Reply #14: What went wrong . . .

[TeeYiYi]

. . . IMO, is that there was never a mandatory evacuation order for Charlotte County. It was only voluntary and came way too late to be useful. By the time the hurricane had changed from a category 2 to a category 3 (briefly) and then to a category 4 (in less than 45 minutes) and was heading straight for Charlotte Harbor there was no time to evacuate; with the possible exception of finding a local shelter. The last place you want to be in a category 4 hurricane is in your car and stuck in a traffic jam while trying to make a last minute dash for safety. Visitors were encouraged to evacuate starting on the 11th but residents were told to begin gathering enough water and supplies to last 3 to 7 days and to continue monitoring radio, television, newspapers and websites for more updates.

Evacuation orders as of Friday 13th (the day of the hurricane for crying out loud):

EVACUATIONS: Mandatory for visitors, nonresidents and mobile home residents in Monroe County (Florida Keys). Pinellas and Hillsborough counties have asked up to 680,000 Tampa Bay residents to evacuate from coastal or low-lying areas. Mandatory for tourists and residents of coastal areas of Lee, Sarasota, Hernando counties, Manatee, Pasco and Marco Island, Everglades City, and points in Naples in Collier County. Voluntary for people in Glades, Levy, Charlotte, DeSoto, Taylor, and other parts of Collier County that aren't mandatory.

http://cbs4.com/floridanews/FL--TropicalWeather-D-dn/resources_news_html


Jeb Bush signed this executive order on the 11th putting Craig Fugate in charge and then (went on vacation?):

GOVERNOR BUSH SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDER
RELATING TO TROPICAL STORMS BONNIE AND CHARLEY
~ State Emergency Operations Center at Level 2 activation~
TALLAHASSEE— Governor Jeb Bush today signed Executive Order 04-182, in
response to the anticipated landfall of Tropical Storms Bonnie and Charley on Florida’s
western coasts. The State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) is activated to a Level
2, or partial activation.
In anticipation of either or both tropical storms strengthening into Category 1 hurricanes,
the executive order declares a state of emergency for the entire State of Florida. The
order further designates Craig Fugate, Director of the Florida Division of Emergency
Management, as the State Coordinating Officer and gives Director Fugate authority to
act as the Governor’s representative. This order enables the State Emergency
Response Team (SERT) to coordinate and allocate the necessary state resources to
protect citizens and render aid to the local communities and counties to meet the needs
of this emergency.
For additional information on Tropical Storms Bonnie and Charley, and the State
Emergency Response Team, please visit the Florida Division of Emergency
Management on-line at: www.FloridaDisaster.org
###

I agree with you . . . I think something went terribly wrong. Maybe it falls on Craig Fugate, but what about Jeb?. It never made sense to me that he wouldn't be evacuating the entire southwest gulf coast of Florida from Tampa on down to Key West. What do you suppose the point of that executive order was? It only mentions "in the event of a category 1" and was issued less than two days prior to expected landfall.

I saw on the news tonight that there are 5000 National Guard troops on the ground NOW and helping out. Could that be true? I have my doubts. I smell a FUBAR coverup. I've seen a lot of footage and not until tonight did I see any NG guys and it wasn't 5000.

TYY