Poll: Most coastal residents lack hurricane plan
MIAMI ‚Äö√Ñ√Æ Most people along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts still lack a hurricane survival plan and don’t feel vulnerable to storms, despite Katrina’s dramatic damage and pleas from emergency officials for residents to prepare before the season starts, according to a poll released today. The six-month Atlantic season starts Friday, and forecasters have predicted an above-average year: 13 to 17 named storms, with seven to 10 of them becoming hurricanes and three to five of those major ones of at least Category 3 strength. One forecaster said odds were high that a major hurricane would hit the U.S. this year. Nevertheless, 53 percent of those surveyed in 18 Atlantic and Gulf Coast states say they don’t feel that they are vulnerable to a hurricane, or to related tornadoes and flooding, according to the Mason-Dixon poll.
Ah, behold the wondrous power of denial. Yes, hurricane season begins today, which means that weather forecasts take on a much different meaning. For the next five months, anyone ‘round these parts with half a brain and a sense of history will be paying much closer attention to what’s happening in the Atlantic and the Caribbean. No, living along the Gulf Coast doesn’t mean living in mortal fear, but one doesn’t have to look back but two years to get a taste of what can happen. Katrina and Rita taught us all a lesson about the power and destructive capacity of hurricanes. I was fortunate enough to watch the evacuation of Houston from the safety of a golf course clubhouse in Williamsburg, VA. We weren’t stuck in the clusterf—k that was 4 million people all try to leave town at the same time, and for that I will always be grateful
I still remember laying in our hotel room that night, watching CNN as we stayed awake all night and wondering if we’d have a house to come back to. Such is the price for living along the Gulf Coast. Hopefully, we’ll be as fortunate this hurricane season as we were last, but anyone who was here in 1983 can tell you about what Hurricane Alicia did to the Houston-Galveston area. It might happen again…or it might not. All we can do is wait…while we keep one eye on the weather forecast.
Oh…and our evacuation plan? Pack up the dogs and drive north. What else could we do?
