I'm hearing this am that at least 10 people

[janswizard]

died as a result of Isabel. I don't understand this. There was enough media coverage to warn that this system was coming. People had enough time to leave their homes and seek shelter away from the storm. Everyone was warned that it wasn't just the winds that could be fatal but as with most storms, the storm surge and flooding would be a major problem. Still, 10 families have had their lives changed forever. What could have been said or done differently that would have spared at least 10 families the most awful consequence of this storm?

[Josephine96]

The death toll is up to 14 at last count...

[wx247]

Unfortunately Janswizard... I don't know what could have been done differently. I posted in a topic similar to this one that the media did downplay the strength of the storm since it had been a Cat.5 at one time. Yet... some people are willing to take a chance no matter what the media or the "experts" say.

[themusk]

There's been a great deal of research into how people behave in the face of a hazard. The ultimate aim of the research has been to learn how to communicate to people what actions they need to take in order to be safe. Obviously even "perfect" predictions won't do a thing unless people respond appropriately to the warnings they receive.

One of the things research has shown is that the first reaction people have to a warning (be it a weather alert, a fire alarm, or someone shouting "run! we're being attacked!") is to try to validate the hazard message.

An intelligent person in hurricane-prone areas can safely examine TPC products for themselves and see that, in fact, a hurricane is threatening them. But, unfortunately, most people aren't very intelligent, and few people have learned how to reason properly. Most people, instead, try to "validate" the warning by talking to often equally-uninformed friends and neighbors, by comparing the current hazard to their past experiences, and by looking at what the media actually does.

And what some people are hearing is often "oh, I was here when we were brushed by the very edge of Hugo, and it's never really as bad as they say it will be". What they're getting from the media are messages like "rapidly weakening hurricane Alpha has decreased overnight from a Category 5 storm to a strong Category 4, and we're all so relieved by this", and "hi, I'm weather reporter John Smith, standing in the storm surge over here on this barrier island, waiting for the eyewall to arrive".

The human urge to validate a hazard warning before taking action becomes even more counterproductive with flood warnings. There, people want to see deep water. They don't understand that water can go from a trickle to a torrent faster than they can react to it, or that floodwaters don't have to be over their heads (or even over their hubcaps) to wash them away.

(And if you think all of this is bad-- contrary to what you'd think, research shows that, in a fire, many people run towards the smoke and flames. Sometimes I think our species survives in spite of ourselves.)

[~SirCane]

It's because people didn't take it seriously when it lost some punch. I don't know what propels people to be so careless.

A 100mph Hurricane is nothing to joke about. That is still very powerful!!

[ColdWaterConch]

Do you know the circumstances of these deaths? Some of them are loosely related to the storm. Here are some of the deaths "caused" by Isabel:

VA: 1 death, traffic accident due to heavy rain
PA: 1 death, car struck downed tree
MD: 2 deaths; 1 pedestrian struck by car; 1 fatality when car struck police car at intersection w/ non-working light
RI: 1 death, 66 yo man swept off of rocks
NC: electrical worker killed

[wx247]

But they were all caused by the storm so I think they are legit.

[Lutrastorm]

One fatality in Virginia when people decided to go canoeing on a creek yesterday.

[wx247]

One fatality in Virginia when people decided to go canoeing on a creek yesterday.

Those are the kind of fatalities that disturb me most. Why go canoeing during a hurricane? :o :o :o

[Lutrastorm]

Candidate for a Darwin Award IMO.....

[wx247]

Yep.

Latest report is that there are now 17 fatalities.

[Josephine96]

Sadly there probably will be a few more deaths because of the storm too.. It's still early yet. I just pray for the victims and the families..

[opera ghost]

Because people are ... well.. stupid. Like the canoers. And Rainstorms cause accidents (we just don't dwell on the fact that a severe thunderstom caused malfunctioning lights and someone died when that storm isn't named a hurricane) And people make honest mistakes.

The Canoers? Stupid. Man swept off rocks? WTHeck was he doing on the rocks in a hurricane? Stupid. Electrical? Sorry- that's stupid as well. If you're going to play with electricity- read the manual first (I understand he goofed up when the generator and the power coming back went nuts) or hire a professional.

Allt he car accidents?- Accidents. Sad, but they coudl be atrributed to any storm that has a fury enough to create these hazards- nothign hurricane-special.

Mitch killed thousands in Mexico (I think it was Mitch) We're doing pretty good with Issy- a couple of silly people and a couple of accidents... that's about a day in the life of america folks.

Now when the number climb by dozens- then I'll wonder why people didn't listen. 14 out of the thousands and thousands who evacuated? That's genetic selection.

[alicia-w]

WHOA THERE! The electrician was a power company guy. His death was caused by the stupidity of someone ELSE, i.e. the generator situation that was posted earlier. If you're gonna use a generator, disconnect from external power FIRST. For goodness sake, read your manuals!

The guy in Rhode Island figured he was safe, the hurricane was nowhere near there then. That area is notorious for surf, from what I've been told.

There's no way to control trees falling on cars and many of these deaths have been traffic related.

No death is justified and some are more difficult to avoid than others.

LIVE AND LEARN.

[opera ghost]

WHOA THERE! The electrician was a power company guy. His death was caused by the stupidity of someone ELSE, i.e. the generator situation that was posted earlier. If you're gonna use a generator, disconnect from external power FIRST. For goodness sake, read your manuals!

Okie dokie I was working off mis-information about the electrician I understood he was a normal guy who goofed up switching his generator and normal power around and fried himself in the process. As someone who worked with direct current for a couple of years, it seems like a truely avoidable and seriously stupid mistake- since it WASN'T the case- SHAME on the guy who didn't read his freaking manual! He's going to have to live with that the rest of his life.

[wrkh99]

So sad !

[alicia-w]

I like your avatar. You should send it to Arizona and Nevada Public Safety departments so they can add it to their signs for flooded washes.