Fleeing Irma: One Family’s Journey From Florida to Alabama
Florida’s roadways are clogged with residents trying to flee Hurricane Irma. At least 500,000 residents are under evacuation orders. Birmingham native Sean Kelley loaded his son and daughter and their two dogs into the car and hit the Florida Turnpike. They moved from Alabama to Boca Raton more than a year ago. And they’re making the drive north to stay with family in Lake Martin for the next several days.
Evacuees face heavy traffic and long lines at the gas pump. Florida Gov. Rick Scott warned of fuel shortages earlier today. Normally it’s a 10-hour drive from Boca Raton to Birmingham, but Kelley anticipates the journey could take anywhere from 15 to 18 hours.
There’s one person they left behind: Kelley’s wife, a pediatric nurse at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Hollywood. The hospital has generators and supplies, and the family is hopeful she and others staying in South Florida will be all right.
WBHM’s Gigi Douban talked with Kelly as he was stuck in traffic on the Florida Turnpike about some of the tough decisions they made, and how confident they are they’ll have a home to return to in the aftermath of the deadly storm.
Meanwhile, Alabama has been preparing for an influx of evacuees. State officials urge residents to continue to monitor the storm and have emergency plans in place.
Can’t-miss interviews: Gavin Newsom, Dave Portnoy and Jason Reynolds
A lot happened this week, and NPR has you covered. Catch up on the big news and culture moments you might have missed.
Minnesota state lawmaker killed, another wounded in targeted shootings
A former Minnesota House speaker and her husband were killed and a state senator and his wife were wounded in targeted shootings early Saturday at their homes near Minneapolis, officials said.
10 years after the deadly church shooting, a new history of ‘Mother Emanuel’
Reporter Kevin Sack's new book is a history of Charleston's Emanuel AME Church, the oldest Black congregation in the South, where a white supremacist killed nine worshippers a decade ago.
In one of the nation’s most polluted communities, Trump terminates funding for air monitoring
Residents in majority-Black north Birmingham have long been subjected to industrial pollution. The new administration has cut funding for a program aimed at measuring the impact.
We’re all going to die. What now? ‘The Life of Chuck’ sits with this question
Tom Hiddleston stars in the new adaptation of Stephen King's novella — which is somehow a very sweet film about the inevitable approach of death.
Tanks and flyovers: Army celebrates its 250th year, Trump celebrates his 79th
The official focus of the parade is the commemoration of the U.S. Army's 250th anniversary. But critics say the president is using the military show of force to push a political agenda and celebrate his birthday, which happens to fall on the same date.
