For those of you who don't or have never lived in a area affected by hurricanes, allow me to explain to you why they are so dangerous. Of course we know all about the the wind, storm surge, and flooding, but that's not what makes them so dangerous. For those growing up on the East Coast and especially the Gulf Coast where I am from, we have a few of these things threaten every year. All I can remember of hurricanes was sitting around watching the Weather Channel. You couldn't go anywhere or do anything so you just sit, wait, and sit some more. You can only watch Jim Cantore (sp?) so many times before you asking for a tree to fall on you.
The problem is that generally hurricane warnings are so mundane, so boring, and span such a large area that you ride them out and nothing happens. This is what happened with Katrina. Everyone thought it was just another hurricane but it wasn't. No one had any sense of urgency and they got caught napping. For those of you who live here in California, imagine if there was a way to give an Earthquake Warning. They would tell you 10-15 times a year that an Earthquake was coming and like most of our earthquakes they'd be little tremors (like what they felt in the Midwest earlier this year and totally freaked) or would hit 60 miles away and all you would hear was the news report. If that happened we would be bored with Earthquake warnings and wouldn't worry about it.
Imagine the scene in Austin Powers where the guy is in front of the steam roller but doesn't move out of the way. Hurricanes move painfully slow and most people don't get out of the way, but when they hit you, they flatten you. How about that for an extended metaphor?
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The problem is that generally hurricane warnings are so mundane, so boring, and span such a large area that you ride them out and nothing happens. This is what happened with Katrina. Everyone thought it was just another hurricane but it wasn't. No one had any sense of urgency and they got caught napping. For those of you who live here in California, imagine if there was a way to give an Earthquake Warning. They would tell you 10-15 times a year that an Earthquake was coming and like most of our earthquakes they'd be little tremors (like what they felt in the Midwest earlier this year and totally freaked) or would hit 60 miles away and all you would hear was the news report. If that happened we would be bored with Earthquake warnings and wouldn't worry about it.
Imagine the scene in Austin Powers where the guy is in front of the steam roller but doesn't move out of the way. Hurricanes move painfully slow and most people don't get out of the way, but when they hit you, they flatten you. How about that for an extended metaphor?
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