So I'm going to repeat, in its entirety, my post from EXACTLY one year ago:
As I write this, Katrina hasn't made landfall. By the time I get up tomorrow, she will have done most of her damage to NOLA and the shores of Mississippi and Alabama.
This doesn't feel like it's going to turn out well. Especially since I've never EVER read a government weather report where the writer has so thoroughly lost his nut. They pulled it off the NOAA website, but Drudge still had the text:
Urgent Weather Message from NWS New Orleans
DEVASTATING DAMAGE EXPECTED
HURRICANE KATRINA MOST POWERFUL HURRICANE WITH UNPRECEDENTED STRENGTH...RIVALING THE INTENSITY OF HURRICANE CAMILLE OF 1969. MOST OF THE AREA WILL BE UNINHABITABLE FOR WEEKS...PERHAPS LONGER. AT LEAST ONE HALF OF WELL CONSTRUCTED HOMES WILL HAVE ROOF AND WALL FAILURE. ALL GABLED ROOFS WILL FAIL...LEAVING THOSE HOMES SEVERELY DAMAGED OR DESTROYED.THE MAJORITY OF INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS WILL BECOME NON FUNCTIONAL. PARTIAL TO COMPLETE WALL AND ROOF FAILURE IS EXPECTED. ALL WOOD FRAMED LOW RISING APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL BE DESTROYED.
CONCRETE BLOCK LOW RISE APARTMENTS WILL SUSTAIN MAJOR DAMAGE...INCLUDING SOME WALL AND ROOF FAILURE. HIGH RISE OFFICE AND APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL SWAY DANGEROUSLY...A FEW TO THE POINT OF TOTAL COLLAPSE. ALL WINDOWS WILL BLOW OUT. AIRBORNE DEBRIS WILL BE WIDESPREAD...AND MAY INCLUDE HEAVY ITEMS SUCH AS HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES AND EVEN LIGHT VEHICLES. SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES AND LIGHT TRUCKS WILL BE MOVED. THE BLOWN DEBRIS WILL CREATE ADDITIONAL DESTRUCTION.
PERSONS...PETS...AND LIVESTOCK EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL FACE CERTAIN DEATH IF STRUCK. POWER OUTAGES WILL LAST FOR WEEKS...AS MOST POWER POLES WILL BE DOWN AND TRANSFORMERS DESTROYED. WATER SHORTAGES WILL MAKE HUMAN SUFFERING INCREDIBLE BY MODERN STANDARDS.
THE VAST MAJORITY OF NATIVE TREES WILL BE SNAPPED OR UPROOTED. ONLY THE HEARTIEST WILL REMAIN STANDING...BUT BE TOTALLY DEFOLIATED. FEW CROPS WILL REMAIN. LIVESTOCK LEFT EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL BE KILLED.
AN INLAND HURRICANE WIND WARNING IS ISSUED WHEN SUSTAINED WINDS NEAR HURRICANE FORCE...OR FREQUENT GUSTS AT OR ABOVE HURRICANE FORCE...ARE CERTAIN WITHIN THE NEXT 12 TO 24 HOURS. ONCE TROPICAL STORM AND HURRICANE FORCE WINDS ONSET...DO NOT VENTURE OUTSIDE!
Oh, my God.
Uninhabitable areas? Check.
Roof failure? Check.
Weeks of power outages? Widespread destruction? Human suffering incredible by modern standards?
Check, check and check.
In fact, you could argue that this guy was being conservative.
The only reason I dredge this up is because I'm TIRED of the blame game. Face it: the local governments failed. The state governments failed. The federal government failed. And, the damn people who were supposed to be responsible for themselves and their families FAILED.
Katrina was a bitch and nearly everyone, even though they had warning days before this little gem of a forecast, was taken by surprise. Here's the deal: if you are the head of a household, your first responsibility is to take care of you and all those depending on you. Not easy for some. Impossible for others. But if you're healthy, able, and have a couple of brain cells to spare for those around you, then be a frickin' grownup. You may need a plan. You may not get some "agency" to save you.
In the end, you may just have to do it yourself.
Revolutionary concept, I know.
And one I keep in mind every day -- if something happens, if my son needs me, will I buckle down and do what I need to do? I sure as hell hope so. Because, and this takes some perspective too, I know I'm the only one who really cares about us.
Agencies and governments can only "care" in the most abstract of terms. They don't know you personally. They don't know what you had for breakfast, where you like to hang out, or what kind of crap you keep in your junk drawer. So don't think for a second that when all hell breaks loose, they're going to come straight to your house in a helicopter and spirit you away to a soft, warm bed and some cocoa.
Am I being harsh? Maybe. Am I tired of the constant whining and sense of entitlement that seems to permeate our society? Definitely.
Mostly, though, I'm being real.
Katrina was a real threat. She did real, lasting damage. And a lot of people, no matter what title they held, no matter who they worked for, really screwed up. So either we learn or we don't. Either we go forward or we keep wallowing in what's past. Either we stand up or we keep falling down.
And the first step to doing the right thing is to stop pleading ignorance. Stop pointing fingers.
Start being accountable.
2 comments:
I remember reading your post last year...and then reading it again after Katrina hit.
It was horrible, and made even more horrible by the mistakes that were made, and more horrible yet by the finger pointing that ensued.
BTW...welcome back.
Thanks, Shanny.
It's amazing how angry I still am -- at nearly everyone involved. For every heartwarming story of things being done right, there seemed to be two about things being done wrong.
I know the media prefers the latter, because it makes more dramatic reporting. Still (and I guess I should have disclosed this before), I'm in my second year of doing "preparedness" campaigns for the Clark County Health District. Our first message is always, "we're ready, but you need to watch out for yourself first."
It's just common sense.
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