Riders on the Storm

I agree...those that make the choice to stay behind and need rescued you should have to pay a fine (at least). It is not fair to put others in danger. Yes, people could save but not all do or will and even those that do will probably have an emergency they will use the money for (before a disaster hits). I understand that and get it. Not sure what the answer is and how much, if any, responsibility the gov't has to help.

In our town, the officials do not go out during the storm for rescue. YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN. I would imagine most cities are like that during a hurricane. Our officials do not risk their life during a storm.

Agree...if someone stays and then has to be rescued....they should have to pay a fine (at least). It is not fair for other people to risk their lives saving those who made the choice to stay. I do agree with people being able to save for evacuation but....no everyone does or will and after three years, they probably would have another emergency take their savings. Not sure what the answer is...maybe evacuation buses?

I can understand people not wanting to leave their homes. When you see the aftermath of low lifes looting homes and taking what little you have it just adds to the crisis. I'm grateful I'm in a position that in an emergency I can afford to go somewhere else if necessary. That wasn't always the case. I can remember a time in my life I had to drive the long way to work many days because I didn't have the money for the tolls. There would have been no way I could go anywhere. To fine or charge me to be rescued would have just added insult to injury already sustained, When people have to be rescued in storms it's usually because they have just lost everything or close to it. To walk a mile in their shoes....

In 1965 Hurricane Betsy tore through New Orleans, Slidell (where we lived). We didn't have the money for gasoline to run from the storm so were forced to hunker-down and pray! The house was destroyed, we were spared. We had run before but not this time. Not our choice.
The man who stayed and watched his little dog die in the storm: could have well been his child!
No one bailed us out and no one was expected to. Warnings are warnings: those with the means to evacuate when ordered to do so and decline should be responsible for their welfare / not us, not the government. Shame on those people and those who feel the government owes it to them!!!!!!

I think people who refuse to evacuate and later require aid from emergency personel should be charged or fined. It cost a fortune to dispatch helicopters and crews to save lives. Authorities should advise people they will be charge the cost or air lifting or other rescue cost if they don't comply and obey madatory evacuation procedures? It makes me sick to see people partying in bars, voluntarily putting themselves in harms way assume they will be rescued if something should go wrong, wasting rescuers time and efforts to save others in real danger. I think anyone living within 5 miles of a shorelines who are ordered to evacuate should bare the financial consequences of their decisions should they require rescue and aid.

While a hurricane obviously poses different hazards than does a wildfire, having been in a voluntary evacuation zone during last October's wildfires in San Diego County, I can address the mentality of those who decide not to evacuate. In my neighborhood, although in a voluntary evacuationi zone, the majority of people opted for "shelter in place" rather than evacuating to a shelter. Though to be sure many of the people in the area affected by Hurricane Ike didnt evacuate not because they were adhering to the "shelter in place" philosophy, but rather because they were simply being stubborn.

I was too young to remember much about the only time my family evacuated Galveston. I do remember the terrifrying ride over the old causeway with water blowing up over the car, the swaying of the car on that rickety wooden bridge. I've survied unnamed hurricanes in Galveston and Houston, then moved down the coast to Corpus Christi, Texas where I had the dubious pleasure of huddling under a table because Celia blew the roof off the house I was in. Even here in Central Texas, we were warned of possible high winds and rain from Hurrican Ike. Didn't happen, but I was prepared to move to a safer structure than I live in. So, I can understand both the peopl who left and, to some extent those who stayed . My thought was that they thought the officials had cried wolf once too often. The only thing I can say about the people who are making ugly comments about everyone who lives on the coast is 1. you don't know what you are talking about 2. you don't seem to have any recognition that using the taxes we pay to help our neighbor rebuild his barn is an American tradition 3. may God have mercy on you if you ever find yourself in a position where nature slams down on you hard.

People always seems to use "you don't understand" when they make a poor choice. I have been through at least 6 hurricanes in the last 4 years. Before Ike turned to TX it was headed right for me, as at category 4. I am not in an evac zone, however I KNOW that NOTHING would have held up to that and I was packing up to leave full well knowing that if the storm hit here I would return to nothing. You have time with hurricanes. Lots of time. If you wait for someone else to tell you what to do instead of using the good sense you should have been born with you will end up hanging onto a tree of on your roof. Self responsibility people! find some! If you expect the government to help you you will end up in a bigger mess than you started in.

people do not evacuate. cities or buildings are evacuated. for a person to evacuate, would mean they are clearing their bowels. look it up ??? objects or places are evacuated, not people.

Also, the fines are too low for what they make in the sales. It's stupid really. Shelters get full, quick and they want the sick, elderly and children in there first. I don't mind that. But I'm a 26 year old, healthy male. I don't really have the option of going to a shelter. But the way I see a shelter, if something were to happen, it'd be massive deaths. That's just my opinion. And by what "jazzbo65" says, let's respond. Where do the taxes go into helping us get out of there in the first place? We don't see any amount to even reimburse us part way, even a fraction, a small percentage for the disasters that come our way. You want to give them the money yourself then to evacuate? I think not. A lot of people are poor and are living paycheck to paycheck and it's very hard on them. They don't have the means you probably have just to up and leave and possibly say goodbye to your job. Some jobs, as mine did in 2004, made me work to the very last minute and it was fast food. (I'm just glad I'm not in that anymore.) I had 40 minutes to leave and get over the bridge before they closed it. Had to speed home, get my mother, 10 year old sister and leave. Made it by 5 minutes. Also, we're storm-stressed. Everytime they say it's going to hit us, are we expected to up and leave? Their models are very inaccurate and as for us in Florida, we don't believe much of what they say anymore. Miss work 6 times, waste gas 6 times, etc etc for something that's not even going to hit us? Ike was SUPPOSED to hit my city and it was the same for the last hurricane. But it didn't. It totally missed us. We don't believe the meteorologists anymore and we'd rather risk it due to that. No money, no time, not believing "predictions", can't get into a shelter, tired of the term, "hunker down", what are we really suppoded to do? We are not going to leave every single time there's a "possibility" it might hit us. This is why we choose to ride out a storm.

Hurricane Frances came, I stayed because it was so soon and I was out of money from Hurricane Charley. Power was out and no air conditioning for 7 days. I couldn't sleep so went to a hotel room. Hot and humid don't agree with me. Plus, flying ants made it into the house and wanted to commit suicide on my candles, flying right into the flame. Power got restored 2 hours after I got to the hotel. Figures. Frances didn't make a direct impact but no matter where we would've fled to, we still would've been touched by it. Same way with hurricane Ike. We had 2 more hurricane threats at least. I think also that's the year it went to Alpha, Beta, Omega, etc etc etc. Point is, it takes money for all this. Gas stations also spike gas prices when there's a big chance that the storms about to come and they never full come back down. It's just gas stations take advantage of the situation and want their money, even though it's illegal. You're supposed to report it but in an emergency, are you really going to do that or even think about it?

The media gets and the weather folks get disgusted at us when we don't evacuate. Well, if we could afford it and afford to lose our jobs, we would. Take 2004 in Florida. This was the bad year for Florida because hurricane after hurricane kept coming. I live in Tampa Bay. Here's the deal: Meteorologists kepts saying it's going to hit my county and yet it never did. First time, for Hurricane Charley, I did. I went over to Orlando. It was supposed to make direct landfall right over my county. Never happened. Instead, it went to Orlando, where it wasn't supposed to go. That was hell coming back since everyone fled to Orlando for no reason at all. Gas pumps were down and I-4 was literally stop and go, moving 5 feet every 15 minutes. It took 13 hours to get home from normally a 2 hour trip. I didn't get to work that day so I didn't get paid. It wasn't the type of job where they give you personal days and your vacation had to be used all at once and scheduled a 2 weeks advance.

The government's screw up with Rita stopped alot of people from leaving. They were stuck in traffic for 24hrs. That would have been dangerous if a hurricane actually hit the area. The government kept commenting on how great the traffic was this time and how things were running smoothly thats because people didn't want to evacuate. People will never forget Rita. I know several people who evacuated for Rita and would not this time because of that experience. It was horrible and people died because of it. Plus in Galveston people loot. I don't know about in other areas but in Galveston they loot. My inlaws had so many things stolen in past hurricanes. Things that can not be replaced. When your worrying about evacuating you try not to think of those kind of things because they are just things but it hurts in the end when they are gone. This experience with people not being able to get back to their homes will probably make people want to stay next time too. It is hard to judge unless your in the position. I live outside of Galveston. I wasn't glad I stayed during the hurricane but after I was glad I did. I was here to clean everything up and help everyone. I wasn't sitting in a hotel room somewheres not knowing what was going on.

People have the right to chose not to leave or to stay and take care of them selves. Government does not need to decide everything for America. We need less government. The govenment uses no common sense. In the California wildfires last year, the city over ruled the fire department and would not go into an area after they had ordered it to be evacuated. This is unacceptable. Order you out then send no fire equipment. However they decided not to go in the fringe areas either and sit a block away while our house nearly burned down. The neighborhood men fought the fire for 3 days and saved homes while the fire trucks and equimpent set a block away. Now do not tell me Government knows better then the people living there with common sense. After they evacuate you then you cannot return and that is also the problem. They could let homeowners back to protect their own property and take care of stuff.
Our country was built on the people taking care of them selves and working together. In these huge disasters the government makes decision that make no sense.
Lets get back to people having a bigger hand in taking care of themselves instead of sitting waiting for government.

I've been through several hurricanes and have never evacuated. Those you see on the news are the weak and the spineless, how act as if their world has ended because of loss of material possesion and loss of power. The media never shows the groups of locals that have came together and celebrated the expieience as a chance to rebuild and improve. Having a front row seat to an awesome force of nature is amazing. The week that follows is humbling as you revert back to nature as if you were thrown back in time a couple of hundred years. I am lucky to have expirienced it and the country would be a better place if they did to.