Why didn't Floridians prepare for Wilma.

[Lindaloo]

FEMA was slow to respond here in Pascagoula. But our Military, Police, National Guard and the Red Cross had it covered until they got here. There are SO many people that go unnoticed during times like this.

After I waded in water to my parents home, I caught a ride back to my house. I took my van (my animal transporter) and I noticed people all heading north from the beach area. They were carrying plastic bags and water. I stopped to ask them where they were going and they told me to somewhere that had a roof. So, I started picking people up by the 10's and dropping them off at the National Guard Armory. I made my way to the beachfront and was utterly shocked and in dismay at what it was like down there. That is also including the duplexes a few blocks off the beach that housed low income families. Everybody was in shock and looked like they had just been through pure hell (and they did). You should have seen our military and the guard helping people out of my van. They were awesome!!

My brother in law picked up two men and a dog that had hung on to eaves of their roof for about 3 hours by the old Pascagoula High School and made his way through the flood waters to get them to the armory.

Sorry, I got off topic.

[T'Bonz]

Does anyone have any proof that the Governor actually advised people they did not have to buy gasoline?

Bascially he said not to hoard gasoline, which frequently causes long lines at gas stations and some to run out of fuel.

He assured people that there was plenty of gas that would be available after the hurricane.

I can't find a transcript. But I can assume that some took it as "don't tank up, we'll have plenty of gas and things will be OK."

Now I ignored that. We tanked up both cars. Ended up being a very prudent decision.

It's OK to have lots of gas, but without power to pump it out of the tanks, oops!

[arkess7]

dont know??? maybe some were poor....or maybe some were just plain ignorant!!! yea i did see alot of people on the news saying "we werent expecting this"..........my god......i guess some people just dont understand the strength of hurricanes??????

Why do you assume people did not prepare? Because the governor here criticized the residents to deflect blame? This assumption just makes me burn.
We prepared as much as we could prepare. We can't prepare for a tree falling on our roof. Or the shutters blowing off, or the awning being blown off and shot into the house.
Our inglorious governor, by the way, TOLD Florida residents to NOT buy gas. He said there was 'plenty of gas'. Did it not occur to him there would be now power to pump the gas?
Now who is not prepared?????

Oh this makes me just furious. We are looking at $7,000 deductible (no choice with state wind insurance) and disruption of our lives, and some yahoo is criticising Flroridians for not preparing?

Wow.

Hummmmm

[Downdraft]

I'm struck by the idea that there is so much talk about having a week to prepare for Wilma before it struck. The fact is that preparation should have happened before June 1st. You have the entire winter to begin stocking up down here for the coming hurricane season. No one has to feel the pain of loading up the shopping cart all at one time. You buy some batteries one week, you buy some can goods the next. As for blaming Bush that's so ludicrous it defies logic. The only answer to that is go live in a democratic state like Louisiana and see if the hand-outs come any faster. Sorry a tree fell on your house but I lost a roof to Charley last year and I'm very familiar with the hurricane deductible in home owner's insurance.
We have had a 40 year lull in hurricane activity and folks the party is over. Every expert has been screaming into the wind but we bury our heads in the sand and keep electing politicians that are more interested in property tax dollars than property tax payers. Hundreds of thousands of lives have been turned upside down this year and for them recovery will take years for the rest of you you have six months to get ready for the next season what are you going to do about it?

[Zackiedawg]

Well, an ignomious debut to the forums here, I guess. I found these forums today while checking for word on Wilma's aftermath and windspeed results (unfortunately not likely to ever be found since it seems anemometers throughout Southeast Florida were down during the passing of the eye).

This thread prompted me to comment. The original poster mentions the lack of preparation in South Florida for the storms, and some of the responders defended the reasons why preparation was either not possible or not considered necessary.

However, both are missing the larger points - most South Floridians DID prepare for the storm...as evidenced by the extremely low death and injury reports, light damage of personal property, and reasonable control of debris during the storm. Movable objects were moved indoors, most didn't venture outside during the storm, and most houses are built to codes designed to withstand a Cat 1-2 storm, requiring little additional preparation other than shutters or boarding of windows. Sure...some didn't board up or shutter - and probably 85% of them got away with no damage anyway. A few unlucky souls who didn't board up had broken windows. A few houses with weaker or older roofs had damage. A few condo managers may have been deficient in properly preparing buildings for the storm. But in general, the storm was weathered quite well.

The other major point is that the people standing on lines for supplies, and creating havoc after the storm, were for the most part spoiled, entitled, and unwilling to live without conveniences. There were a rare few people who were inadequately prepared before the storm who had true needs - medicines to keep cool, complete lack of potable water, no source of protein, etc. These people did not adequately prepare...but probably made up no more than 5% of those in lines. The remainder were folks who were unwilling to live without conveniences. Virtually everyone in South Florida had access to all the potable water they needed - most plumbing was still operational, water heaters were still filled and ready to be tapped, and bleach was on hand for almost anyone to purify tainted water. Ice for most was nothing more than a convenience...drinks don't have to be cold, and perishable foods are not a necessity to stay alive. Everyone could have drank warm liquids and eaten non-perishable foods for a while until things got back on track, if they weren't so spoiled and feeling so entitled. And gasoline was not necessary for days since there were few places anyone truly needed to drive to...most people were out rubbernecking at damage, stopping by friends houses, heading out for ice to cool their beer...had they just stayed home and lived off basic water and non-perishables for a few days, they could have had a full tank ready when it was needed. Gas needed for generators may have been more readily available if the lines weren't filled with cars looking for a refill to drive around town for no reason. And if people running generators made some effort to conserve - running the generators for short periods of time and shutting down intermittently, not using it to keep every light in the house running, pool filters going, air conditioners pumping, and big screen TVs going - they wouldn't have been running out of fuel so quickly.

Too many South Floridians were simply demanding unnecessary conveniences, and not operating from a survival mentality. I was able to 'stock up' and prepare for the storm in 20 minutes...the Wednesday before, when the storm was a possibility for our area, I bought a few extra batteries and a few extra cans of food. As seems logical in South Florida, I already keep a normal supply of batteries, candles, flashlights, non-perishable foods, and bleach on hand. This might have all cost me $100 over several years...plus another $30 before the storm, and I was prepared to live out of my house for a month without power if need be - with no government aid. Would it be wonderful? No, not really. Would it be annoying occasionally? Sure. Would I tire of room-temperature canned foods, candlelight, water, and cold showers? Sure. But IT COULD BE DONE. My life wouldn't be in danger. I'd remain healthy and nourished. I could stay clean. I'd have little need to leave my property until the city infrastructure was restored.

And virtually every person standing on line 24 hours after the storm could have done just the same. So rather than ask why South Florida wasn't prepared, or try to blame the government for not responding to everyone's demands, maybe we should ask how South Floridians developed such a spoiled mentality of entitlement and lacked the reasoning to see the scope of the damage, and couldn't switch their lifestyle to 'emergency' mode for a few days to allow the truly needy to receive the assistance they needed before worrying about conveniences and niceties.

Just one opinion from the eye of the storm.

[T'Bonz]

Actually, some areas had no water pressure AND we were all under a boil water (which some find hard to do sans power.)

We had to go to the let it mellow if it's yellow potty rule.

I had no problems. I did stand in line for ice, but that was a convenience. The first day I went to get ice, I saw the line, laughed and turned around and went home. The next day, there was no line and I walked right up and got ice.

[HurricaneJim]

Actually, some areas had no water pressure AND we were all under a boil water (which some find hard to do sans power.)

I for the life of me will never understand that...telling people in areas that have no power to boil water when most everyone has electric stoves.

I guess they can't say a capfull of unscented bleach per five gallons of clear water because some fool would poision themselves with too much and sue somebody.

Then, if you lit a campfire to do as they instructed, they'd probably cite you for open burning...

The water here was not going to be boiled or bleached safe, however, no matter what....

http://www.jwbartlett.com/Katrina.htm

Maybe, maybe with a charcoal filter first....

[NC George]

Here's how I store water: After I drink a 2-L of soda, I rinse out the bottle. I let it dry, then rinse again. Then I fill it up with water and put it in a closet. After a couple of months, you have an amazing amount of water. If your fridge is empty (as mine typically is, I work at a restaurant and only cook for two days a week) you can keep a bunch in the fridge, and all the water in there will keep what food you do have cooler longer in the event of a power outage. For toilet flush water (I have a well - no power = no water) I fill the tub and use water out of that.

Wal-Mart gave away 3 packs of bottled water for weeks after Floyd, every time I went, I picked up another pack - that lasted for the next two years.

As to eating cold food - you can get a portable Weber grill for $50. Runs on propane bottles or tanks. A tank would last a couple of weeks cooking twice daily. Makes a delicious burger or steak or chicken. Heat your canned items so they aren't cold if you have no meat to cook. Pancakes are hot breakfast items that require no refrigeration of ingredients (syrup doesn't have to be refrigerated.) I use mine for football games, grilling at home, and hurricane cooking.

Ice - you know a hurricane is coming - start making as much as you can yourself in your freezer. Then, put it in your Icey-Tek cooler. Guaranteed to keep an ice/water mix in the cooler for 7 days. So that keeps anything in the cooler at 32 degrees the entire time. You can find them at fishing supply stores. They are pricey (haha - rhymes with icey) but available in sizes from personal portable to large fish locker size.

[Zackiedawg]

Actually, some areas had no water pressure AND we were all under a boil water (which some find hard to do sans power.)

We did too...for the day of the storm we were OK...pressure got a little low, but they hadn't announced the boil alert. But day 2, pressure was down to a trickle and the Boil alert came around.

However, we were still able to get a slow trickle of water...some may have gotten none at all. But that's where all the neat little storage areas around the house come in handy. The water heater holds a bunch of gallons, and has a drain spigot near the bottom where you can access that water. Each toilet has a gallon or two in the flush tank...it's still clean up there...which can be accessed too. And that's if you weren't smart and didn't fill up a bathtub before the storm.

As for the boil order...we used a hibachi grill and some charcoal which we stocked up on before the storm...worked fine for boiling water. We even cooked spaghetti in a pot of water on the grill.

I'm certainly not saying it wouldn't be hard, toilsome, and annoying...I'm just saying that alot of people just weren't willing to try to fend for themselves a bit, be creative, improvise, overcome, and adapt. They too quickly turned to government, and law officials to come to their aid...within the first 24 hours in many cases! I never had to drink from the water heater or toilet tank, because I prepared a little better. But if chaos ruled and weeks went by, I knew I could always use those sources before having to run to the government for handouts...and under the circumstances, I would have tried to last as long as possible on the resources available to me in my own home, so as not to put any extra burden on our state and federal government and allow them to concentrate on more urgent items and people of dire need.

[SouthFloridawx]

I have lived in florida for the last 3 1/2 years and I would like to say that I am not from here. Every storm I get ready and I have a hurricane kit ready in the first place. You must make sure you have water for 10 days per person. You must make sure you have food to keep yourself alive. Use your neighborhood as a network and help each other out make sure everyone is ok. It's not hard to prepare for a hurricane it just takes time out of your day and some money but, it is well worth it. I remember after wilma most people said they didn't get ready and they only put up shutters but, didn't worry about the food or water. The news said it would only be a catagory 1 so just a little rain storm. Just get yourself ready and don't worry about everyone else and how they are preparing.

[skink5150]

I would say that the diversity of cultures and the influx of new residents helped contribute to some being less prepared than others. Economic status and lack of experience probably contributed heavily as well.
A 30 year resident of Florida , I remember the days when taping your windows and filling the bathtub were standard preparation practices. As most of you know , things have changed a bit as we have learned more and more about hurricanes , and how to prepare. Andrew taught quite a bit of people about what a hurricane can do , but sadly , many up to now in South Florida had not experienced anything like Wilma. The filling of gas tanks and getting cash from the banks has not changed from what we were told in the 70's , but quite a few things have changed on how to improve window protection etc.
Most people here had up to now not experienced anything like this , and I am certain if it happens again soon people will be better prepared.
This tropical season educated many.

[T'Bonz]

People grew complaisant.

For any hurricane, I:

-Have sufficient food and water on hand.
-Make sure I have propane and charcoal
-Make the fridge/freezer colder and put in as much ice as I can lay my hands on before the storm.
-Shutter well ahead of the storm, after bringing in any items that normally reside outside.
-Make sure I have sufficient pet food for the duration.
-Dragoon my mother into coming to our house for the storm (less worry)
-Fill both bathtubs with water, to use for the toilet if necessary after the storm.
-Have both cars filled with gas. One gets put in the garage (the newer one)

That's what I can think of off of the top of my head. Right before the storm hits, I have the lanterns, all batteries, lighters, hand-held TV and other "after the storm with no power" necessities out on the dining room table. During the hurricane, whether I'm watching TV or reading, a lantern (battery op) is by my feet.

When we lost power, while it was still light, I turned off the A.C. (surges fried a relay once, I want NO repeat of that!), make sure stove and microwave are off and disconnected both of my computers from power sources, again, in case of surge when power does return.

Just a little work ahead of time makes for an easier experience the next time. I shuttered for Katrina. Only ONE of my neighbors did. While I turned out not to need that protection (it was more of a T.S. up here), I had peace of mind. I shutter anytime I think we'll take direct hit from a hurricane. If it comes in as a T.S., well no harm done.