OCALA, Fla.—As Hurricane Helene churned toward Florida’s Gulf Coast, Maggie Nelson wasn’t worried about her own safety in the storm.
The 22-year-old Texas transplant fretted, instead, about her two horses.
Trapper is a gentle, retired, six-time-world-champion jumper with a speckled coat, and Edna is a reddish beauty with a temperamental streak. How could she leave them outside when she was safe indoors? Nelson asked herself.
It wasn’t the predicted storm surge that had her worried. And it wasn’t the wind. Not exactly.
What terrified her was the thought of the debris that would be flung by Helene.
“We have an outdoor barn, and I didn’t want any objects to fly into my horses,” said Nelson, an animal sciences major at the University of Florida.
So when the luxurious World Equestrian Center in Ocala, Florida, announced on social media that it would open to evacuees, Nelson loaded her horses onto a trailer and headed south.
Natural disasters bring out extreme protectiveness in pet owners, researchers have found.
But Florida officials say that’s not only unnecessary but also ill-advised.
If you evacuate your home, “do not leave your pets or animals behind,” the Florida Department of Emergency Management (FDEM) states in all capital letters on its website.
“It is unlikely for pets or larger animals to survive on their own. If by some chance they do, you may not be able to find them when you return,” it states.
Also, staying home when told to evacuate can turn out to be a deadly decision.
“If you or someone you know chose not to evacuate, please write your name, birthday, and important information on your arm or leg in a permanent marker so that you can be identified and [your family] notified.”
Historic Storm Prompts Pet Preparedness Plans
After Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans in 2005, researchers at the Fritz Institute—an organization that works to further disaster response and recovery—looked into the problem of evacuating with pets.They found that 44 percent of respondents who didn’t evacuate ahead of Katrina said it was because they weren’t willing to leave without their animals.
Later, when people in Louisiana needed rescuing after the killer storm, most weren’t allowed to take their pets with them, according to the Louisiana Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).
About 15,500 pets were rescued in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the organization said, but only 15 percent to 20 percent were reunited with their owners.
And about 88,700 pets stayed missing, the organization reported.
That led to federal and state legislation to try to remedy the problem.
According to the Animal Welfare Institute, more than 30 states followed up with legislation addressing the evacuation, rescue, and recovery of pets during a disaster.
Seeking Shelter With Animal Friends
Bona fide service animals for people with disabilities are welcome at Red Cross shelters, according to Florida emergency management officials.And in Florida, where hurricanes are expected between June and November each year, state law requires every county to have a pet-friendly shelter.
When evacuating with companion animals, the Florida agency suggests placing the animals’ medications and medical records in a waterproof container and bringing along sturdy leashes, pet carriers, food and water, bowls, and a photo with each pet to serve as identification if separated.
But pets that weigh 1,000 pounds pose special challenges.
In advance of storms, owners should practice loading horses onto horse trailers, just in case, emergency officials suggest. Uncooperative horses can slow evacuation dramatically.
When evacuating, horse owners should pack each horse’s veterinary records and identification photographs, along with contact information, in a watertight package, agency officials say.
They advise that each horse’s halter be labeled with the horse’s name, the owner’s name and telephone number, and another emergency contact’s telephone number. People evacuating with horses should also pack plenty of feed, hay, medications, first aid supplies, and potable water.
Horses account for nearly $12 billion in annual economic impact in the state, according to FDACS.
Horse Owners Fleeing Helene
As Hurricane Helene moved toward Florida, the forecast was ominous. A deadly storm surge and killer winds were expected.Horse owners in the storm’s path posted on social media about their desperation to escape the predicted flooding and wind that would send deadly debris flying and trees toppling onto buildings and vehicles.
Fairgrounds, private farms, and other facilities announced on social media that they would accept evacuees.
Nelson was thankful to be less than an hour’s drive from the World Equestrian Center (WEC) in Ocala, the Florida city known as the Horse Capital of the World.
As Helene churned toward the state on Sept. 25, horse trailers rumbled into the 2,000-acre facility. Eventually, 1,200 horses were safely stalled in massive, concrete, climate-controlled barns.
And though staying at the resort for a weekend horse show can cost hundreds of dollars, the property’s owners declined, yet again, to accept any payment from evacuees.
All they requested were signed statements from owners that the incoming horses were healthy, had received routine annual testing for equine infectious anemia, and had received standard vaccinations for infectious diseases.
“We have welcomed hurricane evacuees through multiple storms since the facility has been open, and that’s something that we really feel fortunate to be able to do,” said Leah Tong, WEC director of marketing. “It’s important to our ownership and to the team here to be able to provide that resource.
“This is a tight-knit community in the equestrian world, and so we want to do what we can for that community that supports us on all the other weeks of the year.”
The equine-focused, upscale resort opened in December 2020 and hosted its first horse show in January 2021. It now has two hotels, indoor and outdoor horse show facilities, and exposition centers that host conferences, sports events, and festivals. Despite taking on evacuees, the facility was ready to hold Oktoberfest on Oct. 5 and 12, Tong said.
By then, most evacuees were expected to have returned home.
“It really depends just on what their situation is,” Tong told The Epoch Times. There isn’t “a hard deadline that they need to be out by. We just kind of take it on a case-by-case basis because if they don’t have somewhere to return to and they’re here, we want to be that community support for these people.”
Clean-up as evacuees leave involves removing all bedding, hay, and manure from the 1,200 stalls—a gargantuan task.
But “we’ve seen a big outpouring just with people saying, ‘Hey, we‘ll pitch in. We’ll help clean stalls,’” and help WEC employees tidy up for the next event, Tong said.
The day after Helene barreled through the area, Nelson expressed great relief and gratitude.
“It’s incredibly generous of them because this is like a five-star resort for horses, and they let people like us, who aren’t showing [at one of the horse shows], just come in to keep our horses safe,” Nelson said, as she reached up to stroke Trapper’s velvety nose.
“I wouldn’t worry so much if it was just me, but because I have him and my other horse to worry about, you have to think of animals first and do what’s best for them. So you don’t just hunker down in your house. You have to evacuate and get them somewhere safe if you possibly can.”
