Can you afford to evacuate ahead of a disaster?

The Indicator from Planet Money

NPR

Business

4.7 • 9.2K Ratings

🗓️ 9 July 2025

⏱️ 10 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

We are just at the start of hurricane season, and we're already seeing the danger and tragedy brought on by storms. There's another cost that gets much less attention, but it's a gamble everyone in the path of a storm has to make.

Today on the show, we examine the decision on whether or not to evacuate from an oncoming disaster.

Based on the digital story: 1 reason people don't evacuate for hurricanes? Rising costs, and they're getting pricier

Related episodes:
Hazard maps: The curse of knowledge
Unintended Consequences, Hidden Deaths
The brewing recovery in Western North Carolina

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	NPR. We are just at the start of hurricane season, and already we're seeing the danger in
0:16.9	tragedy storms can cause. Flash floods in Texas have killed at least 107 people with
0:22.8	many more still missing. Storms can also destroy people's homes and livelihoods. Take Hurricane
0:28.2	Helene. That's a storm that slammed the southeast, especially North Carolina last year. That storm alone
0:34.1	caused nearly $80 billion in damages. There's also another cost that comes that gets a lot less attention.
0:41.5	A gamble that anyone in the path of a storm has to make.
0:45.2	And that's whether or not to evacuate.
0:48.5	Evacuating can cost someone hundreds and in many cases thousands of dollars.
0:52.8	And the bad news, that cost is only getting
0:55.9	more expensive. This is the indicator from Planet Money. I'm Waylon Wong and I'm here with
1:01.9	friend of the show, Stephen Bissaha from the Gulf States Newsroom. Welcome back, Stephen.
1:06.7	Always good to be with you, Wailen. And you know, we are actually just at the start of hurricane season.
1:12.4	So on today's show, I'll bring you my conversation with an accountant who had to evacuate last fall to avoid Hurricane Francine.
1:20.1	Plus, why evacuation costs in general are going up.
1:33.3	Are you looking for the inside scoop on Virginia politics?
1:38.4	Well, then tune in to the Virginia Press Room, a new podcast from the Virginia Public Access Project and VPM.
1:40.9	Every Monday morning, we'll be joined by top reporters from the Virginia Press Corps to break down this week's biggest headlines and give you a sneak peek at what's coming next.
1:50.8	Listen to the Virginia Press Room from VPAP and VPM, part of the NPR network.
1:58.2	Last September, Hurricane Francine made landfall in Louisiana as a category two hurricane.
2:04.5	Sustained winds were estimated at 100 miles per hour, and the hurricane was heading straight for New Orleans.
2:10.6	The city did not have an evacuation order, so people in New Orleans had to ask themselves a way too familiar question. Stay or go?
2:20.7	Nick Oquin decided to go. It is raining and it's been raining since I left my house.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from NPR, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of NPR and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.