Nobody needs to evacuates from a Class 1 Hurricane!

[edhopper]

I would like to give them the benefit of the doubt. That Bushco doesn't want to look like he's making the same mistake with Rita.
But WTF!!! They started to evacuate when Rita was still a tropical storm, and might have become a Cat. 1 Hurricane. I have no doubt that W told Jebby that he should evacuate and set up a response to ANY Hurricane that so much as threatens Florida. THIS IS ANOTHER FUCKING PHOTO-OP!!
The are already evacuating Galveston (wow, Texas is helpful too). Shouldn't they wait until they have an idea where Rita is going?
They are crying wolf and people will be weary to leave the next time there is a real danger.
Incompetence thy name is Bush!

[rzemanfl]

1. Without agreeing with either * or his brother, I will evacuate for

even a tropical storm. This house is six feet 6 inches above sea level.

[murray hill farm]

2. I have been through a cat 1 hurricane in florida...

and....i would never do it again..never! if you live in any low country and a cat 1 is coming your way..it is time to evacuate.

[phantom power]

3. Given the Gulf water temps, it's very likely to be a cat-4 or cat-5.

What you are seeing is that they trying to learn something they should already have known before Katrina hit. When Gulf temps get into the high 80s, pretty much any hurricane that wanders in is going to become a monster.

[RagingInMiami]

4. Wait, I thought that it was the responsibility

Of local and state authorities to prepare for oncoming hurricanes.

[methinks2]

5. I voiced the same concern about

crying wolf today. People will either be nonchalant about the next one or too broke by the next one. Of course after living through so many last year I understand being afraid. I checked my xanax script as soon as hurrican season started this year.

[elehhhhna]

25. smart move. i didn't get the tranqs refilled until I got that post 911

feeling the day after the leves broke in NO.

They'll be handy here in Houston this weekend.

[meisje]

6. They didn't reall know where is was going last time until 2 days out

Is that enough time to clear a city? Not really

[raccoon]

7. I think after the response (or lack thereof) to Katrina was

such a disaster, all officials and politicians involved in FL, TX, or any other at-risk area, are determined not to eff up so badly and make themselves look bad.
Especially not so soon after Katrina.

[malaise]

8. Correct

It was not even a Cat 1 when they started the foolishness.

[edhopper]

9. I lived in Florida for 20 years,

and while individuals may stay or go, calling for an evacuation is overkill and political grandstanding.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

14. I have to disagree

when it comes to the Keys. I wouldn't stay there in a Cat I. I think chances are good you'd come home to your house with minimal damage, but you'd be better off away from the beach for sure. And in the Keys, you can't GET far from the beach.

[peekaloo]

17. I heard NPR saying they (Keys) were getting an extra 8/9 feet of water.

:-(

[KoKo]

21. But, would you agree that it's WORSE than when you lived there 20 yrs?

I question this because I have friends and family who've moved to FLA in the past 10 years and they never thought they would be in for what they've lived through. Evacuations, Worry, Frear, Home Insurance through the roof...always dreading the Hurrican Season because they think they could be NEXT??

They don't miss the snow and cold and ice storms and such...but they thought they moved to Paradise and it's turned into a "Realtity Show" against "Mother Nature" for them. :shrug:

I don't know..I'm not so fond of FLA to live in...but I do love to visit in the months when there's no "green around."

[Jacobin]

10. Its going to be a four

and if you live in a low lying coastal area, even a one can fuck you up good.

But you are right, if you live miles from the coast and its a one, then evacuation is a choice not something that could be considered mandatory

[acmejack]

11. The Keys are pretty low themselves.

I think people choose to err on the side of caution, especially given recent events.

[txindy]

12. Here's an interesting tidbit or two about your claim of a 'photo op'

From http://www.weather.com/newscenter/tropical/?from=wxcenter_news (emphasis mine):

An unofficial reading from Key West clocked a wind gust from Hurricane Rita at 102 mph but overall the strongest part of Rita was closer to the coast of Cuba as the storm passed through the Florida Straits. A hurricane warning remains in effect for the Keys and all along the south Florida coast from just south of Florida City (on the southeast coast) to Chokoloskee on the southwest coast.

Rain bands and isolated tornadoes are still possible in the Keys and also farther north across the southern end of the peninsula. Storm surge flooding of 4 to 6 feet above normal tide levels is forecast for the Keys in areas of onshore flow. Heavy surf is accompanying the surge and some roads are under water. Rainfall totals of 6 to 8 inches are expected, although isolated amounts of up to 12 inches are possible.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

13. Nobody needs to evacuates from a Class 1 Hurricane!

How about folks that live in low lying areas or mobile homes?

[the_spectator]

15. You are so right.

Look, with all due respect to people in Florida and Mississippi, the ONLY reason Katrina caused so much disaster was that it hit New Orleans, which is the ONLY city in the U.S. that is BELOW SEA LEVEL. A Cat. 1 Hurricane is, essentially, no big deal. Other categories of hurricane can cause damage, but again, with all due respect, they are local or state stories, not national news.

Unless Rita hits NOLA (which is unlikely), all this to-do is a big load of nothing.

This reminds me of our post 9-11 reaction: making little old ladies take off their shoes, confiscating fingernail-clippers and what have you. Hurricanes are hurricanes. We have withstood them for ever. And again, they CANNOT cause world-shaking catastrophe UNLESS they hit below-sea-level areas - which is NOLA and vicinity. That's it.

[RagingInMiami]

18. Katrina was a category one hurricane when she tore through Miami

Eleven people died.

[the_spectator]

22. I'm sorry for them and their families.

But hurricanes have torn through Florida again and again every year and will continue to do so. And every year (I think) far more people move INTO Florida than move out of it. There is risk in life; all of us accept risk levels that are low enough.

Hurricanes have not suddenly become more devastating. (Yes, they may SLOWLY become such due to Global Warming.) What happened with Katrina is that a hurricane hit our ONE weak spot - New Orleans. I still feel that hurricanes that DON'T "fill the bowl" have really always been local or state news, NOT national stories.

[RagingInMiami]

23. In a society where the runaway bride is a national story

A hurricane is a national story

[the_spectator]

24. Touche!

You got me there.

[elare]

31. Galveston, Texas is below sea level

Mentioned on Larry King tonight ... I don't recall if it was Dan Rather or Larry King who said it though. They did say that most people don't realize that Galveston is below sea level.

[MadisonProgressive]

16. It's already a cat2 and strengthening

[CitySky]

19. um, that's a category 4 wolf we're crying

latest national weather service update:

ALL INDICATIONS ARE THAT RITA AS AN INTENSE HURRICANE WILL BE
APPROACHING THE TEXAS COAST IN ABOUT 3 DAYS.

Breaking news on CNN this afternoon said that Rita is expected to be a Category 4 by 2pm tomorrow (Wednesday). Landfall looks like somwhere in Texas late Friday-early Saturday, but that could change of course.

We're taking it pretty seriously.

-Sky in Houston

[BrightKnight]

20. Tropical storm Allison caused major flooding in Houston.

There are many many rivers and streams to flood in Harris County.



Rita is a category 2 Hurricane now. NOAA expects it to continue gaining strength. Water tempratures in the gulf are very warm.

[Geoff R. Casavant]

26. And keep in mind

Galveston has exactly one exit to the mainland -- a 2-lane causeway.

The sooner they get out the better.

[alarimer]

27. If there is only one way off the island they do

The Keys and Galveston both have basically one way out by car. They need to start evacuating many days out because of the time it takes and the traffic. It would be tragic for the storm to hit while people are sitting in their cars on the causeway.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

28. Wrong! Every Hurricane is unique

There have been category 1's that have wrecked incredible havoc because they have been slow moving rain events. Some ones have coincided with high tides and have caused storm surge far beyond what you may have expected. I have been without electricity for over a week and closed off because of tree damage because of a 1 Hurricane.

If you live in a Hurricane alley and you have actually lived through one with damage, you begin to know that you can be kicked on your ass with a 1 or a 2 and they are nothing to be sneezed at. Ever.

[Pithlet]

29. I don't agree

I think if anything good came out of Katrina, and the hellish hurricane season of last year, it's that fewer people will scoff at hurricanes. I've noticed that they're taken much more seriously now, and that's a good thing.

[TroubleMan]

30. Not 100% true...the majority don't , but many definitely should.

A Cat 1 hurricane can knock out power lines, flood low lying areas, and severely damage mobile homes.

People in mobile homes, elderly living alone, the homeless, and people who have special medical needs (such as dialysis) should evacuate.

Also, concerning Galveston, if it does hit there, it will be a Cat 3, 4, or 5. In an area like Galveston, evacuation should be mandatory for anything Cat 3 or above.