Category 5 Storm

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I won't get into the New Orleans thing on the aftermath, but Katrina did not do much damage at all. The levee failures did, and it seems like the media has short term memory disease.



It was also forgotten that Katrina passed over our area first, with little damage before continuing on to the Gulf.



Wilma on the other hand, whacked us good. Wilma was the most powerful storm to hit our county since 1965.



I was raised in a beach town in the SE, so preparation is nothing new. I had 20 gals of fuel in containers, 2 full propane tanks, fuel in all vehicles, a car battery with a solar panel to recharge, 2 Honda generators, plenty of food, and oh yes 30,000 gals of water in the pool......



The county emergency manager out in the western part of North Dakota I suppose, could be classified an inconsiderate idiot for drawing parallels with his dribble.
 
people....people who need people...are the luckiest people in the world :)





You know what I like about the wild wild west....



the fact that no matter what, we help our neighbors out. good bad or indifferent.

We will do this and ask for nothing in return.



Those Dakota folks are wonderful people, their matter-of-fact attitude gets them through much.. They have some serious long winters there- some of the harshished around the country. (not to exclude other states that get hit hard as well)



Kudos to them their neighbors and the truckers and business owners that gave and helped without asking for anything. We could ALL learn from their actions, because the bottom line is That they helped each other out without BS. ACTIONS speak louder than words. The story was touching.



Have a nice day! :)
 
Just thought I'd add my two cents. I lived in Buffalo, NY for most of my life and was in three blizzards there. (Buffalo NY is flat and lake Erie is the shallowest of the great lakes and freezes quickly).



I now live in Florida where I was only in the outer fringes of a Hurricane which was not even close to the catagory that hit N.O. Just want to say that I was a bit more concerned about that Hurricane than any of those three blizzards.



Also, correct me if I am wrong; but it is my understanding that much of the "looting" that occurred in N.O. was for food. After folks being without sustanance for a day or two I can certainly understand it. It is also my understanding that the looted food was shared as it could not be stored and would have gone bad anyway. Not that I would condone all that occurred there as there were some pretty bad things that happened and things just got worse very quickly.



Just my two cents.
 
Humans can never be totally prepared against the force of Nature.



Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Tornadoes, Floods and Cyclones strike the Earth every year. The level of destruction usually can be minimized by having a plan of action before the event strikes. In the case of the Indian ocean Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina we have very good examples of how many lives can be lost by poor planning.
 
Main thing is be prepared for what your area runs into as best you can. Where I live the only issue is occasional floods, so then don't live near the frikken river. If MY house gets flooded, it's way past time to build an ark and load the animals two-by-two. Although in 9/04 we got a "500-year flood" where not only did the rivers rise a lot, but water runs downhill and a lot of towns not anywhere near the rivers were under water too. In N.O. people were told way ahead of time to get out and a lot of them didn't do it. I still saw plenty of flooded cars on the news too.
 
I live 50 miles north of new orleans. New Orleans did not have a major storm, mississippi did. What we have is the scum of the earth that crawled out after the storm plus a city built where a city should not be. If you look up from your home and see ships passing by at a higher elevation then your at....(on the other side of the levee) then that should be a hint.



I have lived here for 20 years....I have the right to tell it like it is.
 
Frankly I don't think they should bother rebuilding most of N.O. because no matter what you do and how much (of my tax dollars) you spend, when you're already below sea level it's just going to happen again. It's not nice to fool mother nature.
 
I agree that the original post is about personal responsibility. I have lived in the Mid - Atlantic States where snowfall from a storm could reach 40" with drifts of 6-8 feet. I remember getting snowed in for over a week because we lived on a country road that was one of the last to see a plow. Even a 4X4 isn't going to get you through that much snow. I've lived in Alaska where the cold is beyond uncomfortable and going outside ill-prepared is a sure way to end up dead. I have served time in the desert where temperatures in the shade are near 130 and 145 in the sun. I now live in Florida and have had my share of Hurricanes, power loss etc. In all of these instances preparedness is the Key. On the TV here in FL, they spend all spring telling folks what to put in their "hurricane kit" and the phone books have the evacuation routes. The same goes for up north. You couldn't turn on the TV without reminders about wearing layers of clothes, covering exposed flesh, stocking up on supplies etc. In that sense there is NO difference between the need for personal responsibility during any natural disaster. Pop Quiz... What causes the most weather related deaths each year? Answer - Floods. Of course it doesn't conjure up the sensationalized images of tornadoes, hurricanes or blizzards... but most of you knew this answer. Why??? Because you can't turn on the TV without seeing this (National Flood Insurance commercials... The Weather Channel, etc.). So how is it a city that is built below sea level and surrounded by water could be without such a plan to address this threat???? Ask anyone that is from New Orleans... they can tell you the answer... I'll give you a clue... It's NOT because FEMA didn't do their job or because Bush caused global warming. Ask anyone from New Orleans where the money for the levees went.



Holy cow… I didn’t realize I typed so much. Sorry guys. :blink:

 
The saddest part about the whole thing is that all these dollars were funneled away from the levees, causing so much death and destruction, and no one is going to prison over it.
 
Less than 24 hours after Wilma went through South Florida... folks were standing in line to get free food and ice. This was after Katrina and folks had plenty of warning. How is it that some folks who stay in place don't have the common sense to stock up on water, ice and non-persihable food and THEN have the nerve to blame the government. Maybe they hoped at the end of the long lines would be a blue $2,000 debit card. It really makes me sick.
 
I also heard that a couple times environmental-nutball groups went to court to prevent rebuilding or strengthening the levees. Regardless, I think living underwater is a bad idea. Just because something has always been there doesn't mean it always has to be there. Flatten it and build a "New New Orleans" about 50 miles north on higher ground.
 
I'm 34 years old andI moved out of Greater New Orleans 3 years ago. Some of the CRAP I'm reading here is being posted by ignorant people who have NO CLUE what kid of damage the storm did... not talking about flooding here... I'm not talking about a drop of water. The wind damage alone was insane. Billboards folded in half. Self-storage buildings shredded. Homes with roofs torn completely off. Every tree on some blocks downing powerlines. Oaks and pines cutting houses and cars in half. Brick buildings falling apart. Keep in mind that this was another 15 miles west of the city. Driving in only made it worse. Saying that people stayed just to get $2000 is idiotic. Some people here need to get a clue or STFU, drive their asses down here, and take a long hard look for themselves.
 
I seen and talked to many folks that had to leave N.O. while I was down around Houston and Porter, Texas. I really feel for all of those folks. So many lost everything. Until we can put ourselves in their shoes we should not judge the majority. Most of what we all saw on TV was typical News drama, geared for the grab of ratings. Lets not forget all those hard working folks, the elderly, families/children loss of life.
 
LSU - Please excuse me for not STFU... First I don't think anyone said that Katrina victims stayed to get $2000 debit cards. I've read the post twice and don't see anything like that. Bill V stated that no one in ND got a debit car for their storm and I jokingly stated that maybe the folks affected by Wilma stood in line hoping to get $2K. It sure makes a lot more sense then standing in a HUGE line less than 24 hours after a storm to get ice, food and water when they should have already been prepared. This happened AFTER Katrina so everyone’s sense of urgency should have been heightened.



I also don't think any of us "ignorant people" stated that there was insignificant damage in New Orleans. I have seen damage like you describe from a CAT1 storm so I could only imagine what a CAT2 or CAT3 winds could do. The gulf coast was devastated. There was destruction in New Orleans caused by wind but nothing compared to the coast of Mississippi. The greatest amount of damage to New Orleans from Katrina DID come from the flooding.



I can imagine that this is an emotional topic for you but please take a deep breath and re-read if you so choose with an open mind. No one is stating that Katrina victims didn't have it bad or that a snow storm is worse than Katrina. The point of the post is that people need to accept responsibility for their actions. Individuals need to ensure they have a plan to evacuate. Local officials need to have plans in place to evacuate and/or care for those who are unable to evacuate.

 
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