eastcoastFL wrote:UTSARoadrunner4 wrote:cheezyWXguy wrote:Do you think that the people in the low lying evacuation zones wouldn’t face certain death if Milton had made landfall in St Petersburg and funneled the max storm surge into the bay? Knowing that such an outcome was well within the margin of error until basically this morning, do feel it would have been a wiser decision to gamble that many lives?
I’ve thought about this throughout the day. I knew there was going to be a point in time where people are going to chastise the Mayor of Tampa for what she said. Tbh it’s a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” situation. Like you said, if she decided to be indifferent about Milton, and he made landfall at Clearwater, then people would be calling for her resignation for not being urgent enough. I can’t speak for most people, but I rather my elected official be urgent or even slightly dramatic with what’s presented to them than be lax. And I rather them be wrong but have my things to come home to. Rather than them being lax, wrong, and then I have to be rescued or put in a casket because they weren’t being urgent enough and I listened to them.
I agree 100%. Real leaders do what they have to in order to prevent loss of life. Consequences be dammed. And that’s what she did there. She didn’t want anyone to not take it as a life threatening event which it was
And I have to believe that the people who stayed realize how bad it could have been when they see how bad it ended up and will vote for her again. It could have been much worse but it wasn't a washout.
Hurricanes: