FOXNews.com - Weather Service Warns of 'Certain Death' From Ike - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News: "The decision is a stark contrast to how emergency management officials responded to Hurricane Rita in 2005. As the storm closed in three years ago, the region implemented its plan: Evacuate the 2 million people in the coastal communities first, past the metropolis of Houston; once they were out of harm's way, Houston would follow in an orderly fashion.
But three days before landfall, Rita bloomed into a Category 5 and tracked toward the city. City and Harris County officials told Houstonians to hit the road, even while the population of Galveston Island was still clogging the freeways. It was a decision that proved tragic: 110 people died during the effort, making the evacuation more deadly than the eventual Category 4 storm, which killed nine."
When officials don't stick their heads in the sand about the evacuation issue and admit to the rest of the country (no matter what their perception) that it is NOT the usual course of action to evacuate entire regions for a hurricane... That evacuations are declared for those most at risk... And that sheltering in place is sometimes the most viable option for some people -- then those officials are better prepared for the aftermath of the inevitable storm. There is no denial. They are aware that there will be people who will need help, that services must be restored quickly, and roads must be cleared right away. It seems that mass evacuations lull local civil defense into a false sense of security at best -- and into a sense of dangerous self-righteousness at worst.
Good luck to everybody on the Texas coastline this morning. You're in our prayers. -- Anita
No comments:
Post a Comment