Riders on the Storm

Some of the decisions made by authorities are terrible. In the California Wild Fires, they forces people to evacuate, and did not defend their homes from fire. However the people they made evacuate were not told they were not going to go in with fire potection and evacaute. Then when the fire has passed they will not let people back in. In another wild fire they will not have the cooperation in the evacuation. People can take care of themselves. We do not need government to do everything. If it had not been for the neighbor hood defending our home, we would have lost our home because the city made a decision that the firemen could not go to a certain area. They sat a block away while the area was on fire. Our neighbor keep going to where the fire trucks and fire men were and they would not come. Does this make the people trust the government? NO!!!
We do not need the government telling us everything to do. They do not always know best. And when a decision like this is made and the people do not know help is not coming because some city authority made a decision over the fire fighter this is unforgiveable.
Also the cry that people that stay are bad because some one then needs to come rescue them is incorrect. Many Americans have the ability to take care of themselves, their family and their property with out the government telling them what to do. We need less government and more common sense.

People often choose to ride out a storm because they can not afford a hotel room and do not want to put their families in shelters - due to the fact the shelters house "animals" and I am not talking about the 4 legged kind of animals! I personally feel safer facing a storm rather than putting myself in an unchecked enviroment.
These shelters DO NOT screen the citizens they let in. How can they? This means that drug addicts, theives, Child molesters and all forms of violent people are let in. And the Red Cross expects me to put my babies where?????
The evacuess from New Orleans were so bad that Houston REFUSED to open shelters for hurricane Gustav. Also, during gustav there were reports of fighting and rioting in the shelters that were opened.
Thanks, but No thanks! If I can't get out on my own, I'll take my chances with Mother Nature thank you very much!

After watching the looting in New Orleans, with police officers participating, it's obvious that we are responsible for protecting our homes and property.

No matter how one chooses to describe these individuals (infirm and elderly aside) there is only one accurate term that covers them all: stupid. You want to be stupid? Fine. But who do you think pays for those first-responders and helicopters when you have to be rescued from your own stupidity? I and all the other taxpayers don't want to have to pay for your moronic behavior. So, what agencies need to do is bill these idiots when they need to be rescued. Maybe knowing that you're going to pay through the nose for being an idiot will move these people to action even when logic doesn't.

It's our right to choose. We, as Americans, have free will and don't like the "guvmint" telling us what to do. Ivan came up my back yard. I walked out in the eye of Erin and saw blue sky I watched my neighbors oak tree develop a permanent lean-over from Opal. My roof still had not been fixed from Ivan when Dennis hit and that's the only time I evacuated but I only sent my family away. I stayed. Why do we stay? It's ours. We buy it. We fix it up. We repair it. We maintain it. We stay to make sure its' safe and start the repairs. We protect it from the looters (yes - thieves that would profit from other's loss are alive in well in the US of A. The first week after Ivan there were over 70 arrests in Pensacola - and those are the ones that were caught.) Why didn't Davy Crockett leave the Alamo when certain death was over the horizon? Why did Danielle Boone carve out a nitch in the wilderness under theat of Indian attack? Why did people stay in San Fransisco and Anchorage after they suffered huge earthquakes? We are the Americans that have left our ancestral heritage in the old world and have fully rooted ourselves in this country for the freedoms it offers. We don't look for handouts - we help others. We work our jobs and pay our taxes. We trust in God and not in politicians. We believe half of what we hear or read in the press and are sick and tired of every story being an editiorial instead of reporting the news. We defend our country with our blood and believe everyone should serve in some way even if just a few years. And when the opportunity arises, we spit in the eye of the hurricane. But I will admit, that the last time I did the Tornado attraction at Universal Studios after Ivan my palms got sweaty because it was a 20 second flashback to an all-night event of riding out the storm. I'd ride out the storm again but I don't think I'll pay money for that experience.

I live in Wilmington, NC. We have lived through Bertha, Fran, Bonnie, Dennis, Floyd, Charlie, Ernesto, and most recently Hanna. We are a big bull's eye for the path of hurricanes. It is usually late before we actually receive evacuation orders. During Floyd, we did evacuate - we drove to Virginia before we found a hotel room. People are driving like idiots, the weather is horrible; tornados start spawning. When we were able to go back home, our house was fine, but we were robbed. Unless you live in a flood prone area, evacuation is not always the best choice.

People often stay because shelters will not accept their pets. For millions of Americans their pets are family members and they will not leave them behind. Case in point, the American Red Cross--not one of their shelters accepts pets. The city of Miami has a wonderful program for pet owners and provides shelters where the owner can go with their pets.

Until such time as the Red Cross changes its policy (and stops spending most of its money on admin costs rather than assistance) not one red cent from me.

Signed,

Not without my pets

Free N l G G E R Jokes at

C H l M P O U T . C O M

deeser: The majority of our country (and most other places around the world) with the highest population density is by water. Living by water offers a lot of resources: fishing, transporting of goods, fertile land for crops, etc. No one "allows" anyone to build in these places, it is simply what happens with new settlement. I would like to add something to this article. Sometimes people do not evacuate when they have cars, gas, and means because there simply is not enough road capacity to accomodate everyone. I know of people who spent over 24 hours on the interstate trying to evacuate. because there s89



I would

First I'm thinking, Mr. Mayor Nagin needs to go. I think he means well and wants to do the best for his community, but I think his perception of how people will respond and react to his information and how he presents it is not acceptable.
Maybe 2ND, the communities could get a lot more organized.
How about a disaster plan that helps to usher people in a coordinated evacuation so road ways don't get impassable. Split up the communities in a grid and designate certain areas to mandatory evacuation on certain days leading up to the predicted day of certain disaster. Send out or publicly announce via all means of communication, ALL residents of the specific grid areas will be me evacuated on September 18, 2008 voluntarily or via arrest and removal starting at a specific time. NO MATTER THE EVACUEE'S PERSONAL CONDITION HEALTH OR FINANCIAL status. Have a bus, paddy wagon, ambulance and etc., go house to house on pre-specified days and move em. Utilize the Health care emergency management planning for SAFE areas. Another facility not in the "facing certain death" areas. Have the roadways managed by designating certain routes evacuee's take @ a certain time and keep it moving.
I guess it's a plan that takes minute things into consideration, and it does take choice out of the scenario, but, it does allow life after and at least the people will live to sue for damages or collect on all the insurance payments they 've made over the years.
I just think that our emergency evacuation plans need to be more forceful and with more pre planned support of our community emergency response teams. They could staff accordingly because they would know specifically what would be expected.
There's so much more that could be done.

Why and who allows building on an island that has a history of natural disasters. Our money from insurance and tax dollars should not be spent on people who disregard common sense and exhibit ignorance.