Re: 2011 Atlantic Hurricane Season
Here's the thing to it (this isn't at you, wally, this is just a comment in general)... the more aware and prepared you are the less there is to panic about. The usual issue is that people are keen to ignore things and so the other side of it kicks up... the over-reaction to protect those who under react.
For myself, i take a look at the forecast and take a look at what's going on... I had ideas for what I'd do for a few different scenarios. In my case, I had it gamed out that unless there was a catastrophic situation that I wasn't going anywhere... but even then, you watch the news... i figured 40-60 mph winds... I've seen that before in 1991. We probably got more like 25-35. Now, for me, I was very well insulated. I decided to get prepared a few days in advance before the panic rush. I did groceries on Thursday. Bought some extra batteries... etc. Wally has been through quite a few coastal storms in maine... he knew what he was going to do.... bottom line... if you ignore the hype and take some tact in regards to what's going on then you'll usually be fine. You're far more likely to be caught unprepared for earthquakes and tornadoes. Something like this... yes, things can be... but if you're thinking ahead its harder to put yourself into a bad position.
Hype is for other people really, I don't spend a whole lot of time watching local network news unless there is a storm like this coming along... but even then I don't listen to them. The easiest way to not deal with hype is not to care about the hype.
To me, the lasting image of Irene coverage was that idiot, covered head to toe in sh*t mousse, doing a "liver." Classic. Every single one of these morons, without exception, figures he's gonna be the next Dan Rather. There's a reason why we have 5 categories of hurricane, because they vary widely in their potential for causing damage. Andrew, which may have been a 5 or a 4 when it made landfall, flattened over 50K homes. Not damaged, flattened. As a result, major rewrites in Florida building codes. This storm never had the potential to do that, but you would have never known it by the tone of the coverage. As I've said before, tone is my main beef here. Apocalypic. Scary. Frightening.
Now you have to allow for the fact that millions of people in that path of this thing had little experience with hurricanes. But it seems to me, hitting the "Hype" button on the coverage is not calculated to help them make good decisions, it's calculated to increase and hold on to a larger audience. I haven't read it yet, but it's my understanding the NYT has an article this morning talking about the "most destructive hurricane to hit the east coast in decades." I guess the one that hit 8 years ago (Isabelle? Cat. 2) and did much more damage, doesn't count.
Look, this thing was bad enough. People killed. Property destroyed. Flooding. Four million without power. And judging by the looks of it, Vermont really got whacked. Some people's lives will forever be changed. And some people will be monstrously inconvenienced 'til their power is restored. But with all of that, it could have been much worse. And our local and cable "reporters" could have tried to put a little context and perspective in their "reporting," instead of looking for a lagoon of whipped sh*t to report from.
Preparation is something many (most?) folks on the gulf coast do as a matter of course. When the season approaches, they check their hurricane supplies to make sure they've got what they need. Remember the picture of the guy on his balcony outside his French Quarter apartment after Katrina? He was having an adult beverage, with a shotgun across his lap, and a generator humming beside him. HE was prepared.
I guess hyping one of these things is inevitable, but that doesn't make it not hype.
. Wind has died down some. Power out everywhere around me, not sure how long it will be out?
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