Proenza takes over

[HurricaneJoe22]

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/ ... -headlines

[hurricanetrack]

Read the responses to the article- no wonder 50% of the people are not prepared, they think this is a joke.

http://www.topix.net/forum/source/south ... PRQ3NE9AN0

[Derek Ortt]

what ever happens to them, happens and deservedly so

[brunota2003]

Wow...I have one thing to say to them: Dont open your mouth until you have tried forcasting as well...obviously they dont realize just how difficult it is to forcast how the season is going to go. As for Proenza, I hope he is like Max and is just as deticated! Everything I've read points to him being a good director! Hope its true

[Canelaw99]

Some of those people definitely need to get jobs.

I, for one, was sad to see Max go, but Proenza seems like he's got the credentials, and I look forward to hearing him speak to us from experience. He's got a tough road ahead of him to gain acceptance I guess, but he seems to be a great fit for the job. I just hope it's not a rough '07 season

[jusforsean]

its very sad how childish some people can be when it comes to such a serious issue

[MGC]

How many in the New Orleans area were unprepared? I thought I was prepared. I had the recommended amounts of food and water in my hurricane kit. What a joke. Those supplies were totally inadequate after Katrina. I didn't have running water for two months after the hurricane. I am on city water. Once the water was flowing it was not certified as potable. The water supply was not certified till after Christmas. We used bottled water for all drinking and cooking. Thanks to FEMA and all the other relief agencies that help us survive after the hurricane. Thankfully I had the wisdom to leave Sunday morning. I witnessed what Betsy and Camille did. I was scared of Katrina. The supplies we left at the house in Pass Christian lasted until the relief centers were established where the National Guard (Bless them) handed out food and water. Having no electricity, water, gas, food is a very scary thing.....MGC

[wxmann_91]

Read the responses to the article- no wonder 50% of the people are not prepared, they think this is a joke.

http://www.topix.net/forum/source/south ... PRQ3NE9AN0

That's a classic example of how the "better safe than sorry" idea could work the other way.

[Lindaloo]

Read the responses to the article- no wonder 50% of the people are not prepared, they think this is a joke.

http://www.topix.net/forum/source/south ... PRQ3NE9AN0

I am saving this one.

[hurricanetrack]

Let's think about this for a moment. There is a reason, perhaps many, that these people are making these responses. Now it is clear that this particular paper is not really moderating the responses. That leads to several people likely posting negative remarks without any reason other than they have sad, lonely lives with nothing positive going on anyway. We know people like that in our everyday lives.

So, throwing them out, let's look at the other responses that seem to be based on anger or anxiety about hurricanes in general. People are getting shafted by the insurance industry just as they are by the oil companies. Any news that could influence the insurance folks to raise rates certainly raises the ire of some people. However, the attacks on Max and the lack of educated responses leads me to believe that this very small sample of remarks indicates that indeed, perhaps as much as 50% of the population either does not care or thinks it is all just a sham- people are claiming that the sky is falling.

There in lies the problem. With so many people moving to FL, 1400+ per day on avg., how do you separate hype and media sensationalism from the very real threat from the greatest storm on Earth? It's incredible that a simple article about the new NHC director could invite so much negativity and angst. I guess there are people who just hate hurricanes and anyone who has anything to do with them- as if THEY were the reason why we even have hurricanes.

Let me ask you this- what if the article were about a new CEO of the Acme fire-hydrant company taking over after Walter Smith retired from 34 years of excllence? There would be similar info about the possibility of a bad fire season, and that people need to have smoke detectors, etc and be prepared in case of fire. Does the company that the article is written about come under fire from these same people as being "doom and gloom" and so forth? Let's face it, without the reality of tragic fires, there would be no need for the Acme fire-hydrant company. Right? Why is it that hurricanes draw out the worst in some people and yet the daily occurrences of house fires are vastly more common than a hurricane threat? We had no hurricanes to hit the U.S. in 2006 but had thousands and thousands of house fires. Where's the anger and hostility coming from concerning hurricanes? Is it because we name them- so it then becomes personal? Maybe that's it. Perhaps we should not name them anymore. Then hurricanes can become anonymous like arson is- then perhaps more people would pay attention if they had ample warning that some anonymous force is coming to destroy your town/neighborhood/home. If they knew that a serial arsonist was on the loose in South FL with the capability of burning down 26,000 homes I bet people would be quite afraid. And yet with hurricanes, we can see them coming before it's too late. Not so much with your average house fire- most of those strike without warning.

I think that there is much work to be done in the realm of public perception about what is really going on in the world of hurricanes. That newspaper article could be quite a piece of evidence some day when the unthinkable happens in So. FL. It's too bad the public who makes those comments aren't forced to issue retractions.

[Regit]

I wish stupid was painful.

Some people amaze me.

[Lindaloo]

Let's think about this for a moment. There is a reason, perhaps many, that these people are making these responses. Now it is clear that this particular paper is not really moderating the responses. That leads to several people likely posting negative remarks without any reason other than they have sad, lonely lives with nothing positive going on anyway. We know people like that in our everyday lives.

So, throwing them out, let's look at the other responses that seem to be based on anger or anxiety about hurricanes in general. People are getting shafted by the insurance industry just as they are by the oil companies. Any news that could influence the insurance folks to raise rates certainly raises the ire of some people. However, the attacks on Max and the lack of educated responses leads me to believe that this very small sample of remarks indicates that indeed, perhaps as much as 50% of the population either does not care or thinks it is all just a sham- people are claiming that the sky is falling.

There in lies the problem. With so many people moving to FL, 1400+ per day on avg., how do you separate hype and media sensationalism from the very real threat from the greatest storm on Earth? It's incredible that a simple article about the new NHC director could invite so much negativity and angst. I guess there are people who just hate hurricanes and anyone who has anything to do with them- as if THEY were the reason why we even have hurricanes.

Let me ask you this- what if the article were about a new CEO of the Acme fire-hydrant company taking over after Walter Smith retired from 34 years of excllence? There would be similar info about the possibility of a bad fire season, and that people need to have smoke detectors, etc and be prepared in case of fire. Does the company that the article is written about come under fire from these same people as being "doom and gloom" and so forth? Let's face it, without the reality of tragic fires, there would be no need for the Acme fire-hydrant company. Right? Why is it that hurricanes draw out the worst in some people and yet the daily occurrences of house fires are vastly more common than a hurricane threat? We had no hurricanes to hit the U.S. in 2006 but had thousands and thousands of house fires. Where's the anger and hostility coming from concerning hurricanes? Is it because we name them- so it then becomes personal? Maybe that's it. Perhaps we should not name them anymore. Then hurricanes can become anonymous like arson is- then perhaps more people would pay attention if they had ample warning that some anonymous force is coming to destroy your town/neighborhood/home. If they knew that a serial arsonist was on the loose in South FL with the capability of burning down 26,000 homes I bet people would be quite afraid. And yet with hurricanes, we can see them coming before it's too late. Not so much with your average house fire- most of those strike without warning.

I think that there is much work to be done in the realm of public perception about what is really going on in the world of hurricanes. That newspaper article could be quite a piece of evidence some day when the unthinkable happens in So. FL. It's too bad the public who makes those comments aren't forced to issue retractions.

hurricanetrack! Good post!

[Downdraft]

I have some theories. Deep down people have a fear of God or even if they profess not to believe in God deep down they don't want to say anything that blames him. So, the answer is to take it out on someone related to the event. In disaster psych we teach first responders that at the start of the event people will treat responders like heroes because they've lost control of their own lives and need someone that seems to provide that control for them. After the event is over the same people resent the same responders even hate them because they are ready to regain that personal control but believe they have to remove those that have taken it over. Nothing wrong with that it's human nature and responders are prepared for it and understand that it's actually a positive sign of recovery. The idea of a Katrina event occuring in Tampa or Miami is so repugnant that it's easier to blame the media, the NHC for hyping it then to make them think about it. My final theory is Darwin's Theory of Natural Selection. Hurricanes come to cleanse the gene pool of those nature has selected for extinction because they're just plain stupid. The grasshopper loafed all summer while the ant worked and prepared. By spring the ant was all by himself hmmm fact or fable?