NHC Hype

[gratefulnole]

Frankly I'm tired of hearing people say that "they didn't know it was going to be this bad". Give me a break. Unless your living in a cave how could you not be aware of how bad these storms were going to be. If anyone has an answer I would really like to know.

The multi-generational rural poor as well as the densely populated urban poor live in a different reality than us.

[tornadochaser86]

frankly everyone makes mistakes dont blame one company especially noaa were do u think 90% of all weather stations get thier information

[oneness]

People equate a storms stregnth as max. winds associated with it, which needs to be changed. There are other facets, much more important and far reached. Seeing that these winds are rarely realized, it should be drilled into peoples heads that there is a storm surge aspect, a tornado aspect and a flooding aspect. I think the NHC should stress the latter two instead of making the max winds the focal point. The people would be much more informed (the big bend area of FL. during any Panhandle landfall} as to what to expect. As far as classifying a storms stregnth based solely on the Saffir Simpson scale, I think it is time The NHC factors in the other attributes above mentioned, and derives a new way of measuring a storms power.

I may have your view misinterpreted but basically you seem to be saying that people did not know or did not realise where the real effects would be and what these would manifest as. Are not these related facets which you have mentioned directly related to the central pressure, intensity of wind, extent of wind field, speed of movement, direction of movement and projected cat intensity over the next 12-24 hrs, plus time to landfall?

I can't see the distinctions you are making as almost all responsible media already use live 24 hr broadcasts, web streaming, regular official civil guidance and direction, live Doppler radar, surge animations. All these support and supplement the NHC warnings and forecasts, which in my view are generally more than adequate and very sensible. The Saffir-Simpson scale plus continual warnings and location and movement updates are the information you need. I'm on the other side of the planet and had no trouble understanding the warnings and forecasts, which were available in great detail. If that does not do the job for those potentially directly affected then I don't know what could.

The real difference here is that I paid attention, and this attention is not something you can mandate or supply through an agency. Attention is a function of an interested, curious, concerned, or else afraid mind.

I would say the ‘problem’ has nothing to do with NHC’s present approach at all. Mayors, Governors, a President and all local media made major efforts to bring this pending event to the attention of potentially affected people, but people hear and see only what they want to hear and see, and direct their attention accordingly.

Some ‘unaware’ people then cast blame around after the fact, but the problem of direct effects catching people unaware is 95% one of their attention-span, filters and priorities. On top of this, many people who are familiar with what a strong storm can do, and are paying some level of attention, still decide to ignore dire warnings, physical measurements, evidence of their eyes and all directions and hints.

2 cents

[Hfcomms]

An additional problem is that most people want someone else to make the decisions for them. The NHC does the best that they can with the information available to them but as we have seen rather dramatically even in this last storm that they can intensify much faster than model guidance and forecasting these storms is still not an exact science.

I can't imagine living in the gulf or along the eastern seaboard and not having a everything I need ready to go before the start of the hurricane season. People wait too long to evacuate and thats why the gas lines and the panic because too many wait til the last second and they all try to leave at once.

If more people had their supplies at the beginning of the season, and had some gasoline, water and other basics already prepared in advance most folks wouldn't be in the dire straits they find themselves in. In short these storms have shown that you are pretty much on your own and your responsible to provide and take care of yourself. If you don't then you end up in the shelters and at the mercy of the criminal element vis a vis the N.O. superdome and convention center.

You might look stupid to others bugging out 4 days before the storm without even knowing for certain it's knocking right at your door but I would rather be safe than sorry.

Prediction----If we get another hurricane yet this season I'll bet a lot of those who evacuated and went thru the mess for Rita (getting stuck on the roads ect) won't evacuate next time again assuming the storm will either veer off or weaken and we could have another Katrina type kill shot or even worse. They have to be taken seriously each and every time.

[caribepr]

Frankly I'm tired of hearing people say that "they didn't know it was going to be this bad". Give me a break. Unless your living in a cave how could you not be aware of how bad these storms were going to be. If anyone has an answer I would really like to know.

Some great points made in this thread! But when I read the above it brought to mind one incident from one of the first hurricanes this year, the one that hit Mexico. They interviewed this man who *couldn't get out* with his new bride - they were on their honeymoon from someplace in the states. He very angrily said, If I had known there was going to be a hurricane, we wouldn't have come here!!! Bear in mind that storm, that took, what, days and days and DAYS to get to that area. Now they were stuck in a blown out hotel and it was a)the airlines fault for flying them in b) the weather people's fault for not informing them c)the hotel's fault for not telling them not to come. Never did he express, we should have paid attention, in any way, that where we were going was perhaps going to have a major storm (I figured they are the sort who get caught in coups and wars too).
After hearing that, I have given up entirely on thinking - oh it's SO obvious!!! What is WRONG with you people? Now I can just feel bad for those who a) can't get out of harm's way b) those who are sideswiped by a huge shift and didn't get out - rare, but it happens or c) just didn't go and feel like fools who have learned a horrendous lesson and truly won't do it again.
Natch, I live where I can't (easily, like getting in a car and driving away) evacuate no matter what NHC says...easy for ME to say! But we are ever so thankful for them as to preparing.

[oneness]

Apathy is the rule. During warnings apathy very much remains the rule, but is moderated by fear.

A scar from a previous storm heals in the public memory and apathy resumes even in persons experienced with intense cyclonic weather. I’ve noticed apathy in myself when several cat 1s come close or sit, near stationary, 300 km away (even though I've experienced very intense cyclones). You become accustomed to this, and to not much coming of it. Formal warnings continue, but the system turns away from the coast or dissipates over remote areas and warnings 'loose-traction' in the public mind when there’s no calamity after so many formal warnings. The ‘little-boy-who-cried-wolf’ effect adds to the usual apathy, and the warning is more prone to being discounted (it's shoot-the-messenger time when they turn out to be correct). People don’t want to be alarmed or disturbed and always resent any purveyor of 'false' alarms. Thus people who should or in fact do know better are still caught-out when a storm appears which does not share their apathy.

I watched a guy from the LA coast recount how he went through Camille and barely survived Katrina’s on-shore surge. The reporter asked him if he knew there was a 25 foot surge forecast? He readily nodded to indicate he knew it was on the way! Thus, even where there is experience plus excellent mass-propagation of detailed warnings and attention given to the implications, many people still exhibit a resigned or fatalistic attitude to the known facts. Persons who have no first-hand experience of a tropical cyclone, or else "went through" a couple of feeder bands of a cat 1 once are usually doomed to learning the hard-way. One of the reasons being that younger people won’t listen to older people talking about stuff which is unfamiliar to them, and thus can not relate to or take seriously.

[SapphireSea]

Something dark that is on the horizon is the basic fear of losing business to a probobility. If you lived or been in S.FL; particularly Miami when Katrina was approching, then you know the city was 80% normal running conditions because the storm was only a catagory 1 and was forcasted to remain north of the city. The storm veered WSW then SW giving the city a dose of strong tropical storm force then cat 1 winds with near cat 2 gusts in some areas. 4 of the deaths during the storm were people speeding home in the height of the storm or simply crashed and even that was dismissed as "driver errors" because I remember that in the radio.

Businesses in the tropics don't care about a Catagory 5 coming. If they can get you to give the money and complete with the contract. Then to them a small thing like a Catagory 5 poses no threat outside of damaging the property, the customer has no rights to reclaim anything because usually the travel agencies and/or hotels have clauses in their agreements (more of a travel agency issue) from what I heard that take responsibility away from them and puts it back to the consumer. The argument on their behalf is galvanized so to speak by the fact it's you who want to take a vacation at a given time; And who are they to tell you it's not a good idea?

I know I should not sneak the issue in here, but it sort of relates. Most businesses would support the senate bill to lock up and privatize most of the data we have available to us to further reduce "hurricane worry" and keep businesses running as long as non-fatally possible. Remember business owners and upper managements will be long gone when there is a slight possibility of a storm impacting, and all will fit well because they will definately pay $200 subscription fees a year to get data to themselves, to them it's a minute expense. The ones left out in the open are the employees and the customers sadly.

Most of S.FL is and should not be an example in what to do when a storm is approching. Dade-Broward-Palm Beach counties are notorious at downplaying storms and are usually the last to close schools and activate evac zones. Monroe county however jumps the gun quickly with good reason of being low lying and that should set an example for the rest of the S.FL region.

I will finish now another long-winded post with a statement of the obvious. Downplaying a storm is a deadly mistake. How deadly? There are people who know I seek a meteorology degree and career path and usually talk to me about storms. Something I hear alot from people is: "It's only Catagory 1 how can the storm turn into a Catagory 4?" with the storm 72 hours out. Does this deadly assumption have to be corrected with a rapid deepening storm in close proximity to a landmass? Appearantly as far as I know, storms that rapidly deepen over seas and away from land often go over looked. A grim event would one day come at a rush hour storm that deepens as it makes landfall. If Katrina would have had about 12 more hours (And it was dropping 3mb/hr the last 3 hours before it struck from 996 to 985 before striking Miami-Dade) and hit as a more significant storm in the height of morning-rush / lunch break with a completely oblivious populace, it would have been hell on earth.

If people are going to call NHC warnings hype, so be it. And as a person living in a vulnerable area, I play with better safe than sorry in regards to my posessions. And i'll be damned if I let a storm open my house up like a kid in Christmas day and destroy an additional $30,000 (most uninsured and unrecoverable) in electronics and decorations which could be easily moved to a safe location with 48 hours warning.

48 hours is a long time. I can spend day 1 boarding up my home, and day 2 transporting my unnecessary decorations and electronics to a safer location as I won't have a use for them until the power returns or worse if my home is taken by a storm and I have to relocate. So a powerful and efficient hurricane preperation plan is needed and WILL soften the blow, so get that entire family to work if you are threatened!

Im sorry to bore all of you. Im done

[Ixolib]

Apathy and ignorance are key factors in every storm's landfall. But history also serves to motivate people one way or the other. And one's experience - based on history - is typically the strongest motivator...

In a recent quote you might have already heard, our Mayor here in Biloxi hit the nail on the head when he said right after Katrina: "Camille killed more people in the last few hours than she did in all of 1969."

[inotherwords]

People equate a storms stregnth as max. winds associated with it, which needs to be changed. There are other facets, much more important and far reached. Seeing that these winds are rarely realized, it should be drilled into peoples heads that there is a storm surge aspect, a tornado aspect and a flooding aspect. I think the NHC should stress the latter two instead of making the max winds the focal point. The people would be much more informed (the big bend area of FL. during any Panhandle landfall} as to what to expect. As far as classifying a storms stregnth based solely on the Saffir Simpson scale, I think it is time The NHC factors in the other attributes above mentioned, and derives a new way of measuring a storms power.

I may have your view misinterpreted but basically you seem to be saying that people did not know or did not realise where the real effects would be and what these would manifest as. Are not these related facets which you have mentioned directly related to the central pressure, intensity of wind, extent of wind field, speed of movement, direction of movement and projected cat intensity over the next 12-24 hrs, plus time to landfall?

I can't see the distinctions you are making as almost all responsible media already use live 24 hr broadcasts, web streaming, regular official civil guidance and direction, live Doppler radar, surge animations. All these support and supplement the NHC warnings and forecasts, which in my view are generally more than adequate and very sensible. The Saffir-Simpson scale plus continual warnings and location and movement updates are the information you need. I'm on the other side of the planet and had no trouble understanding the warnings and forecasts, which were available in great detail. If that does not do the job for those potentially directly affected then I don't know what could.

The real difference here is that I paid attention, and this attention is not something you can mandate or supply through an agency. Attention is a function of an interested, curious, concerned, or else afraid mind.

I would say the ‘problem’ has nothing to do with NHC’s present approach at all. Mayors, Governors, a President and all local media made major efforts to bring this pending event to the attention of potentially affected people, but people hear and see only what they want to hear and see, and direct their attention accordingly.

Some ‘unaware’ people then cast blame around after the fact, but the problem of direct effects catching people unaware is 95% one of their attention-span, filters and priorities. On top of this, many people who are familiar with what a strong storm can do, and are paying some level of attention, still decide to ignore dire warnings, physical measurements, evidence of their eyes and all directions and hints.

2 cents

I think this is a brilliant post. I think 95% of the time the problem can be chalked up to three things: 1. Denial 2. Ignorance and 3. Arrogance.

By denial, a combination of "It will never happen to me; it will never happen here; It can't happen here because it just did last year; I rode out a bigger one before; The storms always weaken before they hit land; I will pray and God will make it veer off; Luck is always on my side," etc. It's wishful thinking and unwillingness to accept reality.

By ignorance, it's typically one or a combo of these: Lack of interest in understanding the real facts; an inability to understand the complexity of what exactly makes up a storm like this; an intelligence level that can't or won't wrap their brain around the science; people wanting a simple answer to a complex set of circumstances that are completely beyond man's control; Selective listening and misunderstanding of the facts; overdependence on the sensationalist broadcast media for info on the storm instead of more reliable sources.

And I do list the media as one of the parties to blame. It's not all media, but when some people see Cantore or Geraldo or Anderson Cooper in one of these storms, they fail to understand that they're standing next to or under a blocking shelter and in most cases they're only outside in winds up to 75 mph and no higher. I think the first thing the media needs to do is stop with the guys in the slickers, because it's giving people a false sense of what they can expect during the worst of a storm.

The arrogance comes in from the armchair quarterbacks who bash NHC because they think they could have predicted the storm better. These people are, for the most part, jerks and blowhards. You'll never ever see a pro met here bash NHC, and for good reason.

[Persepone]

The NHC and other coverage is extremely valuable as a learning tool. We've had interesting discussions with our unaffected (directly) grandchildren who live in NH, but have become very interested in weather, hurricanes, etc.

The predictions, news coverage, etc. has opened a whole bunch of discussions about the various issues--from the politics to the dilemmas of evacuation to more personal discussions of weather threats in their area, etc. We actually had a discussion of how rapid snow melt in NH affects rivers in MA, CT, etc. Because we monitor news in Europe, we've also had discussions of the many foreign nationals (Belgian, Dutch, French, etc.) tourists and perhaps residents of NOLA who are still "missing" after Katrina--this highlights for them the importance of paying attention to the weather before you travel to some vacation area. This opened a discussion of going off to Florida, etc. on vacation without paying attention to the weather.

Somehow I think the kids will not forget Katrina and Rita even though they had no personal experience with it and hopefully they will pay attention when they grow older, when they travel, etc.

But one of the most interesting things that I notice with the kids is that they are learning a lot about not just "believing what they are told" without "editing." What they are beginning to understand is that there is a lot of personal responsibility to "understand" and "interpret" what they are being told, the importance of applying general rules for preparedness to their individual situations, etc. And in many cases, what you have to do is choose the lesser of the evils. Also, often there is not a "simple answer" to complex problems.

This discussion went back again and again to the "line" and "cone" problems. If you focus on the line, you may totally miss the fact that you are in the "cone." But there are also a lot of other considerations. The bottom line is that no ONE source of information is going to be 100% right for "everyone" in an emergency. I think it is perhaps important for today's kids to think about this--not to know the answers, but to understand the questions.

The line and the cone problem is interesting in a situation, for example, that your own house is "fine" but that you have now become an "island" in some huge disaster. What are the problems? Do you want to be there for weeks/months without services and no ability to leave? And what if everyone comes to your "island"?

Note that this kind of teaching probably does not work for kids in the direct path/who are victims of these types of disasters because for them the problems are nightmares, etc. for years before you can have a whole lot of learning. That's why, I'll bet, there is such "denial" among those who remember the historical storms that they lived through. I am sort of hoping that nothing will ever be as bad as a tornado I was in when I was a very young child when a brick building collapsed around me. More than 50 years later, my sense of terror is still there for all sorts of storms and weather events. My personal coping mechanism has been preparedness and flight--but I can also understand that it would be the opposite because there is some little voice inside that says that there isn't, in the end, a lot you can do.

The final observation has a lot to do with my sense that schools, government agencies, etc. have been giving messages (deliberately or accidentally) that individuals don't have that personal responsibility for their own health, safety, well being, education, etc. We have the notion that if it is sold in the US as food or medicine that it is "safe," for example. We have a notion that it is the school's responsibility to "teach" what we/our children "need" to know and that somehow "someone" will take care of us. And it's always a nasty shock when we find out that we were wrong about these assumptions. It's tough to teach your kids that they have individual responsibility for their education, for their health, for their safety, for their well being, etc. in the face of pervasive messages to the contrary. But in the end, I think this is what has to happen. And there is perhaps one more teachable component to this. We discussed with the kids the question of not evacuating because if you are there--even if you don't "need" saving, you endanger the lives of those who feel it is their responsibility as human beings to try to save you from your own stupidity or obstinacy. It is sort of the same thing that you teach kids about going to the agreed upon "gathering point" after a fire--because if you just wander off, some poor fireman could die unnecesarily in the fire going in to try to get you out when you were already safe.

So perhaps all the debates about whether something is overhyped, or whether the information should be presented differently, or what the various governments can/should do in emergencies should be viewed more as "teachable moments" for both children and adults.

There will always be those who are "unteachable" for one reason or another--and those unable to put their knowledge into practice. Some of those elderly people in the path of Katrina/Rita probably "knew" they should prepare or "knew" they should evacuate but could not. And there probably were a lot of terminally stupid people who did not have a clue. But there were also many who did have a bunch of very difficult decisions to make to choose the least of the evils...

[wxmann_91]

Well put Persepone! Couldn't agree more.

[caribepr]

Bravo, Persepone! I think this may be one of the best posts I've ever read here on this subject. My (grown up) children and I are having similiar conversations, which, as you state, apply to far more than what to do in a weather related situation.

Thank you for your depth on the subject with such simplicity and clarity.

[PTPatrick]

I think the Hurricane Center did a pretty good forecasting track-wise...but I felt like in many ways they over hype certain areas within their cone...and that the Media takes that and runs with it. As Katrina was coming ashore in the hoursbefore landfall it was painfully obvious to me that my state and the coast I grew up on in Mississippi was going to be forever changed. The local media was good about explaining, "the storm is big so even if it hits NOLA directly Mississppi and Alabama will feel the effects." I will say that NWS in Slidell did a fairly poor job with the surge issue...their surge predictions for LA were ok, and they certainly stated levee failure was a possibility, but I think that had they come out and said, in Mississippi that the surge would or even could be greater than Camille, and that it would not just be over Hancock Co, but also Harrison and Jackson Co. more people would have left there. Do you realize that the storm was effecting the region by late Sunday night and that Harrison Co and Jackson Co did issue Mandatory evactuations until lunch time Sunday? I could tell from the track all along that Mississippi would see a tsunami like surge, judging from the size of the storm and my limited knowledge of once cat 5 storms pushing cat 5 surges all the way to the coast even after weakening. I guess I just feel like much of hte complaicancy in Mississippi was due to the massive concern for New Orleans on the media outlets...sure they "mentioned" mississippi, but norbody dared say, Mississippi would actually get the worst, along with St. Bernard and Plaqumines Parish. Of course by Monday evening history had been written, NOLA got off easy, and Mississippi got slammed(actually that story has been written before, ala Georges), notwithstanding the levee breakage on tuesday, but lets be honest, Mississippi would have been the only story to cover, had the levees not broken, which is why on Day 1 most of the crews were shooting there and not Nola.

So where am I going with this diatribe...I know too many intelligent people that listened to the TV for their info, and were hearing the storm will hit NOLA and Mississippi will see cat 1 winds. And they took that information and stayed at their homes, which were never flooded before in any storm. THey are not idiots. The warnings stated some(too low) surge values for the MS coast, but they never tried to say how high that water could get. People dont need to here the surge will be 20 ft. they need to hear "a 20 ft surge will put water to hwy 90 in most of Jackson Co. They need to hear, "A 20 ft. surge will cause back bay and the Gulf of mexico to meet in Biloxi and that D'Iberville and Gulf Hills and St. Martin will be sumerged."

I am am sure most will say they should have left anyway, with the threat of a cat 5 coming in. But lets be honest...MOST of the general public pays verbatum attention to the media and they know precious little about the mechanics of hurricanes. They say, well news said it was going to New Orleans, and they Missisippi would have some hurricane force winds and that there would be a surge around 20 ft. I know Camille survivors that stayed in their homes for Katrina and later said, "if they had warned the surge would be as high as Camilles or even beat Camilles, I would have left" Do with it what you will, but I have to be mad at somebody because i feel like Mississippi was underprepared, MOSTLY because of the media hype for a New Orleans hit.

[inotherwords]

There will always be those who are "unteachable" for one reason or another--and those unable to put their knowledge into practice. Some of those elderly people in the path of Katrina/Rita probably "knew" they should prepare or "knew" they should evacuate but could not. And there probably were a lot of terminally stupid people who did not have a clue. But there were also many who did have a bunch of very difficult decisions to make to choose the least of the evils...

Persephone I think your whole post is fabulous. I think all of these discussion points should be made to people in general as a teaching tool and not just with kids.

I don't think, though, that the point of this thread was about why people do or do not evacuate or to blame them, but rather whether they can understand the information disseminated by the NHC, and if they depend on media to filter that info for them. It's more about how they can get better info to help reinforce their difficult decisions. Some people, I think, are more open to learning than others.

There will definitely be people who can't get out for one reason or another or who have to make difficult choices. At least in my post, though, I wasn't referring to people in this situation, but to those who seem to only tend to get their info from the sensational 24/7 news stations, focus on the line instead of the cone, and then blame the NHC for misleading them.

[simplykristi]

The NHC and other coverage is extremely valuable as a learning tool. We've had interesting discussions with our unaffected (directly) grandchildren who live in NH, but have become very interested in weather, hurricanes, etc.

The predictions, news coverage, etc. has opened a whole bunch of discussions about the various issues--from the politics to the dilemmas of evacuation to more personal discussions of weather threats in their area, etc. We actually had a discussion of how rapid snow melt in NH affects rivers in MA, CT, etc. Because we monitor news in Europe, we've also had discussions of the many foreign nationals (Belgian, Dutch, French, etc.) tourists and perhaps residents of NOLA who are still "missing" after Katrina--this highlights for them the importance of paying attention to the weather before you travel to some vacation area. This opened a discussion of going off to Florida, etc. on vacation without paying attention to the weather.

Somehow I think the kids will not forget Katrina and Rita even though they had no personal experience with it and hopefully they will pay attention when they grow older, when they travel, etc.

But one of the most interesting things that I notice with the kids is that they are learning a lot about not just "believing what they are told" without "editing." What they are beginning to understand is that there is a lot of personal responsibility to "understand" and "interpret" what they are being told, the importance of applying general rules for preparedness to their individual situations, etc. And in many cases, what you have to do is choose the lesser of the evils. Also, often there is not a "simple answer" to complex problems.

This discussion went back again and again to the "line" and "cone" problems. If you focus on the line, you may totally miss the fact that you are in the "cone." But there are also a lot of other considerations. The bottom line is that no ONE source of information is going to be 100% right for "everyone" in an emergency. I think it is perhaps important for today's kids to think about this--not to know the answers, but to understand the questions.

The line and the cone problem is interesting in a situation, for example, that your own house is "fine" but that you have now become an "island" in some huge disaster. What are the problems? Do you want to be there for weeks/months without services and no ability to leave? And what if everyone comes to your "island"?

Note that this kind of teaching probably does not work for kids in the direct path/who are victims of these types of disasters because for them the problems are nightmares, etc. for years before you can have a whole lot of learning. That's why, I'll bet, there is such "denial" among those who remember the historical storms that they lived through. I am sort of hoping that nothing will ever be as bad as a tornado I was in when I was a very young child when a brick building collapsed around me. More than 50 years later, my sense of terror is still there for all sorts of storms and weather events. My personal coping mechanism has been preparedness and flight--but I can also understand that it would be the opposite because there is some little voice inside that says that there isn't, in the end, a lot you can do.

The final observation has a lot to do with my sense that schools, government agencies, etc. have been giving messages (deliberately or accidentally) that individuals don't have that personal responsibility for their own health, safety, well being, education, etc. We have the notion that if it is sold in the US as food or medicine that it is "safe," for example. We have a notion that it is the school's responsibility to "teach" what we/our children "need" to know and that somehow "someone" will take care of us. And it's always a nasty shock when we find out that we were wrong about these assumptions. It's tough to teach your kids that they have individual responsibility for their education, for their health, for their safety, for their well being, etc. in the face of pervasive messages to the contrary. But in the end, I think this is what has to happen. And there is perhaps one more teachable component to this. We discussed with the kids the question of not evacuating because if you are there--even if you don't "need" saving, you endanger the lives of those who feel it is their responsibility as human beings to try to save you from your own stupidity or obstinacy. It is sort of the same thing that you teach kids about going to the agreed upon "gathering point" after a fire--because if you just wander off, some poor fireman could die unnecesarily in the fire going in to try to get you out when you were already safe.

So perhaps all the debates about whether something is overhyped, or whether the information should be presented differently, or what the various governments can/should do in emergencies should be viewed more as "teachable moments" for both children and adults.

There will always be those who are "unteachable" for one reason or another--and those unable to put their knowledge into practice. Some of those elderly people in the path of Katrina/Rita probably "knew" they should prepare or "knew" they should evacuate but could not. And there probably were a lot of terminally stupid people who did not have a clue. But there were also many who did have a bunch of very difficult decisions to make to choose the least of the evils...

Fantastic post!

Kristi

[StormySouthFlorida]

First of all, I know this does not apply to everyone. But...

It seems we have complacency when people evacuate and the storm doesn't hit as hard as expected. Then we have blame when people don't leave and they experience the brunt of the storm.

It's hard for me to understand how anyone can live on the coast and not keep themselves informed about hurricanes. But then most people nowadays have the news spoon-fed to them in sound-bite portions, and they take it at face value.

Weather is not an exact science. While I am in awe of just how much the NHC is able to predict, I look to them for information to help me make sound judgements--not for them to tell me personally what I need to do.

Thoughts and prayers go out to all affected by hurricanes this year.

[Lindaloo]

Tronbunny, I couldn't agree with you more.

I was in a state of "zombie-ness" for 6 weeks last year, as the 3 hurricanes came through Central Florida. It seemed that every single day was a struggle ... does Home Depot have plywood today? Can I get some TapCons? Maybe I shouldn't schedule this work appointment out of town since it looks like another hurricane is coming..

The real difference for me.. and shall I say a "wake up call" this year.. Is that I had 'the means' to do what it takeso keep myself, my family and my pets safe. I have enough money/credit cards/whatever to evacuate. We have cars. We have carriers for our pets. Many of the people in New Orleans and other areas did not - and that is what is so difficult. I was a zombie for days after Katrina watching the news and simply not being emotionally strong enough to handle it.. So I did what I could financially to the Red Cross and still felt 100 percent helpless. I would have given anything to go in person to help those poor people affected.

My Dad lives in Fort Walton Beach, and is a 'young' 68 years old. When Katrina was approaching, he called me -- literally in tears -- saying that he just couldn't take another hurricane. He was there from Opal and beyond, and had just had enough. He drives cars all over the southeast as his retirement job, and made trips after Katrina to the MS/LA area to deliver cars. He now wants to move out West, when we've spent our entire lives in Florida. He is not an emotional person like me.. usually. He caught me off guard with his response to Katrina.

Frankly, after all this typing, I forgot what my point was. So for everyone reading, just know.. whoever you are, wherever you are, and however you are affected.. you are absolutely, one hundred percent, NOT ALONE.

-Tracie

Thank you tracie. (((HUGS)))

[Persepone]

edit to come

[inotherwords]

This is a great idea, but I think we need to do more than just teach kids, though.

I don't think this job can be left to the media, nor to private industry, nor to just the schools and/or parents. As much as I hate to put the onus on government for everything, I do think the federal and state governments, as a part of homeland security, need to figure out better ways to provide clear and concise information to everyone -- adults as well as kids -- and we need to do it quickly and thoroughly. The info is all out there for anyone who wants to seek it out. However, it's the people who are more passive in the ways they get their info that will be more difficult to reach and teach.

The other question is how much info is enough before people start understanding or that their attention is actually captured? Our local media have had prime time TV specials, plus the newspapers are usually filled with articles and still people don't bother to pay attention. It just seems that it took a few national disasters hitting places other than Florida to capture the attention of the nation at large. In a perverse way, that was probably good because it served as a wake-up call. But I still don't know what it's going to take before people really do understand what happens and what to do.

It used to be that all we thought we needed around here were batteries, flashlights, food and water, a generator, and maybe to board up our windows if it's a really big storm. Evacuation was something people on the barrier islands needed to do, not those of us people inland, even by just a few miles. But Katrina especially showed us that we were wrong and very naive, and now we gulf coast states really have to have better evacuation plans and help people make better decisions.

I've worked in communications and media for the past 28 years and this is something I've thought about a lot in the past year. In this age of sensationalist media and focus on profits, and with a growing population that depends more on these kinds of media and less on newspapers and educational programming, I think educating the masses will be a huge challenge for our country but one we really need to face head-on.