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Hurricane readiness--do most people blow it off??


6packofun
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I live in Ohio so this isn't something I deal with.  But when it comes to intelligent people of means--not people in poverty with limited resources, etc.--do they just tend to blow off the most obvious of preparations in your experience? I'd like to hear from people in areas that deal with weather disasters like this.

 

My mind is just blown and I don't want to shame victims of a hurricane, so I'll use some family members in TX as an example of something that just confuses the heck out of me.  OK, you know that a hurricane is coming and that the area may flood.  Making sure you have food and the formula AND MEDICATION you need for your own children and your FOSTER children to last maybe a week seems smart??  Obvious?  And yet, my intelligent relative who is a well-paid pastor, had to rely on a few different people to bring him medication and formula--by wading through flooded waters no less since their vehicles couldn't get within a quarter mile of the house--because they didn't have the foresight (?) to get some extra for the possibility that they wouldn't be able to just go out and buy some a few days after a freaking hurricane?

 

Is this common?  If so, WHY?!

 

(Honestly, I'm trying hard not to be super annoyed at how they are praising God for coming through for them--through other people putting themselves at risk--when all they had to do was buy some extra stuff for crying out loud.)

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One reason might be that TV news hypes severe weather so much that people don't take it seriously. We don't have to worry about hurricanes here, but people don't always take tornado watches or even warnings seriously here. The same was true when our area had a severe ice storm in January that knocked out power for days, just as the forecasters said it would. There were still people who were not prepared because they assumed the many warnings and precautions were overblown.

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When I have babies on formula (our Foster children), I try to keep a several "month" supply on hand at all times, but maybe I tend to being overly prepared... BUT- formula is expensive & WIC only gets you a month at a time. I buy it out of pocket to store, just in case.

Meds, are trickier because of refill times

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Another online 'friend' on another forum is in Houston, He's older. I jokingly refer to him as an Internet Dad. He's smart and gives good advice on topics relevant to many areas of life.

 

He spent the better part of today donating portions of his own stock piles to evacuees at a local church. He watched them pour in. His remark was how many of them didn't even have foresight to grab a backpack before leaving home, wrap stuff in plastic, and get out. They came wide eyed with not a thing. Of course, lots of people got stranded in vehicles and might not have had that opportunity. But many came from homes nearby.

 

But for years and years and years the US government has urged people to take basic preps especially in areas known for hurricanes. - make a 72 hour bag, have water and food on hand, plan for a disaster. Most don't. Also lots of people's brains kind of shut down in high stress situations. Not everyone thinks clearly or plans rationally. That's what my friend is seeing a lot of today.

 

Yes, I know from personal experience that most people blow it off. IMHO waiting until a hurricane is on my doorstep isn't a time to run and grab groceries, water, and batteries. Those should be on hand already.

 

A few years ago I did a disaster prep talk for a local moms group. It was more than a talk. The free resources I gave them were excellent ways to get started on basic family preps. Not a single one of 30+ women did anything about it. Not a single one.

 

I feel very strongly about taking responsibility for my family and giving them what they need in a trial and disaster. Even my own parents blow it off.

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What's happening right now is really unprecedented. I've seen it called an 800-year event. Areas that aren't generally considered high risk during a hurricane have become disaster zones. When we lived in Houston we prepared for hurricanes. People really should have at least a 72 hour kit. However, I don't think it's fair to fault people when an 800-year event occurs. No one expected this.

Edited by 6wildhorses
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I would say that American culture, on the whole, is far more reactive than proactive. Most people don't save at all, they don't build margin into their budgets for inflation and when buying high ticket items like houses and cars, and they don't plan for retirement even though the likelihood of being out of work for an extended period of time and getting too old and sick to work are almost guaranteed.  We don't have a culture of long term planning.

I'm stunned when I camp at what otherwise intelligent and sometimes highly educated people don't think to bring. Book smarts and street smarts are different. I don't mean that they had it out and then overlooked an item or two, I'm talking about not thinking of essential things it in the first place, like a jacket when the low at night is going to be 50 degrees. 

When nut jobs have nukes and test missiles and nature ready to kick butt, it's a good idea promote a week of preparedness as a cultural norm for those who have the means.  When a crisis hits, the neediest can be prioritized by government services while we manage on our own or we can help the neediest when government services are stretched too thin.

Medication is a little trickier because you can only have so many refills in a set amount of time before a doctor has to extend the prescription with the pharmacy, but adults really should be calling in refills before they're down to their last day or two of doses, especially when a natural disaster is in the near future in the general area.  

 

 


 

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To be fair, there wasn't a lot of warning with this hurricane. In about 48 hours, it turned into a huge thing, and then lingered and impacted areas no one expected.

 

We are basically prepared to last a few days here, but anything bigger than a cat 2, and I'm leaving. However, there's a tropical storm on the east coast right now that I'm mostly ignoring. It just isn't a big deal. There will be lots of rain and wind, and then done. If it spins up like Harvey did, I'd be in big trouble, too, and might not have enough time to leave.

 

I don't have a lot of patience for people who know a big one is coming, and stubbornly stay, though.

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I am tired and can't think of a polite word for your relative. I don't think he's typical. Stupid seems like a polite term for him. What is typical is that probably very few victims of Floods have Flood Insurance on their property. That's beyond stupid.

 

Sent from my SM-G355M using Tapatalk

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I don't know...I live 1000 miles away in CO and am not an avid news or weather watcher. But even "I" knew that it was a major storm and then became even larger and very dangerous- likely to rival Katrina with damages. It didn't take me by surprise and I'm in a different time zone. Sure no one can predict exact scope but still- the rain warnings were epic. Who could think 30-40" of rain in an area like that WOULDNT cause catastrophic damage?

 

Yet having lived in a hurricane area (Hampton Roads VA) I believe a lot of people just ignore or downplay what they hear RE warnings and storm forecasts - or simply choose NOT to hear. Even the warnings. Maybe even especially the warnings.

 

I have a lot of sympathy and little judgement even though I may sound harsh. People aren't all planners and into preparedness. I don't necessarily view it as irresponsible so much as uninformed or lacking literal resources to foresight.

 

And some people are downright stubborn and obstinate. I knew a few who would stubbornly and against direct warning choose to "ride out" a storm...and then predictably need to be rescued (even when warned that rescue may be impossible). I don't get that and slightly resent putting rescue workers/responders in harms way due to your own stubbornness. That's tough to swallow in some regards- but again I chalk it up to ignorance and naĂƒÂ¯vetĂƒÂ©....and too much optimism LOL

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I live in mega earthquake country.   as in -  the last major quake in japan in 2011. (average every 268 years.  the last one was jan 26, 1700.  we know the date because the tsunami hit japan)  those with the ability - might do something to "earthquake proof" their house and have emergency supplies, simple stuff - but for the most part, dont' think about it.  who knows when it will hit and you can't live your life that way.

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So many hurricanes get so hyped up by the media every year only to fizzle out that when there actually *IS* a serious one like a Harvey/Sandy/Katrina/Andrew people may be too jaded to realize the danger. The whole "Boy Who Cried Wolf" phenomenon. :(

 

I need to order the disposable battery pack that can power my daughter's cochlear implant in the event of a sustained power outage preventing us from recharging the normal battery. Ugh at the thought of the cost ($265 for the pack and then another $200 for the cable to connect the pack with the processor since the regular cable isn't compatible). That's why I haven't done it yet.

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I need to order the disposable battery pack that can power my daughter's cochlear implant in the event of a sustained power outage preventing us from recharging the normal battery. Ugh at the thought of the cost ($265 for the pack and then another $200 for the cable to connect the pack with the processor since the regular cable isn't compatible). That's why I haven't done it yet.

 

Wouldn't a generator or solar charger be more versatile options?

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Wouldn't a generator or solar charger be more versatile options?

 

A generator would be extremely pricey. I want to say that my parents spent something like $2k on theirs. Our out-of-pocket medical costs are too high to be sinking that kind of cash into emergency preparedness.

 

A solar charger I would have to look into whether it would generate enough juice to recharge her battery.

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In general, I think people base their actions on their personal experiences.  So if they didn't flood during Allison, Rita, Ike, Memorial Day 2015, and Tax Day 2016, why would they flood this time?  That's alot of experience with major/catastrophic flooding.  Allison, Ike, Memorial Day, AND Tax Day were unprecedented, 100+/500+/800+ year storms.  There were very targeted areas that flooded during those storms despite how historic those same storms were.  Greater Houston (like other coastal cities such as New Orleans) is low elevation and is essentially a big bayou.  Greater Houston has 6.5 million residents and encompasses 10k+ square miles.  This place is unbelievably big.  It takes 1.5 hours just to drive from one side to the other straight across on highways at 70mph without traffic.  And the ENTIRE Greater Houston is under water this time.

 

In 2005, 3-4 million people hit the road to evacuate to avoid Rita.  After all, we had just watched the heartache of Katrina and were currently housing many Katrina evacuees.  You know what happened?  We sat on the road and went 4 miles in 12 hours, and we were on the outskirts of Greater Houston to begin with.  People weren't leaving last minute.  This was at least 2 days in advance, which was a reasonable amount of warning.  That was with all highways designated outbound and every little back road moving outbound also.  No gas.  No water.  No food.  No bathrooms.  No A/C (it was hot).  Stuck on the roads to no avail.  Rita hits and people had to weather that storm in their cars on the highway. Stuck.  Those stuck in the area that flooded in their cars?  No help could reach them.  Then, the flooding and wind ended up in a specific area of Greater Houston.  Turns out, most of those people didn't need to go anywhere.  But who could know?  It was a major hurricane bearing down on Houston on the heels of Katrina.

 

People base their actions on their experiences (or family's or neighbor's etc).

 

The people you are seeing on TV right now being evacuated with seemingly little preparation bought some supplies and made an educated decision based on their experience and did what they were being told to do.  Don't get on highways unless you are in the areas that always flood with every weather event (and there are plenty of those areas).  Be prepared to shelter in pace for 7-10 days.  How was anyone to know they needed 3 months or even 2 weeks worth of meds?  The usual flood victims?  Those aren't the people needing to be evacuated.  They did it.  Most of these people the last 2 days WERE prepared to be stuck in their homes for 7 days even though they probably thought it was overkill.  That's why every bit of bread, milk, and gasoline in Greater Houston is gone.  Even the school systems were on their heels.  School starts Monday, now Tuesday, now Wednesday.  Ok.  Let's just say next week.

 

I, too, have wondered why people who flood every time don't bug out for this sort of stuff.  But again that experience influences that decision.  After all, Tax Day last year was a rain storm, not a hurricane that hit hundreds of miles away.

 

When we lived in north Dallas area, we experienced tornadoes every single spring.  I never packed a 72 hour bag because you know what?  What is 72 hours going to do for me when I'm standing in a pile of rubble (God willing)?  With 3 kids, 2 adults, 2 dogs, and 2 cats, that would be enough luggage to fill the safe space and require us to sit on the couch.  Then, I would need the most vital stuff in that bag for everyday stuff.

 

We are not in a flood plain and have not flooded ever where I am.  I live on a street with 3 engineers who analyze land elevation and survey as a living.  We all bought a week's worth of groceries.  We all filled both vehicles' tanks last Friday.  My kids are on antibiotics for strep right now.  I made sure I could stick the meds in a cooler if the electric went off.  I didn't get extras of anything.  I live 1 mile from 2 major grocery stores on the edge of Greater Houston.  We took down anything in backyard that could blow around.  None of this has been necessary for me in this event.  What I didn't do was know that the street gutter would back up causing my pool drains to back up causing my pool to overflow causing water to almost get on my walls...in a matter of 10 minutes.  I am so thankful I looked out the window and checked the pool level just one.more.time.  I had been checking on it every 20 minutes for hours and hours.

 

My MIL/FIL live in an area held dry by a levee on a river that has never come close to breaching, even through all those unprecedented storms.  They went from flooded streets (typical) to a mandatory evac.  They had less than 10 hours to pack it up, find a way out, and go.  They hadn't prepared to leave because "experience".

 

When you are prepared to flood and live temporarily on second floor, then the second floor floods?  You get a boat ride out.

 

Hurricane Harvey and it's aftermath has been the most flooding this country has ever seen.  In all of history.  It has been a first for every expert out there in every area of expertise.  So it's not hard to understand why John Smith was caught unawares as well.

 

*I know OP was not victim shaming.  She is asking the same question I have often wondered in many different types of disasters.  I just have some inside perspective for this one.   :)

 

ETA:  This event was not overhyped (though they usually are).  They said we could get 25"+ rain, but without a crystal ball, NO ONE could know what that would look like.

 

And in addition to a person's experience goes the usual finance, health, age, ability, motivation, optimistic/pessimistic attitude, etc that colors those decisions.  

 

 

 

 

Edited by aggie96
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I think it is kind of typical, for the reasons stated above. The survived other storms, so this one will be fine. If you search, there is a thread here from when I was freaking out that a Cat 3 hurricane was coming and my parents were refusing to evacuate their barrier island and my sister hadn't bought ANY supplies for her house and her kids, not even a single flashlight!!! She figured her phone had a light, so what else did she need!!! No milk, no extras of the things her kids will eat (they are picky), no lanterns, nothing. She said she'd just go to mcdonalds if she lost power. Um..yeah.

 

Mind you, she has a PhD, is a school principal, and very smart normally. 

 

Meanwhile, I had windows boarded up to make a safe space (didn't have time to board the whole house), all the ice one could want, multiple coolers, extra propane for the grill, shelf stable food and snacks, battery operated lanterns, bottled water, extra batters, etc etc etc. 

 

 

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Prepping for a hurricane is more complicated than it sounds.  Some hurricanes bring high winds, some bring a large tidal wave, some bring torrential rain.  I live in a part of Texas that was within the cone of uncertainty.  Things could have gotten very bad here if things had gone a little bit differently.  I was helping a family member prep--she needed a medication refill-but it couldn't be done before Thursday, then the computer system that gets the prescription sent between the doctor's office and pharmacy went down and the doctor's office said it was sent and wouldn't send it again and the pharmacy didn't get it; I was rushing on Friday to get the pharmacy to call the doctor's office before they closed for the weekend and before the storm hit--So having an emergency supply of medicine is sometimes easier than it sounds.  

 

Water can begin rising quickly.  At that point, it is not always prudent to go get your supplies and try to take them with you.  As it turns out, we have had very little bad weather where I am, but I have a friend who is an area that wasn't expected to have any significant trouble (and has never had water anywhere near her house) in danger now.  Going into the weekend it would have seemed much more prudent for me to go there to wait out the storm than for her to come here.  So, knowing where to evacuate from and to is tricky.

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I have a couple family members who are mentally not entirely well, and no capable of making rational,  common sense decisions in a matter of a few days. Young and old. It scares me to think how helpless they'd be in a situation like this.

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When I have babies on formula (our Foster children), I try to keep a several "month" supply on hand at all times, but maybe I tend to being overly prepared... BUT- formula is expensive & WIC only gets you a month at a time. I buy it out of pocket to store, just in case.

Meds, are trickier because of refill times

And most cannot be refilled early.

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A generator would be extremely pricey. I want to say that my parents spent something like $2k on theirs. Our out-of-pocket medical costs are too high to be sinking that kind of cash into emergency preparedness.

 

A solar charger I would have to look into whether it would generate enough juice to recharge her battery.

 

You can get a portable generator capable of powering a few appliances and recharging devices for a few hundred dollars. $500 will get you a fairly nice one, especially if you catch a sale. If you aren't interested in powering your fridge or freezer you can get a small genny that will easily recharge devices for $200-$300. You do have to keep a supply of gas on hand for powering them, though.

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I think this is common. People always think the storm will turn and hit somewhere else at the last minute, and if it does hit it will be 2-3 days of bad thunderstorm, docks will wash away, boats will end up out of the water and up the street, and their favorite dockside restaurant may need to rebuild.

 

No place is ever prepared for 50 inches of rain.

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Taking the current tragedy OUT of the equation for decency's sake...

 

Most sources say the vast majority of American's are not prepared to SIP for 72 hours.

 

Hurricanes and tornadoes aren't supposed to be a real issue where I am, but big storms and little tornadoes do happen anyway. (We just had a radar-indicated tornado warning last week.) We also get lots of snow and ice.  And yet, when a SIP was issued for one small neighborhood during a non-weather emergency, people were freaking out about not being able to get out of (or into) their homes. They didn't have the immediate resources needed, never mind 24 hours or 72 hours. 

 

When my youngest was on prescription elemental formula, I was always anxious about our supply, since insurance would only allow us to purchase a case every X number of days. Being down to a can or two before we could order (and then wait for delivery to the pharmacy and going to pick it up) was terrifying to me.  Fortunately, our pharmacy always did everything they could to expedite the process, knowing it was going to be paid for eventually.

 

But I have to admit, even I sometimes get low on supplies when we're not "supposed to" be in a high risk period, and I consider myself someone who takes this kind of stuff seriously.  

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 Speaking of medicine.  One of my co-workers at school has a daughter in the Houston area.  She called last week and asked to refill her medication early since it runs out this week.  Nope, they wouldn't do it.  She tried to explain that there was a hurricane coming.  It is a medication to prevent strokes, not pain medicine for heaven's sake.  So she is going to run out in a couple of days.  Her mom told her to have them take her to the hospital. ( This is serious, life saving medicine.  She has blood clots in her brain.)  I'm afraid there won't be anyone that could do that.  I'm not sure how she would get to the hospital, though I won't tell her that.    That insurance company makes me so incredibly mad.  She tried to be proactive.    But this is probably the case for some people.  Their medicines are starting to run out.  

 

This is what drives me insane. The tight control over life-saving drugs can easily kill people.

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We've had doctors double the prescription for one month in order to get ahead (then verbally told us to stay at the same dose) for lifesaving medication.

 

If it's not generic sometimes doctors have been able to give us samples to get an extra 3-6 weeks of medicine on hand.

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My mom currently lives on the water in Florida and she is prepared. She hasn't had to evacuate in quite a few years but she has everything always ready because she is in the first zone to evacuate should it happen. She doesn't keep extra food around because there is no point. She has to leave anyway and how much stuff can you really put into a convertible? She does have a few hotels though that she likes to go to if she has to evacuate that are well out of her area. 

 

I live far inland but we did get hit by Sandy (ironically I ended up giving birth to my youngest the week that all the other moms were having their Sandy babies... he was IVF). We have standby food, ways to cook it, and tons of candles and camping gear should we need it. I am also a foster mom but we don't have an infant at the moment so I don't have extra formula. I might think about doing that when we get an infant. It seems silly to me to not prepare for some sort of an emergency. It isn't like any of us are living in a bubble wrap world and things just can't happen to us. Today we are being hit by the remnants of some storm. I saw that yesterday we were going to be hit by this so I prepared mentally for what that could mean (short power outages or the like... Sandy we were only out for 12 hours after the storm left). Sure enough I go to get lunch and our power was out yesterday! Someone hit a powerline pole and it knocked out power for 20 minutes. My point is, emergencies happen when you least expect them!

 

As far as the flood insurance and people not paying into the system but expecting FEMA to help them, this I have a HUGE issue with. We have flood insurance. We have neighbors that have lived here since the 1950's who tell us this area has never flooded. We pay about $40 a month for our flood insurance (it has went up about $100 per year over the coarse of 9 years that we have been living here). If I were queen for the day I would require all owners to pay for flood insurance. It boggles my mind that lenders don't require it now! I would also require caps on the number of times a home could be rebuilt in a given time. You hear stories of homes being replaced 3-4 times and FEMA keeps paying out! Why not make them move? Clearly the water wants to be there! 

 

Just to be fair, I think most homeowners should also have earthquake insurance too (few exceptions if there is NO fault line anywhere near you... not sure where that is but there could be a place here or there in a country as vast as ours). I have inquired about it (as we have had earthquakes) and we can't get it. Strangely we can't get wind insurance either even though most claims paid out in this state are due to wind damage. Go figure!

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I don't know that your family memeber is necessarily typical. We tend to hear about the stupid things people do and not about the prepared people. I have a lot of family in that area, 7 different households. They all have plenty of supplies and food to last over a week.

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All people should determine the most likely natural disaster in their region (even if they are several hundred miles from it) and prep for it.

 

Prep for it little by little do it isn't a huge time or money drain. Prep for it while no one else is running to the stores. Prep for it by buying foods one uses already in recipes and buy many extras. Use a first in first out inventory method so no foods wait too long.

 

Buy jugs of water and store them in cool, sunless places. 1 gallon per person per day.

 

A 72 hour bag is essential. One for each able bodied person. Sure maybe those would have to be ditched or downsized as an emergency unfolds. I don't think that should be a reason not to do them. The point is grab and go!

 

Another PP said it, for those who do prep it takes burdens off the federal and state resources to help others. It's a very easy and selfless thing to do.

 

Also "there was not enough warning" or "people never thought" are exactly the reasons to properly prep. Never be caught with your pants down basically is what this amounts to. Don't rely on media or government to dictate to you what to do and when to do it. Be self sufficient.

 

This is physical insurance. You likely have your stuff and life insured. These preps are insurance against hunger, discomfort, and they do provide a sense of well being and calm.

 

There's always Murphy and so we can't prep for every contingency, but many contingencies can be planned for with minor forethought.

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You can get a generator for the same amount of money the disposable power pack has. They start at $200+ at the hardware store.

 

I just wanted to add to this excellent point. If you do own a generator, make sure that it is in good working order a few weeks before the hurricane season. Better yet, perform maintenance or have a shop do this for you annually. We just had our portable generator serviced, and it took a week to get it back (the service department is very busy). We have a Yamaha portable inverter (camping size) and took it to a Yamaha motorcycle dealer. 

 

The fuel gauge was so filled with gunk from old gasoline that it was stuck - we did not have an accurate reading and had no idea it was even an issue. Now the generator purrs nicely. Also, please do not leave fuel in the generator if you don't use it for long periods of time because you can get the issue we had - see above. You can add gasoline stabilizer, but I think it is only meant to buy you several months.

Edited by RosemaryAndThyme
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I think it is kind of typical, for the reasons stated above. The survived other storms, so this one will be fine. If you search, there is a thread here from when I was freaking out that a Cat 3 hurricane was coming and my parents were refusing to evacuate their barrier island and my sister hadn't bought ANY supplies for her house and her kids, not even a single flashlight!!! She figured her phone had a light, so what else did she need!!! No milk, no extras of the things her kids will eat (they are picky), no lanterns, nothing. She said she'd just go to mcdonalds if she lost power. Um..yeah.

 

Mind you, she has a PhD, is a school principal, and very smart normally. 

 

Meanwhile, I had windows boarded up to make a safe space (didn't have time to board the whole house), all the ice one could want, multiple coolers, extra propane for the grill, shelf stable food and snacks, battery operated lanterns, bottled water, extra batters, etc etc etc. 

 

Yep. That one was coming straight for us (and of course your sister and parents would get hit worse than me) and it took a truly last minute overnight turn away from us. Just a few miles offshore made all the difference. A lot of people, including my brother who lives on the beach, evacuated. What will they do next time? Will they remember the 2004 season? Or will they remember the most recent hurricane that didn't hit? 

 

We're always prepared. We board up our windows if a Cat 3 is expected. We've never been in an evacuation zone - my city is more high and dry than many coastal cities - but we evacuated once when we weren't told to. During Hurricane Floyd in 1999 we lived in a stucco over wood two story house which also had many large windows. Plus we had a 2yo. We didn't leave the area, just went to dh's parents house, which is a concrete block house. That was another one that only skirted us, and we would have been fine if we stayed home. If we're ever told to evacuate, we'll go. I know plenty of people who leave when they don't need to. I also know plenty who stay when they should go. 

 

The decision making process, especially if you weren't given an evacuation order, is complicated.

 

Edited by Lady Florida.
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A generator takes annual maintenance. Since our kids know how to camp and we don't have a freezer full of beef, we didn't do what all our neighbors did and put one in. Instead, they invite us over after dh does the maintenance and set up on the spot when theirs won't start.they don't know how to siphon or store fuel either. Some figure they will only need it once, and they don't set it up unles the storm really happens...they will return it if it doesn't. I have never seen a generator under 1500 here...must be a special order.

 

As far as prep, I mentioned to a friend one year that I was glad I was in good enough shape to lug water bottles up the dorm stairs, since the U asked students to preoare for three days with no power. They laughed at me. Didn't happen that year,but it did the next and again 18 months later. Guess which kid hosted his friends who had no food in the room and not even a flashlight or enough blankets/winter coat to sleep thru a cold night? At least they had the sense to come over before the roads closed. No winter boots either...they are accustomed to dashing in sneakers and hoodies. Never occurred to them that food service is shut down if the employees can't get in when roads are closed, and never realized the dorm doesn't have back up generators to provide power. Lots of people now who didn't grow up without electric or running water.

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We periodically talk about getting generator, but we don't lose power often enough or for long enough. I've lived here for 47 years (or my family has - I spent some time away at college and 5 years in Georgia). We've had a few hurricanes but mostly get tropical storms. The longest we lost power was during Hurricane Charley (2004) and that was for just under 2 days. 

 

Every time there is a storm and people lose power, there's always at least one story of someone using the generator incorrectly (i.e. inside the house) and either getting sick or dying from the exhaust fumes. 

Edited by Lady Florida.
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Is this common?  If so, WHY?!

I don't know if this is common, but I suspect that it is.

 

DS27 is a perfect example.  He calls himself a "minimalist."  He lives in a condominium in suburbia and likes that everything is "convenient."  He likes that someone else does virtually everything for him and that all he needs to do is go to work to pay the bills.  They cook, they clean, they mow the lawn, they do all the repairs on his home and on his car.  He stores NOTHING extra since he can just go purchase whatever when he needs it.

 

I guess he feels that money is completely fungible and that it can be converted into anything and everything that he ever needs.  The fallacy of that way of thinking is that money is only fungible IF the system is working and what you want to purchase is readily available.

 

And I suspect internet shopping makes this type of thinking even more common.  Want a pizza?  Get on the internet and order it.  Need some groceries?  Internet.

 

We are the exact opposite of our son.  We can probably weather just about anything that comes this way.  Perhaps that is the REAL reason he is the way he is.  :tongue_smilie:

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I think a number of things are at play, which have been touched on---faulty risk assessment, shock = fuzzy thinking, inability to solve some issues (medication) etc.  

 

A few things are different about Texas compared to where we have lived previously.....

1. The major cities (Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin) have grown exponentially in the last decade.  All of them have significant traffic issues because the infrastructure has not expanded enough to handle the amount of car traffic that is out there. Austin has a bit of light rail, but nothing that could move massive amounts of people up and out of danger.  If you need to get somewhere, you're doing it on a highway. There's no way to move 2.3 million people quickly.

 

2. The geography of Houston, Hill Country, and a lot of South Texas does not lend itself to managing large rainfalls easily.  There is real resistance to spending the money needed to really deal effectively with natural disasters.  I was completely shocked when I moved here and I realized that most of the roads were not banked properly, and the culverts aren't sized to deal with heavy rainfall.  The attitude here is that it will flood, the water will move away, and you move on. The sewer back flows with heavy rainfall because they won't dedicate the millions needed to deal with things---they keep getting extensions from the EPA.  

 

3. Corporations do stupid things, and the government lets them.  There are a ton of refineries in Baytown and Texas City, suburbs of Houston, in very low-lying areas which could contaminate a huge swath of Houston and very little is done to mitigate potential impacts. They know, on average, that a big hurricane like Harvey will hit every 15 years....this isn't an unknown risk, and yet there is little political will to hold them to account because oil = $ = jobs in TX.

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We live 10 miles from the Atlantic Ocean and Chesapeake Bay.  We do take hurricane prep seriously. If we hear that a hurricane is coming, here is my list:

 

- Check Medications and get them all in one place. (Refills can get tricky because we use mail order and insurance won't let us refill if it's too soon.)

- Check supply of bottled water and boxed/canned goods.

- Check supply of batteries/flashlights/lanterns.

- Get all our important papers and photo albums into 1 plastic bin in case we decide to evacuate.

- Check supply of cat litter and cat food. Get out cat carriers in case we evacuate.

- Fill up both cars with gas.

- Get cash out of the ATM.

- Pack a bag for each person.

- Fill bathtub and other containers with water.

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All people should determine the most likely natural disaster in their region (even if they are several hundred miles from it) and prep for it.

 

Prep for it little by little do it isn't a huge time or money drain. Prep for it while no one else is running to the stores. Prep for it by buying foods one uses already in recipes and buy many extras. Use a first in first out inventory method so no foods wait too long.

 

Buy jugs of water and store them in cool, sunless places. 1 gallon per person per day.

 

A 72 hour bag is essential. One for each able bodied person. Sure maybe those would have to be ditched or downsized as an emergency unfolds. I don't think that should be a reason not to do them. The point is grab and go!

 

Another PP said it, for those who do prep it takes burdens off the federal and state resources to help others. It's a very easy and selfless thing to do.

 

Also "there was not enough warning" or "people never thought" are exactly the reasons to properly prep. Never be caught with your pants down basically is what this amounts to. Don't rely on media or government to dictate to you what to do and when to do it. Be self sufficient.

 

This is physical insurance. You likely have your stuff and life insured. These preps are insurance against hunger, discomfort, and they do provide a sense of well being and calm.

 

There's always Murphy and so we can't prep for every contingency, but many contingencies can be planned for with minor forethought.

 

Go where?  I'm putting myself into the shoes of my friends in Houston right now.  They are in the 2nd story of their house, and the 2nd story is beginning to flood. From their perspective, it sounds kinda like this, "We have 72 hour kits.....but there is no ability to get OUT in an emergency.  The roads were too full of traffic to get out beforehand, and we thought that we were safer at home given how many people died on the roads with Hurricane Rita. I think we'll be ok because 1. it hasn't ever flooded at our house before, and 2. we've got a second story so even if it floods, we'll be ok.  In retrospect, I guess I could've gotten out after the first night. If I had left earlier, when the water was only hip deep in the street (and our house was still dry), my 4yo could've ridden out on my shoulders in a life jacket while I carried my 72 hr kit/backpack...which was going to get soaked, because I'm wading through chest high water which is full of sewage, alligators, and fire ants. I thought maybe the water was going to go down in the street since the rain had eased a bit, but it didn't.  Even if I had gotten out, I don't know where we could've gone. All of the roads in Houston are shut down, and there's no organized way to get to a shelter. Then the city officials released water out of the bayous, driving the water even higher.....  Now we can only go out on our air mattresses, because our HOA doesn't let us leave boats in our driveway.  I hope the air mattresses don't snag on any of the tree branches or vehicles underneath the water. I can no longer see the cars on the street.  The current is strong, so I have no ability to control it...  I guess the only other alternative is to punch a hole in the roof, and climb on top of that....

 

I mean, really, the situation is completely ridiculous. No city has the ability to handle 36" of rain, with a potential 20" coming on top of it.  The only choice is to leave, and Houston does not have the ability to evacuate its people. 

--------------

One of the new things I'm doing after this hurricane is putting my emergency binder into a 2 gallon bag and wrapping that in plastic tape, but I've got to tell you, I'm looking at life differently this week. I always thought we could evacuate by car, and I even have maps with various routes I thought I could take...but, nope. 

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Hurricane Harvey and it's aftermath has been the most flooding this country has ever seen.  In all of history.  It has been a first for every expert out there in every area of expertise.  So it's not hard to understand why John Smith was caught unawares as well.

 

*I know OP was not victim shaming.  She is asking the same question I have often wondered in many different types of disasters.  I just have some inside perspective for this one.   :)

 

 

 

This can not be said enough. Everyone armchair quarterbacking from other places has no idea, because no one had any idea. 

 

Houston floods, all the time. The same neighborhoods flood all the time. Those people know they will flood. 

In the most recent rain events (Tax Day flood was a big one for me) - it was an 800 year rain event! Completely unprecedented, and people in my area got water in their homes, but it wasn't life threatening. It was a big inconvenience, but hey. Same for Memorial Day. 

In all our floods, even 700-800 year rain events, there has never been anything like this, ever. Not even close.

 

I was here though Allison, Ike, Rita, Tax day, and every major storm in between. We know how to prep for a hurricane or tropical storm. THERE IS NO PREPPING for 50 inches of rain. 

 

Not to mention that by the time they knew we needed to worry about this, the stores were WIPED out and I could only get premium gas...because everyone was prepping. 

 

And on the flip side of the veterans...we are a city of transplants. SO many people move here for oil companies, the medical field, etc. And every time I talk to new people before a big storm, they say, "Oh, no we didn't get flood insurance, because we're not in the flood plain."  :scared:  And you try to politely inform them that that DOESN'T MATTER. They need flood insurance. But people from other places truly don't comprehend that. My house is not on the floodplain, my neighbors' houses aren't - we're going to be just fine. I have said MANY times that there needs to be a "Welcome to Houston" video from their companies that inform them of important and counter-intuitive stuff like this. They get their little kit with flashlights and get gas and food, but it takes being through it a time or two to know what is actually going to be useful. 

 

The standard measure for floods and hurricanes for Houston is to shelter in place! Get your flashlights, get your food and hunker down! And in the past, it has been good advice. Houston is pretty far off the coast. Leave the roads clear for people to the south who will get the bad winds and storm surge. The one time everyone tried to evac (because the pants were scared off them from Katrina) it was awful. They keep saying 2.3 million, because that's who is in city limits. But if you're talking about the population that would be on the road, the population that takes up the area that is being affected - it's 6 million people. Six Million. And 100 people died in that evac for a storm that DIDN'T EVEN HIT US. If I hear one more person ask why Houston didn't evacuate, I am going to punch someone through the computer.(Not here - on FB) I have not heard one current or former Houstonion ask that, because we ALL get it. Our city government is doing an AMAZING job through all of this, which is something I never thought I'd say. Just like they improved procedures after Allison, they'll change procedures after this too. Now that we know what areas will flood in a MILLION YEAR RAIN EVENT. I have a feeling with global warming we will see more and more of this. :( (There were one or two hundered year rain events here in the first 30 years of my life, and there have been three 500+ year rain events in the last 2 years. So...)

 

I also don't know who people are talking about leaving with nothing. I've been watching the local news for three days, and almost every person has as much as they can carry in bags. If someone came with nothing I'd assume unusual circumstances. 

Edited by Sk8ermaiden
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I admit I have a hard time with those who didn't even have a backpack of clothes and medicine when the water was clearly starting to surge and more was forecasted. It's just basic. But the evacuation issues are nobody's fault. This event metastasized and exploded in a way that wasn't remotely predictable to either individuals or the city, and the scope of the flooding was far beyond what was reasonable to expect based on historical norms that we have recorded.

 

Just like that catastrophic flooding in the south and Midwest two-ish years ago, you do what you have to do to compensate. There is predictable, there is severe, and there is wtfbbq there goes the entire quadrant?!

 

 

As a side note, an idea kicked around is that every property should have one free FEMA bailout in its history, and then subsequently disclosed to any future buyer the risk in that area, and if they choose to not adequately insure after evidence of the event history of the property and need for significant assistance that they should incur the financial impact of the event on a sliding scale if federal relief is demanded again. When you have the same property needing three or four bailouts in twenty years and the owner still isn't properly insured there is a big problem at hand and I'm not sure how reasonable it is to thin out the aid for other people suffering when it was predictable for, say, the coastal bungalow and NOT predictable for the apartment 100 miles inland that's out of a flood plain.

 

I'm not sure they'd ever do something like this but for federal disaster budget management it seems like a solution that could help quite a bit and still allow aid to be rendered. Who knows though?

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Victim blaming as people suffer and die in a natural disaster is bad form. 

 

My relative is only a "victim" of poor planning.  His house didn't take on any water and they won't lose a thing but neighbors around them seem totally unsurprised that the roads around them have flooded and trapped them in place for a while.  And he didn't think ahead for the foster children he and his wife took in.  Today he is saying that they will run out of precious coffee.  I just don't get it other than the fact that they have only lived in TX for a few years and have never been through a hurricane.

 

*Edited to add that I know no one could have predicted how bad the situation is.  My relative is very lucky that he's not dealing with water in his home and I guess it just as easily could have happened to him and then the bigger issue would have been escaping and not that he didn't go to the store for more than he did!  I was only asking why so many seem to be caught off guard about needing basic, bare minimum preparations so that they CAN shelter in place since that seems to be the typical thing one must do.  Once the situation changes from that it's a different story, of course.

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3. Corporations do stupid things, and the government lets them.  There are a ton of refineries in Baytown and Texas City, suburbs of Houston, in very low-lying areas which could contaminate a huge swath of Houston and very little is done to mitigate potential impacts. They know, on average, that a big hurricane like Harvey will hit every 15 years....this isn't an unknown risk, and yet there is little political will to hold them to account because oil = $ = jobs in TX.

 

Gently...

 

Do you work in the energy industry to have first hand knowledge of this? I'm a third generation energy industry employee with many family members employed in the industry including at these refineries you've mentioned. The above isn't in my experience at all.

 

Refineries are located around Baytown and Texas City because that's where many pipelines and tankers deliver and take away energy products. It's where storage facilities are located. It's where the knowledge base is. It's much cheaper to have a refinery near an established pipeline than build them from scratch.

 

I've worked with companies who've tried to build refineries and storage facilities elsewhere. No one wants them and many stand-alone refineries have closed over the years, the shut-in capacity just being added to current facility expansions.

 

Please don't assume that "very little" is done to mitigate these risks unless you work in the industry and see that yourself. And if you do work in the industry and see very little is being done, please report the company to the authorities. Regulators need to know.

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We lived in Florida for hurricane Andrew in an area it was due to hit directly.  We were actually sent home from the hospital as only ICU patients were to stay there. (my husband had a staph infection in his bone marrow which lead to blod clots traveling to his lungs, etc)   A nurse came to our home and showed me how to hook IV up to his PICC line and that was about it.  My husband refused to leave as he felt the long drive from south west Florida up north would be too difficult and dangerous and where would we go?  Everything was full.  We stocked up, put up storm shutters and hunkered down.  Honestly not the smartest plan, but they only one we had at the time.  If it had hit us directly it would  have been catastrophic.  Fortunately for us it went a few miles south to the Everglades and we just had wind and rain.  

 

We now live in Colorado where the 2013 flooding happened (100 yr flood)  We stayed dry but we were cut off for days from anywhere.  Fortunately my dad was listening to the weather reports and went and got my son from school early but a half an hour drive took 2 1/2 hours as he had to go way east and around the flooding to get him home.  School thought I was crazy to pick him up early but  all roads closed soon after.  We're pretty prepared here but honestly medications are the hardest as  people have said due to insurance companies refusing to fill early.  

 

I would guess a lot of people are at the end of their money for the month as well and don't have a lot of extra to spend to stock up early.  

 

 

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We prepare, but whether we would evacuate or not depends on the storm strength, potential for water inundation, and storm track.  We are in coastal southern Virginia and we make sure to have a week's work of provisions available (food, water, meds) if a Cat 2 or higher hurricane is headed our way.  We fill the bathtubs with water and have bottled and gallon-jug water at the ready, obtain cash, and gas up the cars.  We also have a sump pump in our basement that is backup water powered, a small propane stove, a gas generator if the power goes out, and flood insurance if it all hits the fan.  The problem with evacuations is the media often overblow things, so you really have to watch the weather satellite maps, the tides, and from what direction the wind is blowing in order to know if an approaching storm is going to be realistically dangerous to you or just an inconvenience.  Evacuating is extremely disruptive because people are expected at their jobs, it's an expensive adventure to evacuate, if the hurricane is really bad the authorities often don't let you return to tend your home, and many shelters do not allow pets (many people, myself included, would not abandon their pets).  In my glorious neck of the woods, post-storm looting would be an issue, as well, and many people stay to protect their properties.  Whether to stay or go is always a gamble based on the interaction of many factors, but in 20 years of living here, I have never evacuated.

 

As far as Houston goes, people didn't prepare or evacuate because the storm map did not originally point to the path Harvey eventually took, so Houstonians really were taken by surprise.  By the time the storm went on the path it did, it was too late to evacuate, so I wouldn't blame people in this instance.

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I work in pharmacy.

 

I quite often remind people to keep 1-2 week supply of medicine at home, and for people who are diabetic and need insulin, I suggest a month's supply at minimum.  The vast majority of insurance companies allow refills 5 days early.  If a patient does that a few months in a row, it is easy to get a stock pile started.   It takes barely a minute of planning to make sure the pills stay rotated to keep the supply fresh. The one that is hardest for people to build up a bit, is narcotic pain meds.  But even if they can't get a little supply of those on hand, at least keep Motrin/Tylenol or alternatives.  A little something may be better than nothing. I know that OTC meds won't necessarily touch severe pain, but it can help take the edge off for many people.

 

I personally keep a one month supply of all the important medicines at home. Not only for natural disasters, but for insurance complications and supply issues. 

 

Recently, dd18 started home infusion therapy.  I told the supplier I wanted to build up at least a week's supply at home and they balked at me. They insisted that if there was a problem and she needed more, they would courrier them to her.  My point to them, was that if there was a disaster, they wouldn't be able to courier them to us.  :banghead:   I am slowly getting a supply going, but it will take me awhile to get it built up to a level I am comfortable with. 

 

I keep anywhere from a week to a month of food on hand and several gallons of water per person (we always have other drinks too). We have medical kits and ways to keep warm.  Basic survival needs for about a week. 

 

We don't live in common hurricane/tornado area, but we do get some bad weather that can shut the city down. 

 

 

Edited by Tap
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My relative is only a "victim" of poor planning.  His house didn't take on any water and they won't lose a thing but neighbors around them seem totally unsurprised that the roads around them have flooded and trapped them in place for a while.  And he didn't think ahead for the foster children he and his wife took in.  Today he is saying that they will run out of precious coffee.  I just don't get it other than the fact that they have only lived in TX for a few years and have never been through a hurricane.

 

*Edited to add that I know no one could have predicted how bad the situation is.  My relative is very lucky that he's not dealing with water in his home and I guess it just as easily could have happened to him and then the bigger issue would have been escaping and not that he didn't go to the store for more than he did!  I was only asking why so many seem to be caught off guard about needing basic, bare minimum preparations so that they CAN shelter in place since that seems to be the typical thing one must do.  Once the situation changes from that it's a different story, of course.

I am assuming that the comment about the coffee is being posted on Facebook or some other social media?  I would take this comment as something being made by someone who is bored and anxious, given everything else going on around him.  

 

The problem in Houston now is that many people did plan and do what they needed to do to shelter in place, which is the prudent thing to do given what was predicted.  It doesn't matter how many gallons of water, nonperishable food, flashlights, batteries, etc. someone has if they are on the top of their roof in torrential rain.  People in Houston are used to rain; they are used to having to remain in place while there is water in the roads.  Stay put, don't travel is the best advice in that situation.  Unfortunately, those who heeded that advice found that they could not leave once there plans for sheltering in place were not workable.  

 

On Saturday, it could have easily been San Antonio or the DFW area that received torrential rain and tornadic activity.  Leaving Houston for one of those areas would not have been a reasonable option.  Now the people in southwest Louisiana have a mess.  They can't travel west if they need to evacuate.  Heading east isn't reasonable.  There are only so many options for traveling north and that is not necessarily getting out of the path of the storm.  

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Just to be fair, I think most homeowners should also have earthquake insurance too (few exceptions if there is NO fault line anywhere near you... not sure where that is but there could be a place here or there in a country as vast as ours). I have inquired about it (as we have had earthquakes) and we can't get it.

 

Earthquake insurance is something like triple the cost of regular homeowner's insurance AND has a 15% deductible. So we would have to come up with six figures just to make up the gap between what the cost to rebuild would be and what insurance would pay. If FEMA really didn't help those without earthquake insurance, we'd just buy a trailer and stick it on our property. It would cost less than the deductible on earthquake insurance.

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I admit I have a hard time with those who didn't even have a backpack of clothes and medicine when the water was clearly starting to surge and more was forecasted. It's just basic. But the evacuation issues are nobody's fault. This event metastasized and exploded in a way that wasn't remotely predictable to either individuals or the city, and the scope of the flooding was far beyond what was reasonable to expect based on historical norms that we have recorded.

 

Just like that catastrophic flooding in the south and Midwest two-ish years ago, you do what you have to do to compensate. There is predictable, there is severe, and there is wtfbbq there goes the entire quadrant?!

 

 

As a side note, an idea kicked around is that every property should have one free FEMA bailout in its history, and then subsequently disclosed to any future buyer the risk in that area, and if they choose to not adequately insure after evidence of the event history of the property and need for significant assistance that they should incur the financial impact of the event on a sliding scale if federal relief is demanded again. When you have the same property needing three or four bailouts in twenty years and the owner still isn't properly insured there is a big problem at hand and I'm not sure how reasonable it is to thin out the aid for other people suffering when it was predictable for, say, the coastal bungalow and NOT predictable for the apartment 100 miles inland that's out of a flood plain.

 

I'm not sure they'd ever do something like this but for federal disaster budget management it seems like a solution that could help quite a bit and still allow aid to be rendered. Who knows though?

Can they get insurance? I can't. I have been through the 100 year flood with just 18 inches in the basement as the water table rose. I am not near enough to the creek and I am at a high point, so I am not expecting more until the 1000 year flood comes unless the people around me build improperly.

 

Hurricane Irene was historic in that the Albany NY area needed a Tropical Storm Warning. That area was never previously considered to be in the zone.

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One reason might be that TV news hypes severe weather so much that people don't take it seriously. 

 

 

So many hurricanes get so hyped up by the media every year only to fizzle out that when there actually *IS* a serious one like a Harvey/Sandy/Katrina/Andrew people may be too jaded to realize the danger. The whole "Boy Who Cried Wolf" phenomenon. :(

 

 

Not picking on you two specifically, but to me this attitude is part of the problem.  Weather is not an exact science.  The weather people are doing their job when they warn that a storm or hurricane *might* get really bad.  Do people (general people) really think that it's possible to forecast which ones will fizzle out and which ones won't?  And then when the one *doesn't* fizzle out, they could be responsible for the deaths of thousands if they didn't warn anyone?

 

If a warning doesn't develop into something dangerous, people should count themselves lucky and not accuse the weather people of "crying wolf". 

 

(Side note: MIL stated before the hurricane that weathermen are always over-hyping now just to advance their global warming agenda.  :glare: Yeah, let's just ignore them instead...)

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FWIW, it would be very poor planning on so many levels to try evacuating a city with millions upon millions of people in it, especially since historically the majority of this very large city and its suburbs do not flood.  What you would end up with would be millions of people trapped on crowded highways and ending up needing rescuing, possibly drowning, but rescue vehicles being blocked from coming in because someone had the bright idea to try evacuating a city that size on the possibility that the Hurricane would be large enough and come in at just the right angle to cause massive, unprecedented flooding.  Based on past history trying to mass evacuate Houston actually COSTS lives.

 

I have family and friends in Houston.  I live in South Texas.  Everyone I know (including my own family) packed bags and tried to prepare just in case.  We have meds packed, papers packed, change of clothing, we had carriers out for the animals, etc.  I can't think of a single person I know personally that didn't try to prepare.  Implying that the majority did not (which is what some people on social media are trying to imply) is honestly insulting.  Maybe they are basing that assessment on a few that didn't.  It certainly has not been my experience with Harvey.  The store shelves here are still nearly empty (supplies got cut off for a bit).  They were nearly stripped clean very quickly after it became clear Harvey could become dangerous.  DH got extra meds for me even though insurance wouldn't cover it, just in case.  We spent several days preparing, just in case, and so did my mother and neighbors and DH's coworkers.  My relatives in Houston very definitely tried to prepare. Even my brother in San Antonio was preparing, just in case.

 

Did every single person prepare?  No, I'm sure some people out there did not.  I don't know anyone personally that didn't do prep but yes I'm sure some did not.  There will always be those that don't.  But a TON of us did.  With a couple of exceptions, most I know (including us) did not evacuate because based on where each of us live it seemed exceedingly unlikely that we would have flood conditions and the better option was to stay in place, not clog up roads, and batten down the hatches.  Those directly along the coast (including Corpus) that I know DID evacuate and well before the storm hit.  There were some that, because of their jobs, needed to stay as long as possible and unfortunately got cut off before they could get out.  They are safe but had to slog through water to get to safety.  They absolutely had emergency bags packed, though. My relatives and friends in Houston did not evacuate but they absolutely prepared.  Preparation won't prevent their homes from flooding or needing to be evacuated but they definitely prepared to the best of their ability.  I have two friends I have not heard from so I cannot guarantee they prepared but they are careful and I'm sure had some sort of preparations in place.  

 

This situation is unprecedented.  There is waaaaaaayyyyyyyy more water coming into the Houston area than has ever occurred before.  

Edited by OneStepAtATime
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