ATL: IKE Discussion

[inda_iwall]

People keep asking about whether to evacuate or not, my opinion after being through a few of these, Opal, Ivan, Katrina, Charlie and Gustav. If you are at home in a sturdy structure and away from storm surge and have not left yet, do not leave, just shelter in place. But having said that, if you have no evacuation route for after the storm, such as a bridge could be closed/destroyed or lots of trees down, AND do not have supplies for a week, I would leave. I hope that makes sense. But ultimately, after knowing what I know now, I would not be in the situation where I was deciding to leave or not, I would be miles away watching it on TV. Good luck and I wish everyone the best in its path. I just feel for those that have no idea what it is like to weather a storm, and the worst part can be the days/weeks/months after the storm goes through.

[DESTRUCTION5]

Only a few hrs now till the sh__ starts to hit the fan...

[smw1981]

KHOU meterologist is reporting that Ike is moving about 24-25 mph and will LF earlier than expected, and he thinks it may make a jog to the north and go more towards the Bolivar peninsular...

[MiamiensisWx]

While during Katrina, it bothered me to hear outsiders question our "leaders", it quickly became clear to me that the rest of the country was right... and I was wrong. Thankfully, we learned from our mistakes and pulled off the most successful and smooth evacuation in history. But I just need to say that I cannot believe the same mistakes are being made. Galveston's mayor does look like an elderly deer caught in the headlights... she seems clueless. And to add to that frustration, you have Texas' governor saying that he is satisfied and very proud of the evacuation... that nowhere else in the world could pull off this wonderful evacuation that left probably 30,000 people at ground zero. Good job Gov... you're clueless too.

You can not force people to leave if they don't want to. Are you going to drag them kicking and screaming out the door? I will repeat what I have said before. There was plenty of time for EVERYONE WHO CARED TO TO GET OUT when the mandatory evacs were ordered yesterday. This is not the authorities fault that so many stayed. It is the fault of those who chose to stay!!! The area media has been telling them to get out ever since the mandatory evacs were ordered!!

I agree, but if one of my family members decisively opted to remain in place (especially if it was my grandmother or other elderly members), I WOULD kindly, carefully, and safely "drag them" out the door despite their protests.

There WAS advance warning on all levels, so you're correct that it is silly to criticize all of the local government "errors" when the people should have left (even if they weren't required).

[jinftl]

It's politics i know an election year and all that...but i would applaud an official who would say 'maybe we could have done things different' but also put some of the responsibility on citizens to have the sense to get out of harms way....at some point people have to step up and say that there lives are worth saving and leave home for a maybe a few days if works out.

While during Katrina, it bothered me to hear outsiders question our "leaders", it quickly became clear to me that the rest of the country was right... and I was wrong. Thankfully, we learned from our mistakes and pulled off the most successful and smooth evacuation in history. But I just need to say that I cannot believe the same mistakes are being made. Galveston's mayor does look like an elderly deer caught in the headlights... she seems clueless. And to add to that frustration, you have Texas' governor saying that he is satisfied and very proud of the evacuation... that nowhere else in the world could pull off this wonderful evacuation that left probably 30,000 people at ground zero. Good job Gov... you're clueless too.

You can not force people to leave if they don't want to. Are you going to drag them kicking and screaming out the door? I will repeat what I have said before. There was plenty of time for EVERYONE WHO CARED TO TO GET OUT when the mandatory evacs were ordered yesterday. This is not the authorities fault that so many stayed. It is the fault of those who chose to stay!!! The area media has been telling them to get out ever since the mandatory evacs were ordered!!

[Ptarmigan]

Coast Guard aborts rescue mission of stranded freighter
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5997635.html

It would really suck to be stuck in a middle of a monsterous hurricane. Hopefully they will be okay.

[Ixolib]

Galveston has been in the path for a long time. Many warnings were went out to expect 20+ feet of surge

They've actually been in "the path" for many many years... They're just now going to find out what that means in real life.

How is it that their response isn't/wasn't completely exercised, chewed up, spit out, tried again, and ironed out until it was perfect, perfect, perfect? I mean, if ANY CITY ought to have it together in terms of pre-, during, and post-landfall, one would think Galveston would be the one... Just sayin'

[jasons2k]

Gavelston blaming the meteorologists.

Official states that they "haven't been able to rely on their forecasts" in regards to surge.

I'm nauseating... this is reminescent of Katrina on too many levels.

This makes me really mad... Did they not recieve the wording that the NHC put it in their statment " FACING CERTAIN DEATH" if you stay.

The Mayor just commented on that, she said on TV "We don't like to scare our residents, we would rather present them with the facts......I can't comment on what someone else's attitude might be"

I think her political career is over.

[KWT]

Well here comes the rain from Ike's outer bands, that will only make the flooding even worse already.

[micktooth]

Local Met on Channel 11 claims Ike is now moving about 25mph based on ground based radar and he is disregarding the Hurricane Hunter info. Is this prudent based soley on dopplar radar?

[curtadams]

Galveston mayor (the salty woman, right?): "If someone has not left the island now, they need to stay put."

NONONONONO! If you can leave, good G-d, leave! She's gonna get people killed with "advice" like that.

Well, it's getting to the point that it's very unsafe to leave the island. So sheltering in the island may be the best choice. BUT - she said "stay inside" and neglected the VERY IMPORTANT POINT that "inside" needs to have someplace at least 15-20 feet above sea level and either be sheltered from or be able to withstand the 20-foot waves that are coming. Somebody in one of those one-story-on-stilts buildings in a beach neighborhood is going to get dumped out into 20-foot waves full of lethal debris in the middle of the night and that's a very grim situation.

The manager (and presumably the mayor too) doesn't understand the meaning of the line and the cone and that's inexcusable in his position.

[bigjohn]

If that 45 percent figure is valid, verifiable, and legit, well...

Darwin will be arriving MUCH sooner than I originally hoped... hopefully, those people will still survive, and they must be well prepared.

Do you mean Darwin as in evolution theory? I hope not, that's pretty insensitive man. I'm frustrated that people seemed to ignore the risk, but geez...if I had family on Galveston (yes, I'd probably have made them flee) I'd not be happy with what you said. Sorry, but this could be a huge human disaster and I just didn't like reading that.

I understand your point of view. But in defense of the position, I think many people are just tired of seeing so many people refuse to take accountability for their actions and rely on government to take care of them. The make bad decisions, they expect others to pay for those bad decisions. And then everyone issupposrd to feel sorry for them and be so happy they are rescued. That same old story is starting to wear thin.

[ColdFusion]

KHOU meterologist is reporting that Ike is moving about 24-25 mph and will LF earlier than expected, and he thinks it may make a jog to the north and go more towards the Bolivar peninsular...

This would be huge news, lets see if the NHC confirms.

[tallywx]

Local Met on Channel 11 claims Ike is now moving about 25mph based on ground based radar and he is disregarding the Hurricane Hunter info. Is this prudent based soley on dopplar radar?

I'm not liking his presentation. I think he placed the center park way too far NW within the "moat" area in the center of the storm. I also don't see his basis for a more east landfall whatsoever.

[dizzyfish]

Local Met on Channel 11 claims Ike is now moving about 25mph based on ground based radar and he is disregarding the Hurricane Hunter info. Is this prudent based soley on dopplar radar?

I think not!

[HURAKAN]

[DESTRUCTION5]

KHOU meterologist is reporting that Ike is moving about 24-25 mph and will LF earlier than expected, and he thinks it may make a jog to the north and go more towards the Bolivar peninsular...

This would be huge news, lets see if the NHC confirms.

This might be the dumbest thing i ever heard..

[pablolopez26]

Moving NW at 12mph.

Per the NHC.

[Shoshana]

Despite evacuation order, 1,000 remain in Galveston jail

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5997765.html

I saw that earlier.

Not trying to be punny, but that's just criminal. Those people had no choice about evacuating. If there's a mandatory evacuation, they should have been evacuated.

[MiamiensisWx]

I understand your point of view. But in defense of the position, I think many people are just tired of seeing so many people refuse to take accountability for their actions and rely on government to take care of them. The make bad decisions, they expect others to pay for those bad decisions. And then everyone issupposrd to feel sorry for them and be so happy they are rescued. That same old story is starting to wear thin.

Agreed... I'm not political, but you should not rely solely on local information as THE impetus to evacuate.

I apologize in advance... I've experienced the effects of several TCs in SE FL, so I was merely emphasizing that I would have evacuated well in advance of Ike if I resided on Galveston.

I also understand that some residents did not have the means to evacuate farther inland (or away from Galveston)... I was not directing the "Darwin" portion toward them.