Survivor Seasons Where Weather Conditions Were So Brutal All Contestants Were Evacuated
CBS's hit show "Survivor" has changed quite a bit over the years with contestants no longer needing to boil their own water or stay on the island for 39 days (now each season only lasts 26 days). However, despite some changes being made to the show over its impressive 46 seasons, there's no doubt that each year's group of stranded castaways have to put up with their own unique challenges. These challenges can include anything from things you don't see in the show like sharks in the water to inclement weather.
However, as far as inclement weather is concerned, it would be hard to top Season 37 where the "Survivor" filming location in Fiji was hit by two cyclones — and one was so big that the entire cast had to be evacuated for two days. Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Jeff Probst (the show's host and producer) explained that the production crew had been tracking the storm for a while before the decision was made to evacuate. Putting safety first turned out to be the right choice as the cyclone managed to completely destroy the castaway's shelters, meaning they would have had no protection against the brutal winds had they stayed.
What contestants do while waiting for the storm to pass?
With changing weather patterns and global warming continuing to take a toll on "Survivor," this may not be the last cyclone-related evacuation we see on the show. So, what do contestants do while under a tropical storm lockdown? It seems that they aren't really allowed to do anything.
While you may think that getting a few days away from the "Survivor" filming location would be like a holiday for the castaways, it was actually anything but as the contestants were not allowed to speak to each other over the entire two days so that they couldn't form alliances off camera. On top of this, contestants had to ride out the storm in uncomfortable accommodation. According to Rachel Ako — who experienced a cyclone evacuation in Season 33 – during her evacuation, they were forced to sleep "on a concrete floor, no pillows" and she felt like the experience was like a "silent hell," via TV Guide.