Hundreds in North Sea Staying Put, Despite Mandatory Evacuation

Despite a hurricane warning, flood watch, flood advisory, and tornado watch, many North Sea residents are opting to stick in their homes and fight out the storm.

Bill Rosko, the first assistant chief with the , and firefighter Pat Walsh camped out on a hill on Noyac Road early Saturday evening to get ideal radio signal, mapping out the homes they had been to and those still yet to go.

After six hours of evacuating residents, the two were finding a large majority of families opting to sign a waiver and stay in their dwellings. The individuals recognized that choosing not to cooperate with a mandatory evacuation in a state of an emergency is a class B misdemeanor and in the event of an emergency, rescue services may not be able to reach the residents.

Walsh held a legal pad full of more than 150 residences who refused to leave.

"It's not really that uncommon," Rosko said. "People try to ride out the storm. And it's early."