(no subject)
Haven't updated in a few days, bad me...it's been busy around here, with work and phone calls. Katrina didn't do any damage here, other than sending our road sign spinning a few hundred yards down the road. Given the news coming in from further west, we got very very lucky. One of my uncles is missing in Biloxi; as far as anyone knows, he and his family didn't evacuate, and they haven't been heard from. It's possible they got out, but only time will tell. I've got a feeling we're not going to get good news; his neighborhood doesn't exist anymore.
Refugees are starting to come in; our local fairgrounds has become a tent city, and local officials are looking for more places to put them. Local charities are calling for donations and volunteers. I'm going through the closets today to weed out clothes that can go, and sorting toys to donate for the little ones. It's hard to get my mind around the scope of the disaster. I have fond memories of Mobile, Biloxi, Gulfport, and New Orleans. It seems impossible that some of these places no longer exist, and may never exist again.
I sincerely hope that people who live on this coast - and the Eastern seaboard - have had a few important points seared into their brains. First, NEVER take your eyes off one of these monsters, even if it's "minimal". There is NO SUCH THING as a "minimal hurricane". How many people in New Orleans went to bed thinking "Oh, it's only a 2 - we're safe" - ignoring the chance that it could rapidly intensify, which it did. They woke up to a cat4/5 monster. Property damage was inevitable, but loss of life on this scale wasn't. Mandatory evacuations can be a lifesaver - but there's a reason why they're MANDATORY. Far too many people ignored that warning. Granted, some of them had nowhere to go - which brings up point #2. It's glaringly obvious that the government, local, state, and federal, had NO plan to get the weak, sick, elderly, and poor out of the way of the storm. Sure, they ordered a mandatory evacuation - but how were these people to comply, without transportation? If they can bring in buses now, why couldn't they commandeer them then? Point 3 is also obvious - people have to be prepared to survive on their own for at least a week following a storm, and have to be ready to save themselves, because there is a period of time in which local authorities are overwhelmed and virtually paralyzed. It's up to you to save your own ass, because they're not going to be able to. This tragedy has illustrated - vividly - why each and every family is supposed to have a disaster kit and an emergency plan in place, including evacuation plans, and must be prepared to execute that plan on little notice.
The rest of us who live on the Gulf coast can only hope we're spared another hit, because resources are stretched almost to the breaking point now. With 12 weeks of hurricane season to go, I'm not optimistic about our chances of avoiding one, but I'll remain hopeful. In any case, I'm grateful for a job that doesn't depend on the local economy, because that's officially sunk. Prices are already going up on groceries and other necessities. I don't even want to think what the electric bill will be in the coming months. The new farmhouse, with the woodstove and plenty of land for growing food, is looking better and better every day. Can't wait to make the move.
Refugees are starting to come in; our local fairgrounds has become a tent city, and local officials are looking for more places to put them. Local charities are calling for donations and volunteers. I'm going through the closets today to weed out clothes that can go, and sorting toys to donate for the little ones. It's hard to get my mind around the scope of the disaster. I have fond memories of Mobile, Biloxi, Gulfport, and New Orleans. It seems impossible that some of these places no longer exist, and may never exist again.
I sincerely hope that people who live on this coast - and the Eastern seaboard - have had a few important points seared into their brains. First, NEVER take your eyes off one of these monsters, even if it's "minimal". There is NO SUCH THING as a "minimal hurricane". How many people in New Orleans went to bed thinking "Oh, it's only a 2 - we're safe" - ignoring the chance that it could rapidly intensify, which it did. They woke up to a cat4/5 monster. Property damage was inevitable, but loss of life on this scale wasn't. Mandatory evacuations can be a lifesaver - but there's a reason why they're MANDATORY. Far too many people ignored that warning. Granted, some of them had nowhere to go - which brings up point #2. It's glaringly obvious that the government, local, state, and federal, had NO plan to get the weak, sick, elderly, and poor out of the way of the storm. Sure, they ordered a mandatory evacuation - but how were these people to comply, without transportation? If they can bring in buses now, why couldn't they commandeer them then? Point 3 is also obvious - people have to be prepared to survive on their own for at least a week following a storm, and have to be ready to save themselves, because there is a period of time in which local authorities are overwhelmed and virtually paralyzed. It's up to you to save your own ass, because they're not going to be able to. This tragedy has illustrated - vividly - why each and every family is supposed to have a disaster kit and an emergency plan in place, including evacuation plans, and must be prepared to execute that plan on little notice.
The rest of us who live on the Gulf coast can only hope we're spared another hit, because resources are stretched almost to the breaking point now. With 12 weeks of hurricane season to go, I'm not optimistic about our chances of avoiding one, but I'll remain hopeful. In any case, I'm grateful for a job that doesn't depend on the local economy, because that's officially sunk. Prices are already going up on groceries and other necessities. I don't even want to think what the electric bill will be in the coming months. The new farmhouse, with the woodstove and plenty of land for growing food, is looking better and better every day. Can't wait to make the move.