Floridians fly into Austin to escape Hurricane Irma

People from Florida are trying to get out before Hurricane Irma slams the state.

“I don't like Irma,” said Mary Dorman whose vacation was cut short by the storm. 

Many people unable to drive to a safer location opted to fly, some of them landing in Austin. “We got to the airport at 2 o’ clock, just trying to get on standby, trying to get out of the state, go anywhere in the world or anywhere in the country at least,” said University of Miami student Justin Levy.  

Claudie and Mary Dorman were vacationing in Jacksonville when they got the unfortunate news.

“I think Irma is mad at Harvey and she's taking it out on us, so we got out of there,” Claudie said.

The couple said they have family who chose to ride it out, but they didn't want to risk it themselves. “I'm concerned about everybody that stayed. In fact, we have a granddaughter who stayed in Ft. Lauderdale with her husband and two girls and I'm afraid for them,” said Mary. 

“They'll make it, I'm sure they'll make it. I hope they do, but I don't think they'll do it again,” Claudie said.  

University of Miami student Kate Hovan got to the Miami airport hoping to evacuate on Thursday.

After a cancelled flight, a night in the airport and a frenzy of panicked passengers, she pieced together a plan to come to Austin. “Everyone was super hostile, unfortunately. Really stressful, you could tell, and you couldn't really blame people, but everyone just wanted to get out of there one way or another,” Hovan said.

Delays at airports around the country are increasing as Irma inches closer to the U.S. mainland.

Some flights have been cancelled, others rerouted.

“Especially if you have a flight to Florida or if you're expecting people from Florida, you should check their flight status before coming to the airport to pick them up,” said Austin Bergstrom International Airport spokesperson Jim Halbrook.

While most evacuees seem to have a plan in place by now, no one knows for sure just how much destruction Irma will leave behind. “I'm concerned mostly about my apartment. I don't know how good the windows are, so I've just got to hope for the best and see what I come back to,” Hovan said.