Hurricane season comes with a lot of frenzy and movements. Shopping is on the rise as essential products like water bottles fly off the shelves at the malls and supermarkets. Mandatory evacuations usually follow. Shelters and safe structures begin to fill out. While many people hurriedly adhere to the hurricane evacuation directives, adding adults are often reluctant to follow suit.

Five Reasons why aging adults refuse to be evacuated before a hurricane

Aging adults’ reluctance, though surprising to some, is quite understandable from their own standpoint. Some reasons for their refusal to be evacuated before a hurricane are below.

Evacuation Expenses

Some aging adults choose to ride out the storm in their homes because evacuation may be well above their financial capabilities. Most retirees live on a fixed income and do not have provision for extra costs or luxury relocations. They may not even have any funds stored up in the case of an emergency. Then there are the added transportation, feeding and housing costs that are usually on the increase in times of storms. Senior living can help with this.

Health Constraints

Most aging adults in America live with more than one chronic health condition that requires daily attention and treatment. These people need electricity to use the equipment that they use to manage these illnesses. Without these equipment, their health could worsen rapidly. Having to arrange for new equipment in a shelter or transporting the one they own to the shelter can be stressful and expensive.

Not to talk of aging adults in home care who may rely on heavy equipment that helps them breathe or stay alive. Evacuation would certainly not seem to them like a very smart thing to do. Getting into a good care routine that suited their needs was hard enough. To ask them to break this routine may not be well received.

Mobility Issues

Many adults that are advanced in age find it difficult moving around. Losing balance and unsteadiness are common changes that occur with aging. The risk of falling or sustaining an injury while moving more than usual is a significant challenge. For aging adults with limited mobility, the challenges that come with preparing and moving into an overcrowded place can be a strong put off.

Social Isolation Phenomenon

This is a common trait identified among aging adults. Those of them that live alone, are not native English speakers or are caregivers for loved ones are at the most risk during a hurricane evacuation. They may not have the resources with which to move out or may simply not be aware of the on-goings around them. Everyone should develop the habit of checking in on neighbors to see if they need any form of help. You can refer them to retirement communities or governmental bodies that help seniors evacuate.

Trust in Past Experiences

The choice to stay home could as well result from past experiences. Some aging adults have lived out a hurricane, by hiding in their basement in times past and may just see no reason to leave. chosen to stay home through decades of strong storms and hurricanes. The danger here is that all hurricanes are not made equal.