Florida Sheriff Urges Residents Who Ignored Hurricane Evacuation Order to Write Name, Birthdate on Arm or Leg with Marker So Family Can Be Notified

The Taylor County Sheriff’s Office had a sobering message for residents Thursday as Hurricane Helene bore down on Florida: if you didn’t evacuate, “PLEASE” write your name and birthdate with “A PERMANENT MARKER so you can be identified and family notified.”

Hurricane Helene strengthened to a dangerous Category 4 Thursday evening as it approached Florida’s Gulf Coast. Widespread flooding, severe wind damage, and a deadly storm surge are expected to occur as the storm makes its way across Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. The storm surge in several coastal areas in Florida was expected to reach a “ potentially unsurvivable ” 15 or even 20 foot height.

The “Waffle House Index” — a real metric used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to assess natural disasters like hurricanes — delivered a stark warning sign for local residents, with the restaurant chain closing all of their locations in the Tallahassee area and nearby Crawfordville.

The Division of Emergency Management for the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office posted its own sternly-worded warning Thursday afternoon, urging residents who evacuated to wait to return after the storm passed until an official directive had been issued, due to the “significant risks” from “expected heavy flooding,” “impassable” roads, “downed power lines, fallen trees, and other dangerous conditions.”

Their warning for those who didn’t evacuate from the Gulf Coast county about 50 miles southeast of Tallahassee was even sharper.

“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 message said, urging those who stayed behind to email the department information about the name, location, contact information, recent photograph, and information about any disabilities or medical conditions to help guide Search and Rescue team efforts.

CNN anchor Anderson Cooper was taken aback by the tragic implications of the sheriff office’s Facebook post on Thursday’s episode of AC360 , which he read right before interviewing Taylor County’s Director of Emergency Management, John Louk .

“Has the county ever issued guidance like that during a previous hurricane?” asked Cooper.

Louk replied that they had during Hurricane Idalia, which made landfall in Taylor County in August 2023 as a Category 4, but even that storm did not have as severe predictions for storm surge as Helene did.

“What everybody needs to remember,” said Louk, “this is set to be an unprecedented event for this county with the storm surge from 15 to 20 feet, which is catastrophic and definitely life-threatening.”

When Cooper asked what concerned him the most as landfall neared, he mentioned the message his agency had posted, asking for residents to email if they were staying behind.

“We are constantly getting emails from people,” said Louk, “even now, just so close to landfall, and it’s just — it’s very disconcerting that so many people who have not heeded the warnings.”

When asked about how many people were staying behind to ride out the storm, Louk initially said “between three and four hundred people,” but then swiftly interjected to add that he “just got the word” that the updated numbers were “way higher than that,” and their figures only included those who took the time to email, so the actual number of people who did not evacuate was much higher.

“So yes, it’s disheartening,” he said.

Watch the clip above via CNN .