As families travel north this week to evacuate from Hurricane Dorian’s path, some are also trying to fly back home into areas that are expected to get hit.
“We need to get home, like, now,” 5-year-old Dylan Grodin from Boca Raton, Florida told NBC Connecticut.
Grodin has been tracking Hurricane Dorian as it moves closer to home.
“It’s like gonna get crazy, like destroy stuff,” Grodin explained, “I saw a flood, it was like all over the place.”
Dylan came to Connecticut with his family for a wedding, and his mom Lauren Grodin said getting back to Florida has been a hassle. Their initial flight back to Ft. Lauderdale was canceled.
“The whole process has been stressful,” said the mom of two. “We haven’t been sure if we’re gonna get home. As of now we got a flight into Tampa and were hoping to rent a car in Tampa and drive home, if the weather allows us.”
After Hurricane Andrew devastated the area she lived as a child, Grodin doesn’t take these situations lightly.
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“We know what the worst can look like, so we’re taking this pretty seriously,” Grodin said.
To get ahead of possible cancellations, some travelers moved their trips earlier.
“I was supposed to head back tomorrow on a nonstop flight, but because of the uncertainty with this hurricane we decided to get out today,” said Richard Vespa from Tampa.
Vespa has lived in Florida since the 80s. He knows how these things go.
“I’m trying to avoid actually if they shut the airport down in Tampa tomorrow, and then I’m basically held over here until possibly Thursday or Friday,” said Vespa.
Other travelers who’ve lived through multiple hurricanes, aren’t too concerned.
“We’re good, we’re going to be fine, we’re used to this,” said Elizabeth Jarnot, who lives in Orlando.
Jarnot prepared for the hurricane before her family’s trip to Connecticut.
“We got the water, we got canned food, you know—the most, probably, we lose electricity,” Jarnot said. “Other than that, we should be fine.”
