The double-standards of storm coverage

[justiceischeap]

I remember when Katrina hit and people were lambasting the media for not covering it enough before the devastation hit. That people didn't get enough warning, that the government wasn't involved enough or didn't seem to care about a potentially devastating hurricane.

Now we have a hurricane that was likely to do a lot of damage to a very large portion of the Eastern seaboard and miles inland and people are complaining that it's too much, too sensationalistic, the media is crying wolf and people won't pay attention in the future. I watched the coverage on both MSNBC and The Weather Channel and they repeatedly stated that we got lucky in regards to the wind but we STILL had to worry about storm surges. Over 2 million people lost power, 10 people (last I read) died, towns along rivers are flooded up and down the Eastern seaboard, which isn't really getting reported but damned if we didn't get the response we should have had for Katrina. Does anyone honestly think all involved will make that mistake again?

Since I live on the Eastern seaboard and had a very real chance of being "devastated" by this hurricane but got lucky and didn't even lose power, I am glad that the media covered it like they did. I was able to prepare ahead of the crazy lines (because we all know there are last minute shoppers no matter the situation) and feel as though I could get through this storm if it was as bad as they were predicting and I could heave a sigh of relief if they got it wrong--either way I had it covered.

Do I think that cable news milks this shit for all it's worth? Hell yes, I do but warning people about impending danger, is never a bad thing and if people didn't tune in, the media wouldn't cover it the way they do. And FYI, those of us that have been through hurricanes before know all too well that a storm that starts out as 'epic' can quickly turn into a non-event and vice versa.

[lunatica]

1. Lots of us are happy for the coverage

It's just that some people love to hurl screaming criticism at the top of their lungs, so it seems like more people are complaining.

[justiceischeap]

3. What really chaps my ass about the complainers

is that they then poke fun of us Easterner's like we had something to do with the news coverage. Like we're on street corners with sandwich boards, screaming at the top our lungs, "The big one is coming!"

I certainly appreciated the coverage even though it was more tabloid than journalism. I had water, 'D' batteries, bread, PB&J and a bucket in case I needed toilet water. I can ignore the dorks in their wind jackets standing in the middle of a storm admonishing people for... walking around in the middle of a storm and extrapolate what I needed from their coverage and predictions.

[Ruby the Liberal]

8. Without sounding insensitive on purpose

I think your comment about extrapolation may be a key in this. Those of us in the path (or appreciative of the coverage) showed the capacity for being able to extrapolate. Perhaps those whose feathers are in a ruffle didn't have the same capability?

Talking to you, George Will, Howard Kurtz, David Schuster...

[Neurotica]

2. You've captured how I've been feeling about this

We were away from home last week and I occasionally checked in with news/weather reports to find the latest on the hurricane since we would be impacted. I had enough info to make good decisions, which is very much appreciated. Fortunately, we didn't flood and we have no property damage. It could have been much different. Many others are dealing with devastating flooding situations right now.

[doublethink]

4. 21 deaths attributed to the storm so far .....

http://news.yahoo.com/hurricane-irene-leads-least-21-deaths-234223346.html

Lots of flooding .... I knew this morning when I started to check out the you-tube videos being posted that flooding would be a big part of the aftermath of this storm. Seems to be true tonight. K&R for your post.

[Curmudgeoness]

5. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

There is a reason that is an old saying.

Just please, do not ignore the next warnings because they have desensitized you. I did that in Houston after years of scares, and I should have been better prepared when it finally happened. They will not be wrong every time, just maybe 9 out of 10 times. But woe to those who ignore that tenth one.

[Ruby the Liberal]

6. Update: 4mm without power and 19 dead

And we are nowhere close to the final numbers given that New England is under seige and places like the Catskills and the State of Vermont haven't even seen the crests from flooding yet.

:-(

[malaise]

7. Four million without power

K & R - good post

[October]

9. You stated very well what I've been feeling

Ever since the earthquake... it seems a lot of people are poking fun at eastern seaboard types.

We've had the earthquake (yes, maybe small compared to California...but we're new at it, and we live/work in very old brick/glass buildings).
Then we were hit with Irene, which brought tornados, flooding, downed wires, and trees.

I haven't been able to watch any of the coverage -- either because I was attending to my flooded basement, concerned about my town/neighbors, or didn't have power.

A local friend with family in Massachusetts posted this video:

http://vimeo.com/28268912

[yardwork]

10. Some of the accusations of over-hyping are coming from right-wing corporatists like George Will.

There have been calls to get rid of the National Weather Service on Fox News. A few posts here on DU seem to be pushing the same meme - the idea that the government doesn't need to have a weather service, that this is all nonsense, etc.

[Renew Deal]

11. I think many of us feel that we got away lucky on this one

At least on LI. It could have been a lot worse. I've seen some smashed trees and power out, but almost no building damage. I think I saw exactly 1 house roof damaged.

[Hoopla Phil]

12. This hurricane was never predicted to be a major hurricane.

But from the build up in the reporting you'd think it was The Devastator.

The models had it going in as a strong Cat 2 or weak Cat 3. That is not a major hurricane, it was all media hype. We kept hearing reports of what this storm "could" do or what it "might" bring.

As it turned out it was even weaker than the models predicted. It was majorly over blown.

[bettyellen]

13. it's kind of like how southerners freak out over 1/2" of snow. except a hurricanes ARE dangerous

we just don;t get them up here. so we needed to prepare.