Reflections on Rita and Katrina

I'm listening to the Houston news stations. While I wish ever so much that Hurricane Katrina had not devasted New Orleans three years ago, I think that it taught our country some valuable lessons. We weren't prepared when Katrina hit. We learned more with the mass evacuations for Hurricane Rita.

For Hurricane Gustav and now for Hurricane Ike, we, as a nation, have much better plans in place. The buses and ambulances are already transporting special needs patients and people who can't get themselves out of harms way. The teams are already in place to begin the rescue operations after the hurricane strikes.

I've also been glad to hear that fuel trucks are standing by to avoid the problems encountered with the evacuation for Rita!

I wish that we were not getting hit by so many storms this year, but I'm glad to see that we're doing a better job protecting our citizens.

We've obviously allocated more public money to help prevent loss of life from these terrible storms. This is a good thing. Even so, each family that evacuates has their own set of expenses - gasoline costs, lodging costs, and then potential repair costs or rebuilding costs when they return home. Not to mention the loss of family heirlooms and personal items that people are not able to take with them. I am glad to see the news media, the public officials, and the people who live here take these storms seriously.

I don't like the current projected path. The area between Galveston and Houston is heavily populated. While there are not levees to break, storm surges and flooding can damage and destroy many people's homes. I'm praying tonight that the storm does not reach Category 4 and that it comes in in lesser populated areas. I'm praying that people do heed the warnings and find safe shelters to ride out the storm.

While there are many areas that are already under mandatory evacuation, the city of Galveston behind the seawall is not under mandatory evacuation. The seawall is an impressive structure - that certainly raised all of the land near the coast about 10 feet - enough for many storm surges. Another amazing solution to avoid the disaster that happened here in 1900.

Time for bed - and contemplating whether to take my sunrise shots in the morning, check what we need to do for the condo, and see if we need to head back home and watch the rain and flooding our home area is likely to get.

Disaster Preparation

I have to agree with my friend, Bettye's viewpoint in her Save Yourself blog that being prepared for emergencies is a personal responsibility. Most of us are procrastinators and because disasters and emergencies are infrequent happenings for most of us, we grow complacent. I know that I periodically fix up a first aid kit, put it in the car and forget about it. When the kids were small, things would get used - and then not always get replaced. At home recently, Henry cut his foot, I had to go out to the RV to find everything I needed, I had not recently replaced bandaids and Neosporin in the house. I always have food in my pantry, but I don't go and regularly clean out the cans that have probably been around several years. So whereas we would eat . . . . . some of the cans might have food that might not be edible. We have a pond in the back yard, but I don't have any water purification supplies (like backpackers use). We did recently purchase a generator - Thomas' house fire provided a good excuse. It is small, loud, and I doubt that we will have a lot of fuel on hand because gasolene "ages" attracting water and clogging carbuerators.

Here's an updated list from the California emergency planning for disastrous earthquakes . . . . . . updated since Katrina.

For the full article from the Los Angeles Times:
Southland Not Ready For Disaster

At home

• Nonperishable packaged or canned food
• A gallon of water per person per day (Replace every six months and count pets as family members)
• Manual can opener
• First aid kit and handbook
• Clothing, rain gear and sturdy shoes
• Blankets or sleeping bags
• Portable radio and flashlight, with spare batteries
• Essential medications
• List of family physicians and the style and serial number of medical devices, such as pacemakers
• Extra pair of eyeglasses
• Extra set of house and car keys
• Toilet paper, toiletries and feminine hygiene items
• Fire extinguisher
• Pet food, water and leash or carrier
• Cash and small change
• Water purification kit or unscented liquid bleach (eight drops per gallon when water is first stored)
• Any special foods and supplies for babies, the disabled or the elderly
• Plastic eating utensils, paper cups and plates
• Heavy-duty aluminum foil
• Paper towels
• Knife or razor blades
• Candles and light sticks
• Matches in waterproof container
• Work gloves and broom
• Hammer and nails
• Coils of rope and wire
• Ax, crowbar and shovel
• Small tool kit
• Cheesecloth (to strain water)
• Large and small plastic bags
• Two tarps, 8 feet by 10 feet
• Local street map and compass
• Paper, pens and stamps
• Entertainment pack of family photos, notebooks, reading material and games

In the car

• Nylon tote or day pack
• Bottled water
• Nonperishable food
• Manual can opener
• Transistor radio, flashlight and extra batteries
• First aid kit
• Gloves
• Blanket or sleeping bags
• Sealable plastic bags
• Moist towelettes
• Small tool kit
• Matches and lighter
• Walking shoes and extra socks
• Change of clothes
• Cash (small bills and coins)
• Local street map and compass

At work

• Dry food, such as candy bars, dried fruit, jerky and crackers
• Water or orange juice
• Tennis shoes or walking shoes
• First aid kit
• Flashlight and portable radio with extra batteries
• Matches
• Small and large plastic bags
• Toiletries
• Entertainment pack of family photos, notebooks, reading material and games

For other life threating situations, I've heard that having family photographs with you can help provide the "will to live", helping provide incentive to keep on fighting to live to stay with your loved ones.

Things to ponder. . . . . . .

Katrina - More good things

I do a lot of web surfing each day - finding news articles that interest me and following themes that have caught my attention. As with most of the United States, Katrina and its aftermath have been on my mind. Within a week of the storm, I found several blog sites, but one stayed on my radar. It was the blog of a computer specialist who stayed in New Orleans to keep up the system. I found it from the CNN broadcasts. But once I started reading it, it was compelling enough that I continued reading it. Michael Barnett not only weathered the storm but kept computers and the internet live and running for his company from the Central Business District in New Orleans.

While Michael has recently left to join his fiance, the blog is being continued by his replacement. The entire blog is worth reading, but I want to direct your attention especially to the blog from 5:05 pm, September 12th where there are stories of eight people who went above and beyond in their efforts to help people.

Michael Barnett's Hurricane Katrina Blog

Katrina - Looking for the Good

While my TV watching on Katrina has greatly diminished, I was pleased to see CNN's showcasing the "Angels" on a restaurant TV.

I am also pleased that the people coordinating the shelters and housing in Texas are finding apartments and getting people moved fairly quickly to more permanent quarters. Many of these new situations include 6 months of free rent! This should give people time to get established in their new homes. Also, Austin is already organizing a job fair. I'm sure that the other Texas cities are also doing that. I saw that the government is looking to hire people to help with the cleanup.

I've heard unofficiallly that 80% of New Orleans evacuated. While conditions were horrible at the Superdome in the days after the hurricane, it did provide a location that protected people from the storm itself. Now that they are beginning to recover bodies, it looks as though the death count is not going into the 10,000 figure. Considering how bad the storm and its flooding aftermath, if the actual death count is lower than expected, perhaps that will be considered a miracle also. (For those that lost family and friends, a low death count will not bring your loved one back . . . . . and my heart goes out to you. But considering that this disaster could easily have killed thousands and tens of thousands, perhaps we did better than we are giving ourselves credit for right now.)

Koodoos to the Coast Guard who were among the first rescue personel on the scene pulling people from the housetops and attics. And to all the unsung volunteers who are helping to make this an easier transition for those displaced families.

My heart is warmed by the efforts I see throughout our country (and the world) to help the people that have had devastating losses. Between the community dropoff points for donations, the money donated to the Red Cross and the Salvation Army, the business donations, some of the best aspects of human nature are being showcased.

Thoughts on Hurricane Katrina

This past week I have watched more news programming than I normally do in a year. The images from New Orleans, Biloxi and the other devasted areas brought home the harshest realities of nature. As humans, we think we have so much control over our environment - we dam rivers, build levees to control mighty rivers, harness the wind with wind turbines, build amazing roads over the roughest mountain terrain, and construct sea walls to protect our cities from mighty storms. We think that we can plan for every emergency. But this year, our world has been confronted by unprecedented natural catastrophies - the Tsunami in the Pacific and now Katrina in the US.

We have big expectations for our government also. When a disaster occurs, we have look to our governments for protection and rescue. I can remember other hurricanes in the gulf that came near New Orleans and the fears and projections for what a large category 5 storm could do. They even ran a drill last summer to be prepared for exactly this emergency. But even the best laid plans can be impossible to execute in face of a catastrophe as large as Katrina. While President Bush declared the area as disaster even before the hurricane hit, many things went horribly wrong. The Superdome protected thousands of people during the wrath of the storm, but no preparations were made for food or water or police supervision. The Coast Guard was on the scene immediately (as were other private boats) rescuing people from flooded homes and trees. Not only was New Orleans devasted but also the Mississippi and Alabama coast areas. Initially, the storm seemed to do minimal damage to New Orleans, people (including government officials) breathed a sigh of relief . . . . . . and then in the darkness of night, the levees failed. People who had been relatively safe in their homes were now fighting a battle to live by climbing into attics and onto roofs. People left in the city - some out of fear and desperation looted to get needed food and water to survive. Others looted out of greed. The worst aspects of human nature were manifested during the criminal looting, and the attacks at the SuperDome.

Communications failed within the city - while the news crews had satellite links - and kept much of the world apprised - the emergency crews could not commmunicate and coordinate essessential services. Could we have done better - no doubt. On the other hand, this event was much worse than the other hurricanes that have hit our country. It is so easy to want to find some one to blame . . . . . . and yet in life some things just happen. Sometimes there is a strong leader in a community that can organize and keep things moving smoothly. Sometimes leaders are in place who have wonderful skills, but perhaps not the ones needed for this emergency. One reality, the local government in New Orleans and Louisiana somehow failed to take adequate action in the first 24-48 hours. But even the local police were dealing with strong emotions and terrible personal losses. Perhaps more and earlier allocations of National Guard resources and military would have alleviated some of the suffering. But in a catastrophe of this magnitude, it is necessary to do some assessment as to what is needed and how to get it there - wasting precious hours. Apparently the preplanning for what would be needed was inadequate for the reality. But humans are by their very nature imperfect creatures. We are prone to procrastination. Each hurricane that passed without massive damage lulled us into a false sense of security. And once the levee's failed, I'm not sure there were roads open for the need dumptrucks and bulldozers needed. The current was so strong that I'm not sure there was a way to repair the levee until the water had reached the level point and the current no longer existed.

Unfortunately, the most dire predictions have come true. Where there was flooding we have a toxic, bacteria filled sludge. So much of New Orleans and the surrounding area has been destroyed. Throughout the country, we grieve with those folks who have lost everything.

We've heard so much about the things that went wrong. . . . . . But I believe that there are stories of courage and human caring out there. I hope the news media will search them out so we don't lose sight of the goodness that is also a part of human nature. We've heard enough about what went wrong. Let's hear about things that are working as we assimilate the "refugees" of Katrina as they are spread throughout the United States. The volunteers who sorted clothes by size, the doctors and nurses at the hospitals that fought for their patient's lives under such adverse circumstances, the police officers who stayed at their posts during the storm separated from their families, the people who are planning how to care for the animals in distress. There are many amazing stories out there. As a people, we need to hear both the good and the bad.