It's race against time to save Ike stalwarts

[geomon666]

Source: The Associated Press

Rescue crews canvassed neighborhoods inundated by Ike's storm surge early Sunday morning, racing against time to save those who spent a second harrowing night trapped amid flattened houses, strewn debris and downed power lines.

One team of paramedics, rescue dogs and structural engineers fanned out under a nearly full moon on a finger of land in Galveston Bay. To the northeast in Bridge City, a Coast Guard crew also worked into early Sunday morning before rescue missions were suspended for the night.

So far, Gov. Rick Perry's office said some 940 people had been saved.

Authorities hoped to spare thousands of Texans — 140,000 by some estimates who ignored orders to flee ahead of Hurricane Ike — from another night among the destruction. Some had been rescued, but unknown thousands remained stranded.

Read more: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jG1m4XT341oCKXPMIZlKffdhP9vwD936IJ7O0

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This is why when they tell you to get the fuck out, you get the fuck out. Let's hope the 4 deaths already reported are the only deaths associated with this storm.

[KoKo]

1. Blame the victim? You don't know why some of those people didn't leave

and neither do I. Old, ill, no money...maybe no cable news and maybe they just had no transportation they felt comfortable with. It's probably a mixture of many reasons including some who felt the media was lying to them.

But, blaming folks doesn't really accomplish anything, either. Maybe some day you will be in a situation where you just couldn't "Get the fuck out."

[geomon666]

4. I'm not blaming anybody for anything.

And don't give me that "I don't know why people left" crap. A lot of people actively refused to leave when they should have and because of that they not only put themselves in danger, but rescue workers as well. Those who couldn't leave, I totally understand because I'm disabled myself and of lower means but those people who live in expensive beach houses and didn't leave are now traumatized for their selfishness.

[tanyev]

7. The evacuation from Hurricane Rita was a total clusterfuck.

A lot of people figured they'd rather face a Category 2 than go through that again. Of course, Ike was not a typical Category 2. The people down there have some very rough days ahead of them.

[End Of The Road]

2. SOME of the people who stayed were stupid and unprepared.

Just as some were well prepared, well informed, and well aware of what they were getting into. One man, interviewed by Houston channel 13 yesterday, said that he and his wife slept through the whole thing and had no problems. They have a generator, plenty of food and gas, etc. and were out checking on friends homes shortly after the storm.

I have no problem with this type of person not evacuating. They could have been in as much danger stuck in traffic on the way to a shelter in Dallas.

[izquierdista]

3. How were they saved??

Man on rooftop: "Now that the hurricane has spared me, I accept JEEEEEZUS! as my own personal savior."

Coast Guard and Paramedics in boat: "Yay! Now we can go on to the next house. (putt-putt-putt)"

[1monster]

5. Some were just left behind... for example this wheel-chair bound woman

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6000366.html

Winters, on the other hand, had tried everything to get out before Ike hit. The native Galvestonian has been registered for special assistance for the last five years, she said, but no one came to the retirement community on 61st to help her and her cat escape.

Increasingly desperate as forecasters and government officials warned of certain death for coastal residents who remained in Ike's path, Winters spent the last few days on the phone, trying to find someone who could help her out of her first-floor apartment. She called 311, 211, 911 and the number for the city's Emergency Management Center. But she was still waiting at 8 p.m. Friday, when all rescue attempts ceased. That's when police, EMS and firefighters returned to the San Luis hotel, where they bunkered down with city officials and journalists.

Winters parked herself in front of the TV, switching between three networks and the Weather Channel until the power went out. Then she turned on her battery-powered radio and went to the bedroom to lie down. She woke up later with water trickling on her toes.

"I put my feet on the floor, and it was ankle deep in water," she said. "I got really, really scared and thought about trying to drag myself to the second floor by myself, but I couldn't get the front door open."

[uppityperson]

6. 3 deaths in Galveston, 1 in a submerged vehicle

http://www.newschannel10.com/Global/story.asp?S=9005858
The death toll from Hurricane Ike has now reached seven, and officials fear it could climb.

Authorities today day three people were found dead in Galveston, including one person found in a submerged vehicle near the airport.

That's after four fatalities were reported yesterday, two in Texas and two in Louisiana.