I didn't see what you saw on the Today Show, but most of the pictures I've seen of the Galvestonians have been pretty blasé. They threw hurricane parties. They pushed their cars through waist-deep water. Even the ones that had their houses ruined look pretty "meh" about it. Galveston people are fucking used to having their town ripped up one side and down the other - that's why all the houses within a quarter mile of the coast are on stilts. It's nothing like New Orleans, where you saw mobs of people with HELP US!! signs frantically screaming at helicopters like cornered wildebeests. By contrast, I keep seeing pictures like this:
Also - one reason many didn't leave is because the hurricane evacuation routes are fucked, and can't handle a rapid influx of people. Many tried to leave the last time there was a hurricane, and wound up sitting through it on a jammed interstate. After that, a lot of people figured it was a safer bet to sit it out.
What were they whining about on the Today Show, though? Just being stuck in Galveston?
Oh, the people they showed on the today show were all sobs and they "needed HEEEEEEEEELP. Why was no one HELLLLLLLPING them???"
I guess they're upset because they're stuck in Galveston with no water or electricity. Not ALL of the people, mind you - one guy was like, "Yeah, I'll just stay on the third floor of my house til I get the first floor cleaned up" and Matt Lauer said, "But you don't have water or electricity" and the guy was like, "I'll make do."
But there were some people on there whining like they didn't get a warning or a chance to leave.
And I'm sorry, but they had about 4 days where they were pretty sure it was coming right at them. If people wait until the last second to go, then it's on them for getting in traffic jams.
That's the thing about the evacuation routes, though - even if you discount the fact that a lot of people can't afford to take a week off work and live in a hotel for six days (not everyone has Gramma's house in a couple hour's drive), the evacuation route takes them through Houston, a city of 2.2 million people, many of whom also evacuate (the greater Houston area, which includes Galveston, has about 5.6 million people). Those factors make evacuation a lot less feasible than it sounds from the outside. It really is a coin toss for a lot of people.
But yeah, in principle, I think we're in agreement. If I stuck it out, I'd be prepared to CAMP for a week. That's what happens when a frickin' hurricane comes through, and the cleanup looks like it's MUCH less of a clusterfuck than I'd expect elsewhere. Coastal Texas is extremely well-equipped to handle this kind of smackdown.
If the state of Texas, or employers, are not encouraging employees to leave when the warning is set forth, then I'm not sure why they bother to make any sort of decree that ends in someone saying staying there will end in "certain death." So whether they can "afford" to have the time off work or not, they're going to have it when their place of employment is shut down for 4 weeks during cleanup and renovations...
Plus - that's what shelters are for. They wouldn't set up shelters if everyone had a gramma's house. We had shelters set up HERE for people dealing with gulf coast hurricanes, so there are places they CAN go, though I CAN understand getting as far away as SC isn't always super feasible. But that seems to me an issue that people should make sure they have a plan for if they live on the coast.
I mean, that's just one of those things. Live on a coast, risk hurricanes. Have a hurricane plan.
Maybe I'm oversimplifying?
And like I said - that one guy seemed to know exactly what he was getting into and was prepared to rough it. But he also was a teacher, so I can only assume he is somewhat educated. :-) So - he had a plan. Not the plan I would've chosen, but it worked for him and he's not crying for help. He is busting out his little shovel and starting to clean up his property.
Shelters for 5 million people, or what? I've seen too much colossal mismanagement in a crisis to assume that SURELY there are all these resources and safety measures they're not taking advantage of, right?!
I know about a dozen people who live in Galveston, Kemah and Houston. The people in Houston evacuated to Austin, the people in Galveston evacuated to central Texas, and one family in Kemah that got stuck in the interstate when evacuating last time decided to ride it out, since it wasn't a cat 4 or anything; they're fine, but were somewhat terrified for a little while.
I guess I just hold to the adage that it's far too easy when in prosperity to give advice to the afflicted.
You know what? I'm not going to argue with you about how it's difficult to manage a crisis. I think everyone knows just how poorly that can go after watching the aftermath of well of Katrina. But if there are five million people who have nowhere to go but a government sponsored shelter, then the Texas government needs to do something about that.
And I guess you're just a better person than I am, because I believe that a lot of those people are now "afflicted" because they chose to be (I'm thinking specifically of those people on the Today show). And I don't feel sorry for people who choose to do nothing when faced with warnings and evacuation mandates. Which is the point of this post.
I've now watched about a dozen mini-videos on the Today Show website (and learned that they're now selling a razor to women that has FIVE BLADES?!) to try to find what you're referring to, but I can't, and don't have the time to watch every single one. I did find more people being generally stoic and blase about things, including one drenched redneck who, when asked what it was like being in a house filling up with water, replied, "Pretty crappy. Yeah... it sucked."
But I do think I've proven my point (which you never disagreed with, and which isn't counter to the point of your post) that the percentage of people who stayed home, were in serious danger, and wailed about no one helping them, is pretty small. If drenched people interviewed on TV are any indication.
I think you'll agree with me that people talking about how "WHY CAN'T PEOPLE HALP US!" made a much more touching story for Ann Curry to fucking ruin than what you're talking about, so it's very likely I'm a victim of "news." Because if what you're saying is true (and I have no reason to think you are making that up) and the majority of people who did not meet certain death are accepting of the nothing that's left, then I got no problems with that.
Just those whiny peeps. About them - all of the above applies.
I don't know if they're accepting; I do think they are a lot more accepting than the caterwauling people you saw. The thing is, hurricanes (and tornadoes, to a lesser extent) are a part of coastal Texas culture the way the fight for civil rights is a part of central Alabama culture. It's integral to the public consciousness in a way that's genuinely hard for me to convey.
For example, all children learn about the "Great Galveston Hurricane of 1900" in Texas history. From wikipedia: "The hurricane caused great loss of life with the estimated death toll between 6,000 and 12,000 individuals; the number most cited in official reports is 8,000, giving the storm the third-highest number of casualties of any Atlantic hurricane, after the Great Hurricane of 1780 and 1998’s Hurricane Mitch. The Galveston Hurricane of 1900 is to date the deadliest natural disaster ever to strike the United States."
Galveston is a town rebuilt upon the obliterated tindersticks of that storm, and has been hit by countless storms since. Anyone down there genuinely surprised and panicking at the damage is likely just the most hysterical person they could haul out of the ditchwater.
Oh, yeah - fun note about the 1900 Hurricane - my stepmother was telling me last night how the rescue boats in flooded areas had to deploy a man wading in front of the boat to push bodies out of the way. That sounds apocryphal, but the Wikipedia page refers to mass funeral pyres burning for weeks afterwards, when dumping the bodies at sea just meant they'd wash up on shore afterwards, so it sounds a little more plausible. After the storm, the entire city was raised 17 feet, a height compatible with the new sea wall.
I give the residents of my home state a lot of grief, but DAMN they got some history.
No, I'm sorry - i wasn't trying to discount her knowledge of it, it was just funny the way she was juxtaposed in relation to the date of the event in question :-)
As an interesting postscript to this conversation - I'd felt when we were having it that people in the general Houston area who evacuated might be clogging the roads frivolously, and keeping the people of Galveston from getting out in due time. Houston's so far inland, I didn't figure Ike was powerful enough to do them much damage (at least compared to the coast).
Which may be true. But my grandmother was one of the people who evacuated from Houston to Austin (about 150 more miles inland), just to be on the safe side (although she did it about 3 days before Ike hit). Just found out that falling trees fucking cratered her prefab house, smashing into her bedroom and master bath. So, maybe not so frivolous.
http://www.nola.com/hurricane-ike/index.ssf/2008/09/in_galveston_homes_underwater.html
Also - one reason many didn't leave is because the hurricane evacuation routes are fucked, and can't handle a rapid influx of people. Many tried to leave the last time there was a hurricane, and wound up sitting through it on a jammed interstate. After that, a lot of people figured it was a safer bet to sit it out.
What were they whining about on the Today Show, though? Just being stuck in Galveston?
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I guess they're upset because they're stuck in Galveston with no water or electricity. Not ALL of the people, mind you - one guy was like, "Yeah, I'll just stay on the third floor of my house til I get the first floor cleaned up" and Matt Lauer said, "But you don't have water or electricity" and the guy was like, "I'll make do."
But there were some people on there whining like they didn't get a warning or a chance to leave.
And I'm sorry, but they had about 4 days where they were pretty sure it was coming right at them. If people wait until the last second to go, then it's on them for getting in traffic jams.
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But yeah, in principle, I think we're in agreement. If I stuck it out, I'd be prepared to CAMP for a week. That's what happens when a frickin' hurricane comes through, and the cleanup looks like it's MUCH less of a clusterfuck than I'd expect elsewhere. Coastal Texas is extremely well-equipped to handle this kind of smackdown.
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If the state of Texas, or employers, are not encouraging employees to leave when the warning is set forth, then I'm not sure why they bother to make any sort of decree that ends in someone saying staying there will end in "certain death." So whether they can "afford" to have the time off work or not, they're going to have it when their place of employment is shut down for 4 weeks during cleanup and renovations...
Plus - that's what shelters are for. They wouldn't set up shelters if everyone had a gramma's house. We had shelters set up HERE for people dealing with gulf coast hurricanes, so there are places they CAN go, though I CAN understand getting as far away as SC isn't always super feasible. But that seems to me an issue that people should make sure they have a plan for if they live on the coast.
I mean, that's just one of those things. Live on a coast, risk hurricanes. Have a hurricane plan.
Maybe I'm oversimplifying?
And like I said - that one guy seemed to know exactly what he was getting into and was prepared to rough it. But he also was a teacher, so I can only assume he is somewhat educated. :-) So - he had a plan. Not the plan I would've chosen, but it worked for him and he's not crying for help. He is busting out his little shovel and starting to clean up his property.
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I know about a dozen people who live in Galveston, Kemah and Houston. The people in Houston evacuated to Austin, the people in Galveston evacuated to central Texas, and one family in Kemah that got stuck in the interstate when evacuating last time decided to ride it out, since it wasn't a cat 4 or anything; they're fine, but were somewhat terrified for a little while.
I guess I just hold to the adage that it's far too easy when in prosperity to give advice to the afflicted.
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And I guess you're just a better person than I am, because I believe that a lot of those people are now "afflicted" because they chose to be (I'm thinking specifically of those people on the Today show). And I don't feel sorry for people who choose to do nothing when faced with warnings and evacuation mandates. Which is the point of this post.
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But I do think I've proven my point (which you never disagreed with, and which isn't counter to the point of your post) that the percentage of people who stayed home, were in serious danger, and wailed about no one helping them, is pretty small. If drenched people interviewed on TV are any indication.
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I think you'll agree with me that people talking about how "WHY CAN'T PEOPLE HALP US!" made a much more touching story for Ann Curry to fucking ruin than what you're talking about, so it's very likely I'm a victim of "news." Because if what you're saying is true (and I have no reason to think you are making that up) and the majority of people who did not meet certain death are accepting of the nothing that's left, then I got no problems with that.
Just those whiny peeps. About them - all of the above applies.
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For example, all children learn about the "Great Galveston Hurricane of 1900" in Texas history. From wikipedia: "The hurricane caused great loss of life with the estimated death toll between 6,000 and 12,000 individuals; the number most cited in official reports is 8,000, giving the storm the third-highest number of casualties of any Atlantic hurricane, after the Great Hurricane of 1780 and 1998’s Hurricane Mitch. The Galveston Hurricane of 1900 is to date the deadliest natural disaster ever to strike the United States."
Galveston is a town rebuilt upon the obliterated tindersticks of that storm, and has been hit by countless storms since. Anyone down there genuinely surprised and panicking at the damage is likely just the most hysterical person they could haul out of the ditchwater.
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I give the residents of my home state a lot of grief, but DAMN they got some history.
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*teehee*
But yeah, dead bodies floating back to shore...that'll leave a definite impression.
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Which may be true. But my grandmother was one of the people who evacuated from Houston to Austin (about 150 more miles inland), just to be on the safe side (although she did it about 3 days before Ike hit). Just found out that falling trees fucking cratered her prefab house, smashing into her bedroom and master bath. So, maybe not so frivolous.
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