Ike
Race to rescue 140,000 who ignored “certain death” warnings. via Yahoo:
“We just didn’t think it was going to come up like this,” said the boy’s father, Lee King. “I’m from New Orleans, I know better. I just didn’t think it was going to happen.”
Apparently the problem is that some storms are worse than others.
It may be harsh to second-guess people in such dire straits, though I recall thinking Friday, if you live on a sand spit or in a coastal swamp, and there’s a 20-foot storm surge coming, that’s a pretty simple equation that has nothing to do with your ability to ride out hurricane-force winds.
This is America. Even reckless morons who endanger their own lives and others deserve our sympathy, tax dollars, and the potential sacrifice of those who serve. Undoubtedly there are those among them who weren’t recklessly endangering their own and others’ lives, but were unable to leave.
Malkin roundup. Instapundit, for future reference, how to survive without power and other tips, and some good news, the oil refineries came through better than expected.
Topics: moronocy
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 10:26 am on Sunday, September 14, 2008
One Response to “Ike”
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September 15th, 2008 at 11:56 am
Having been through this myself many times, it can be a difficult decision to make. If you don’t have relatives with extra room to put you up, conveniently located inland, then it can become a nightmare. In one evacuation, we had two cars, kids, and it took almost a full day of 1-2 mph driving just to get out of the city - and we had left relatively early! We also had to drive 250 miles to find a place to stay for the night. Turned out to be all for nothing, each time (which is what you want, of course).
You’re right though, Jules. If you live at the beach or near a waterway prone to flooding, you need to leave when they tell you to. We did, and it meant evacuations from even category 2 or 3 storms, but it’s the smart move. I was there and saw for myself the incredible destruction caused by Andrew when it hit South Florida, but in spite of the damage, few people were killed by the storm because there was minimal storm surge. Flooding is 1000 times more dangerous.