Rockport mayor: "Those who don't evacuate should mark social security number on their arm"
ROCKPORT, TX - Rockport's mayor pro-tem had a strong message for residents in this coastal city ahead of Hurricane Harvey’s arrival: "Those who don’t evacuate the city should prepare for the worst by writing their name and social security number on their arm. Those that are going to stay -- it’s unfortunate -- but they should make some type of preparation to mark their arm with a Sharpie Pen,” said Mayor Patrick Rios. “Put their social security number on it, and their name.”
The mayor sternly added, “We can’t emphasize enough that this is a life-threatening storm. All the advice we can give is 'Get Out Now.” Approximately 60 % of the 9,500-person city has left town.
Rios emphasized, “We’ve had estimates of how many people we may lose during this storm. We’re prepared for it, but not looking forward to it. People need to take this seriously.” Rios added that the most critical advice for residents was to leave the city, which could see up to 2 feet of rain over the weekend. "We hate to talk about things like that," he said. "It's not something we like to do but it’s the reality, people don’t listen."