Freakin' Out.
I'm freaked out by Hurricane Rita. Far more freaked than I was about Katrina. Here's why:
1) It's already Category 5. Katrina was Category 4 when it hit land.
2) I was ignorant of the devastation these hurricanes can cause last time. (The top officials in the federal government, by the way, were not. They just didn't do anything in time.) Ignorance, contrary to Calvin's assertions in the blog entry below, ain't bliss. This time, I'm aware of what Rita can do.
3) I'm not at all convinced the government is prepared. This is the federal government we're talking about! They aren't to good at fixing themselves up in a matter of weeks. There haven't even been any investigations into precisely how they screwed up with Katrina.
4) As much as the images of the suffering people in New Orleans seared my soul, I must confess it wasn't personal for me. A flaw in my own limited compassion and all-too-human heart. This time, it is personal to me. My good friend Mike Mott lives in Houston. I don't think he's in the area slated for evacuation and he and his family are keeping close tabs on the news. And he's keeping me and his other Vandy friends up-to-date via e-mail. But I'm still worried.
Mike, if you have any doubts as to your safety......GET THE HELL OUT!
Ok, I gotta go back to living my life or something.
Update: Mike and family are in the evacuation area....they are headed for Shreveport, LA. Y'all are in my prayers.
1) It's already Category 5. Katrina was Category 4 when it hit land.
2) I was ignorant of the devastation these hurricanes can cause last time. (The top officials in the federal government, by the way, were not. They just didn't do anything in time.) Ignorance, contrary to Calvin's assertions in the blog entry below, ain't bliss. This time, I'm aware of what Rita can do.
3) I'm not at all convinced the government is prepared. This is the federal government we're talking about! They aren't to good at fixing themselves up in a matter of weeks. There haven't even been any investigations into precisely how they screwed up with Katrina.
4) As much as the images of the suffering people in New Orleans seared my soul, I must confess it wasn't personal for me. A flaw in my own limited compassion and all-too-human heart. This time, it is personal to me. My good friend Mike Mott lives in Houston. I don't think he's in the area slated for evacuation and he and his family are keeping close tabs on the news. And he's keeping me and his other Vandy friends up-to-date via e-mail. But I'm still worried.
Mike, if you have any doubts as to your safety......GET THE HELL OUT!
Ok, I gotta go back to living my life or something.
Update: Mike and family are in the evacuation area....they are headed for Shreveport, LA. Y'all are in my prayers.
posted by Ben at
8:37 PM
2 Comments:
Katrina was a 5 before it hit land, and fizzled a bit - that's what I'm hoping will happen with Rita. Hurricanes that big start to churn the water so much that colder water from below the surface reaches the top, helping to choke off the 'cane. So it probably won't be worse than Katrina. And Houston/Galveston is above the water level, so that's a leg up on N.O. right there.
Even so, I'm glad Mike's getting the hell out of Houston.
By
Jeff, at 9/21/2005 11:44 PM
It's already a category 3, as I predicted. Oh well. For a full account of my harrowing evacuation experience, head here. THanks for all the support guys :)
By
Mike, at 9/24/2005 1:36 AM
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