Sheriff’s morbid yet practical suggestion for people staying put during Hurricane Laura

CNN quotes the Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s Office’s grim but practical suggestion for people in the path of Hurricane Laura who aren’t evacuating:

Those choosing to stay and face this very dangerous storm must understand that rescue efforts cannot and will not begin until after storm and surge has passed and it is safe to do so.

Please evacuate, and if you choose to stay and we can’t get to you, write your name, address, social security number and next of kin and put it a Ziploc bag in your pocket. Praying that it does not come to this.

They wisely stopped at that point and left it to people to deduce why you should such waterproof ID on your person.

Recommended reading

• CNN: Those who didn’t evacuate before Hurricane Laura should put their name in a plastic bag in a pocket, official says
• WDSU 6 News (local station in New Orleans): Vermilion sheriff on those staying in path of Hurricane Laura: “Write your name…put it in a Ziploc bag in your pocket”
• New York Times: Hurricane Laura Live Updates: Storm Plows Through Louisiana
• Washington Post: Hurricane Laura strikes Louisiana as Category 4 storm, battering Lake Charles area and bringing flood threat
• NBC News: Live Blog / Hurricane Laura makes landfall as Category 4 early Thursday: Live updates and path tracker
• NPR: Hurricane Laura Knocks Out Power For Hundreds Of Thousands In Louisiana And Texas