I read this very thoughtful piece on what hurricanes do from Mark Potter of NBC yesterday. Below is one excerpt from it but it really is a great read and a good insight into what people go through and how their decisions are made.
But, more and more I mostly despise hurricanes for what they do to so many people at once. I often say that if you are not injured, and your loved ones are safe, the worst part of a hurricane is not the storm, itself, but the traumatic years of rebuilding afterward.
Amen. He gets it. And a thoughtful comment on that article from K Mary Hess:
Excellent perspective and thoughtfully written; now please let's work on some of the reasons people make the mistake of staying in the path of a storm. Many of the people who were rescued have said they had no funds to gas their cars and evacuate a second time (after Gustav) and so felt they had no "choice" but to remain in their homes. Is there a way to institute EMERGENCY GASOLINE PRICING along hurricane evacuation routes, to alleviate some of the monetary burden of those who MUST leave their homes? Is there a way to implement a ONE WEEK LODGING DISCOUNT that can be incurred by the evacuee showing their EVACUATION ZONE DRIVERS LICENSE with their current address? Is there a way that lodging places can be reimbursed for the discounts? Is there a way to find physicians and emergency and urgent care for those with compelling medical needs to present their driver's licenses from a mandatory evacuation area, and in turn receive FREE medical care until they are allowed to return to their homes? IS there a way?- there has to be, there can be, and should be, or we will continue to witness tragic choices made again and again.
There are no easy answers here folks. The wise a$$ question is "Why don't they move?". Well, some will ... but everyone within 100 miles of the gulf coast or the Atlantic coast is vulnerable to hurricanes. EVERYONE. There's important industry along those coasts. Oil and natural gas, aerospace, seafood, shipbuilding, and tourism are just a few of them. The port of New Orleans is one of the busiest and most important ports in the world. There will always be people living in these vulnerable areas.
I talked to someone I do business with in Katy, Texas yesterday. Katy is west of Houston. They sustained damage there but not as bad as Galveston and Houston. Talking to him brought back a flood of post-Katrina memories. They're up and running on generators, their staff is all accounted for but some are dealing with personal priorities, and they're operating at a fraction of their usual capacity. Lots of money going out, very little coming in. I know that pain.
Quote of the Day
Emergency management officials have an extremely difficult and often thankless job, because they have to order mass evacuations while the sun is still shining and the winds are still calm.
Mark Potter, NBC News Correspondent
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "I didn't wait until the last minute to top off my gas tank, I did it as soon as it looked like this storm could be coming this way. I think at the time it was in Cuba, which really isn't all that far away when you think about it."
Cuba? That was at least a week before Texas landfall. Stopped driving after topping off? -Rob
I've heard that "why don't they move?" thing from a few people up here. People don't realize how much goes through that port, and how important it is for imports and exports to the middle of the country. That's not even touching on the other industries. They usually become a bit more thoughtful once the facts sink in.
btw-Something odd on the comments section. It flashed and disappeared when the page loaded. I had to click comment anonymously to get the fields to reappear. It happened in both Firefox and Explorer.
Almost ALL of the coffee sold in the United States enters through the port of New Orleans, Dave.
"It flashed and disappeared when the page loaded. I had to click comment anonymously to get the fields to reappear. It happened in both Firefox and Explorer."
That's because I've enabled comment registration. It will save some from entering their info every time.
"Almost ALL of the coffee sold in the United States enters through the port of New Orleans, Dave."
Please stop scaring me.