Rita was...

[arcticfire]

Starting to see a pattern now that I've been here for 2 years. Big storm forms , people argue over where it's going till it's 2nm off shore. Hurrcain hits everyone is glued to their sets watching TV. As the storm passes before anyone even gets out and about to asses dmg , some reporter says he didn't drown and then we get posts here declaring it a non event. 24 hours later all you hear about i show horrible the damage.

People are funny.

[solarflare]

I agree with Scorpion. A cat 5, 897 mb storm with its eye looking at you is nothing to stay for!
Last year Frances was a similar storm, cat 4 barreling right at my town. My family spent an entire day getting to the west coast of Florida (Port Charlotte, which had been levelled by Charlie a couple weeks earlier). I'm glad we evacuated.

As it turned out Frances stalled and weakened to a cat 1/2 and punished my area for days. Even with that, I lost part of my roof, had water intrusion, many broken trees, months of battling mold and insurance company...a real mess.

Best to be out of the way and be able to return later, even if it doesn't prove as catastrophic as you had thought.

[skysummit]

No storm surge???? I live in Terrebonne Parish, in Houma, La. Just south of here the road is covered with 5 - 6 feet of water. Most places the water is still rising. CNN does NOT know everything that's going on. All of the southern half of this parish is underwater.

[simplykristi]

There have been very few images from SW LA. I would not even say this hurricane was a non event. It is an event to those who have been impacted by this hurricane. We have yet to see the full extent of the damage. And when we do, it will be shocking.

I would rather be safe than sorry as far as evacuating goes.

Kristi

[SoupBone]

a pussycat compared to Katrina. Problem is, a lot of people evac'd for nothing and will probably ride out the next one. Not even a storm surge, whats all that about ? NHC got it so wrong.

The problem is the media....I am from Terrebonne Parish originally which is where the city of Houma is located. They have levees breaking all over the parish from the storm surge and reportedly 10 feet of water in cocodrie and other southern parts of the parish. The water is still rising and there are lots of people trapped. The problem is the media...they want glorifed news about refineries being destroyed driving up gas prices.

[jlauderdal]

a pussycat compared to Katrina. Problem is, a lot of people evac'd for nothing and will probably ride out the next one. Not even a storm surge, whats all that about ? NHC got it so wrong.

your screen name should be jerkski instead of mettski. you handle analysis of hot dog carts and let us handle the hurricanes, k.

[simplykristi]

Did anyone just see the live images of the storm surge in Lake Charles LA on CNN?

Kristi

[Frank2]

Re: vbhoutex's post

As Bob Sheets mentioned many times, the problem is that so many people now live in hurricane prone areas, that many just cannot leave, because the infrastructure, and logistics that go with it, cannot handle such a mass exodus.

In reality, while the evacuation of Galveston Island was absolutely necessary, the evacuation of Houston should have been limited to the "zones" that all communities have mapped for hurricane evacuation. As here in South Florida, there are zones of evacuation, depending on the Category of hurricane, which limits how many should or must leave.

Since Rita was in reality a "strong Category 6" (if there were a Category 6, it would have probably been classified this way), the maximum number of residents were told to evacuate, but, many others, probably out of fear, evacuated as well, and this seemed to lead to the chaos on the highways.

Hopefully because of the examples of what can go wrong before, during, and after Hurricane Katrina and Rita, the public and government officials have learned that a great deal of discernment is needed on when to order an evacuation, or to decide whether to leave or stay on a personal level - fear is never a good reason to leave, since it usually means that calm reasoning is being ignored.

I do not know if those who died in that terrible bus fire lived in an area that was flood-prone, or again were being transported because their nursing home administrators panicked in thinking about what happened to the residents of nursing homes in New Orleans, but, if this trip was induced by fear and panic, then those who died, did so in vain.
Believe, me, I know that Max Mayfield and his very tired staff (as he mentioned early this morning, they are very tired) are doing the best forecasting job that they can, and, having worked with and for them for quite a few years, tears come to my eyes in knowing how stressful the ordeal of the past month has been for them, but, the public has to be more aware of their surroundings (especially in today's world, when disasters other than hurricanes threaten at any time), and know that sometimes, as Bob Sheets has said, staying put in a case like this, if their home is not in a flood-prone area, is often the best thing to do, and will lead to an orderly and safety evacuation for those who need to evacuate.

Sincerely,

Frank

[arkess7]

there is no way ANY HURRICANE can be called a "pussycat"...rita has done major damage im sure......and like someone said earlier....THE MEDIA DOESNT KNOW EVERYTHING....all the evacuations WHERE NECESSARY......we dont need any more loss of life......to all you people who were in ritas path.....my thoughts and prayers are with you......i hope everyone will recover quickly.......oh and by the way the NHC does know what they are talking about

[jburns]

Re: vbhoutex's post


I do not know if those who died in that terrible bus fire lived in an area that was flood-prone, or again were being transported because their nursing home administrators panicked in thinking about what happened to the residents of nursing homes in New Orleans, but, if this trip was induced by fear and panic, then those who died, did so in vain.
Sincerely,

Frank

Dying in vain is strange way to put it. They just died due to the circumstances in which they found themselves. Most people die that way whether by accident or disease. Concentrate on giving your life meaning because for the vast majority of us death will just occur.

[oneness]

a pussycat compared to Katrina. Problem is, a lot of people evac'd for nothing and will probably ride out the next one. Not even a storm surge, whats all that about ? NHC got it so wrong.

No storm surge? Tell that to the people in Jefferson County TX, Cameron, Vermillion, Iberia, St. Mary, Terrebonne, LaFourche, and yes, even Jefferson, Orleans, and St.Bernard Parishes dear poster.

Perhaps you're disappointed this morning because you didn't get to see new catastrophic images on CNN or Fox News of levelled houses and casino barges over highways, but trust me, there is Gulf water pushed far inland that will rival Hurricane Audrey in SW Louisiana, there's overtopped/breached levees and flooded inlets and bayous across the breadth of coastal Louisiana for 150 miles or more, and there are homes and livelihoods disrupted or possibly destroyed that have yet to be revealed until the winds die down.

Would just add the pending major flooding and clouds and wind associated with it, all of which will prevent people from getting solid recon of the sort of damage present for several more days. I think it will turn out to be quite a mess, at least as bad as Ivan.

[fltoaz]

Same thing from the mediots every time. After Andrew, they marched into Miami Beach and proclaimed everything was not too bad. Katrina..the first reports from Bourbon St were minimal damage. Always takes a day or so to see the real story.

[vacanechaser]

a pussycat compared to Katrina. Problem is, a lot of people evac'd for nothing and will probably ride out the next one. Not even a storm surge, whats all that about ? NHC got it so wrong.

Maybe you need to look at the TV news reports from Lake Charles.. Looks like a hefty surge there to me..


Jesse V. Bass III
http://www.vastormphoto.com
Hurricane Intercept Research Team

[brunota2003]

take a look at this and then tell me there was no surge...: http://www.wwltv.com/

[thermos]

Most likely the damage in Lousiana along the coast will be very very bad. It might not be Gulfport bad but it could be. The traffic exit from Houston was a nightmare and a disaster -- cities just aren't prepared for this. Also the National Hurricane Center's budget should be increased dramatically. They need new technology and more people so they can narrow they cone down to a smaller area.

[O Town]

Same thing from the mediots every time. After Andrew, they marched into Miami Beach and proclaimed everything was not too bad. Katrina..the first reports from Bourbon St were minimal damage. Always takes a day or so to see the real story.

Totally agree. Lets wait and see. It seems like after Katrina if everyone doesnt see the same kind of damage its not so bad. Ridiculous. I am inland from the beach a good 100 miles and we got blasted with Charlie last year a good 20% of the tree canope was lost and a lot more in nieghboring cities. Lots of people in my nieghborhood lost their homes. Maybe not completly washed away to the foundation, but a tree laying in the middle of their home, they had to tear down and rebuild. It was a cat 2 when it got here, so I know it doesnt take a cat 5 to destroy lives and any hurricane is one to fear, I sure hope the folks do evacuate next time. Just because you may have escaped the worst damage this time doesn't mean you wont get it next time. Hurricanes kinda have thier own mind and each one is different.

[LAwxrgal]

We won't know the entire story here until days later, just like with Katrina, just like with every other major hurricane strike. Probably the hardest hit areas are still inaccessible, so we won't know the entire scope of the damage with this storm.

With the isolated reports coming in, it sounds like it was pretty bad. The best we can hope for is that there isn't a massive loss of life.

[fltoaz]

Also...small rant here... The next reporter who berates a local official for estimated body counts shall be sentenced to death himself. Enough. People are terrified enough after an event like this.

..Sorry, off-topic.

[Brent]

where are you getting that there wasnt a storm surge... dont assume that its way too early....

on cnn: next to a river where they were expecting 10-15ft. was about 1ft.

That was in Beaumont... the eye went east. NO SURGE west of the eye.

[wxmann_91]

where are you getting that there wasnt a storm surge... dont assume that its way too early....

on cnn: next to a river where they were expecting 10-15ft. was about 1ft.

That was in Beaumont... the eye went east. NO SURGE west of the eye.

Just because the eye went east doesn't mean there is no surge, I mean look at New Orleans during Katrina. It just means that the surge will be weaker and come in slower than if the hurricane comes in to the west.