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Severe weather frightens me, and all I’ve ever dealt with is snow.

Well, snow and the occasional Minnesota tornado, but those don’t happen very often. Regardless, I have had the luxury of never fearing the legitimate loss of my belongings, my house or even my own life, so I cannot imagine the sheer amount of pain and loss Florida must be dealing with right now.

Both Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton have amassed incredibly large death tolls and large amounts of damage. Helene‘s death toll as of Oct. 4 is 214 people, making it the fourth deadliest mainland U.S. hurricane to make landfall since 1950. Hurricane Milton, although now located past Florida’s east coast as of Oct. 12, has already caused at least 17 deaths and left over 3 million without power.

“That concern, however, quickly becomes lost when it manifests into a disregard for the nuance of each situation. It’s not that all of the Floridians who stayed didn’t want to evacuate — many of them just couldn’t.”

These storms — especially in such close proximity to each other — have undeniably ruined lives. Even for those who safely evacuated, many will return to Florida with no place to call home, no bed to sleep in and no belongings to call theirs. It’s heartbreaking. Nobody should have to go through that level of loss or destruction.

It’s hard to fully conceptualize the complete power and scope of a hurricane in places that do not get them. In Colorado, snow wallops the state, of course, but that’s pretty much it. A hurricane is so different from severe weather that happens anywhere else in the country. This lack of understanding can lead to some misinformed comments.

Each Floridian resident who did not evacuate from the hurricanes likely has their own reasons for staying. A few reasons were relatively tone deaf; for example, one Floridian who said Hurricane Milton wasn’t “going to be as bad as you guys think as long as you guys can swim.” This statement is extremely insensitive, and TikTok rightfully slandered him for his lack of sensitivity.

But that’s not the Floridian I want to discuss in terms of not evacuating. I’m referring to those who stayed simply because they could not go: those who had pets they couldn’t leave with; those who have large families and couldn’t find relocation accommodations; those who couldn’t afford soaring gas prices or couldn’t find stations that weren’t empty; and those who feared getting stranded on the highway, which took three hours to travel 37 miles in some places.

These residents, who each have real and valid reasons to stay, have been criticized on TikTok by those who are not affected. This informational video by a mom living south of Tampa highlights why she chose to stay and all the comments she received from those who aren’t affected. A lot of these comments aren’t necessarily coming from a place of malice but rather a place of ignorance. While many criticisms are highly simplified and naive, the basis of it is concern for the safety of Floridians. That concern, however, quickly becomes lost when it manifests into a disregard for the nuance of each situation. It’s not that all of the Floridians who stayed didn’t want to evacuate — many of them just couldn’t.

Perhaps the most publicized instance of hurricane ignorance came from the University of Colorado Boulder. On Friday, Sept. 27, one day before their football game against University of Central Florida and during the destruction of Hurricane Helene, the CU football team posted an image to their social media accounts showing a CU Boulder football player standing thigh-deep in ocean water with palm trees and a sign reading “Beware of sharks” in the background.

Although nothing in this graphic directly resembles Hurricane Helene, the timing was extremely distasteful and highly disrespectful to the residents of Florida. At the time of this post, so much destruction and damage had already occurred; CU should have known better than to post this at such a devastating time. Even if the graphics team had produced this well in advance of Hurricane Helene, all it would’ve taken is one no from a higher-up to stop such a tone-deaf disappointment. The graphic was deleted after several hours with no apology or explanation.

Even though hurricanes might not affect northern states, we must stop being ignorant about hurricane safety procedures such as evacuation. I don’t know what it’s like to experience a hurricane, and I probably never will. But I will not scrutinize those who experience them and choose to stay for valid reasons because they know what is best for them more than I ever will.

Reach Emma Souza at letters@collegian.com or on Twitter @_emmasouza.