@PatriciaMazzei @doug_hanks
U.S. Rep. Carlos Curbelo lives in Miami's Kendall neighborhood -- not one of the low-lying coastal areas under mandatory evacuation orders for Hurricane Irma.
But the Republican might leave his house voluntarily anyway, for fear that strong winds could endanger his family.
"I am considering going to a shelter," Curbelo said in response to a reporter's question Thursday at the Miami-Dade County emergency operations center. "We do have some tall trees around our house, and given the strength and the magnitude of this storm, I don't feel entirely secure at home -- especially with our two little girls, ages 7 and 5."
Responding to the same question, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio said his family is "still trying to debate" what to do though it is not in an evacuation zone, either.
"I'm confident my home will withstand" Irma, Rubio said, noting his West Miami house was built in 2005, after Hurricane Andrew. The 1992 Category 5 monster forced Florida to rewrite its building codes and make them stronger.
"The question is, how will we get in and out and, more importantly, how to get to my mom," added Rubio, who said he's studied 500-year flood maps for the area and found neighboring streets might flood.
Rubio said Irma's projected path, up Florida's east coast, should make residents in evacuation zones wary about trying to drive far.
"If you look at the map of Florida right now," he said, "there's not many places you look at and think, 'That looks like a pretty safe place.'"
Photo credit: C.M. Guerrero, el Nuevo Herald
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