OK - so last week everyone in southern Louisiana and Southern

[hedgehog]

Mississippi got out of town ahead of Gustav. Rightly so, since when the deadline for evacuation came, Gustav looked bad. So all those people got out and ended up spending money they didn't have for a motel room or else ended up crammed into a crummy shelter. (I'm thinking of the folks who ended up at an empty Sam's Club warehouse with 4 toilets and 4 sinks!) Then Gustav didn't do much.

How many of those people will skip town ahead of Ike next week-end? How many volunteers will show up to help ahead of time?

[FirstLight]

1. Good point...

and money spent for hotels or people who have none because of the last evac could cause some problems. IMHO, if you know a natural disaster of any strength is bearing down on you...get the fuck outta there!
(It sucks that there's no way to see an earhquake coming like a hurricane, because I would have gotten the hell away from Loma Prieta no questions asked!!!)

But there may be more problems this time around since money is short and resources are scarce in so many communities and in local govt... he rethugs just wanted to make a good show for the Convention? that's a scary thought...
All I can do is pray for those in harm's way

[Purveyor]

2. Could be a problem...indeed! eom

[Wilber_Stool]

3. You might remember that all of the

career pros quit at the Hurricane Center after Katrina. Didn't like the way they were treated and scapegoated. I think the new guys were chosen the same way everyone is in this administration. That's why they missed it.

[hedgehog]

4. I don't think it's a case of missing anything. Weather forecasting is

up against chaos theory; there are limits to how far out you can forecast anything because of all the variables. Right now Nagin is being accused of exaggerating the hazard, but I think he was reacting to the best information he could get at the time. If it takes 36-48 hours to evacuate a city we're always going to have false alarms.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

5. Close...

They ended up on the West Side of Oklahoma City at the Old Lucient Technology Plant. They hurriedly set up the shelter. Apparently Oklahoma City is a good place to send people for evacuation. Who know?
What I do know is this time when it comes to Ike, if it hits it is going to be NASTY, but they aren't going to leave again because of how Gustav wasn't.
Duckie

[Saphire]

6. Some of them haven't gone back...there have been some stuck in

towm because they don't have the funds to go home, much less leave again.

[magellan]

7. If they're smart they'll listen to emergency management officials

...and get out if told to do so. Weather forecasting will never be 100% perfect, and with LA there's the added unknown risk due to the levees as Katrina proved.

We evacuated three times in 2004 within about a month and returned to minimal to no damage each time (apart from being without power for a week after Charley). Exhausting as that was, and as much as we hate the idea of having to do it again, if the call came to leave, we would.

Better safe than sorry.