Florida sheriff asks people who didn’t evacuate to write contact info on leg

(The Hill) — The Taylor County sheriff’s office asked residents who did not evacuate to write contact information on their arms or legs for identification purposes, as Hurricane Helene is expected to hit the county Thursday night.

“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 family notified,” the sheriff’s office wrote in a post on Facebook.

Officials requested that people provide information about whether their residence is inland or on the coast, their full address, and the names of individuals and animals so that search and rescue teams can prioritize certain locations.

NBC reported that Sheriff Wayne Padgett said that Taylor County will be “in the dead center” of the hurricane and that, although mandatory evacuations were ordered for the area, he estimated that up to half of the population is staying.

Damage is predicted to compare to the Asheville floods of 1916, which killed at least 80 people and caused millions of dollars in damage and exceed other extreme weather events in the region such as Tropical Storm Fred in 2021, the weather service said.