behind. "We don't care!" admitted Pam Wogen, "We think it's going to go south, so we'll see." The Sarasota native and her friends are taking their chances.
That's something emergency managers hate to see, since there's so much uncertainty. "What we have here is a 50-50 chance. It's really going to be good, or really going to be bad," said Key West Mayor Morgan McPherson.
Right now, the question is, "Will people who live here be ordered out?" Officials in Monroe County are so far standing by the mandatory evacuation orders. But that could change.
"We will be re-evaluating it at 5 a.m. tomorrow morning," said Monroe County Mayor Mario DiGennaro
If the resident evacuation is enforced, people should be prepared to move quickly. "If the mandatory evacuation is in place, we're hoping for 100 percent evacuation," Says Mayor McPherson, "Because we will be looking down the barrel of a Cat 4 storm."
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