There'll be a lot of splainin to do in Fl

[graywarrior]

Hope this is the correct posting area (somewhat similar to hoping you're in the correct area when the storm hits.) But let me tell ya, I'm pissed at what went down here in Florida. Three day coverage of a category 3 storm to hit Tampa Bay, millions evacuated. I'm in Sarasota. We prepared for the worst. But seeing the damage that happened in Punta Gorda, I know if it hit us, we would not have survived.
Those people in Punta Gorda did not expect a direct hit. All tv coverage up until a few hours before the storm claimed Tampa or Sarasota. Then, they get slammed with a category 4 storm.
And then, Arcadia gets leveled. Not a chance in hell. We don't even know the death count yet. Recue teams are unorganized. It seems from tv reports that no one really knows what they have for a plan. They are waiting for someone to come in and help. Where's the NG?
I feel grateful to have not gotten hit, but I also feels sick at the loss of all those communities.
Damn.
And Bush will suck all this up and use it.
Double damn.

[lil-petunia]

1. the good news is that the storm headed for the home of the Rodent,

Mickey somebody or other. maybe it will wash it away.

[Blue Gardener]

2. You know where the Guard is

In Iraq, defending someone else's homeland.

[Warpy]

3. It's impossible to predict with 100% certainty

exactly what the wobbly center of a hurricane is going to do. Anybody living in a trailer who has even a remote possibility of getting slammed oughta get outta Dodge. A few hours in a shelter won't kill you. Staying in a trailer just might.

And yeah, Bush is going to milk the misery for all it's worth.

[Cobalt Violet]

4. Bush is now asking for $1,000,000,000.00.

That seems like a huge # for me. Enought for a to rebuild a million million dollar homes. I thought that a trailer park got hit hard?

[Shopaholic]

5. I heard Jebbie tellilng people they only had to evacuate 10 or so miles

to escape damage! He really is as dumb as *! When Hugo hit South Carolina in 1989 the damage was statewide[/i}! 10 miles out of the way does not cut it when there is no getting out of the way! Wonder how many folks died heeding the governor's advice?

[LibLabUK]

10. Umm

"'Bush is now asking for $1,000,000,000.00.'"

Okay, an American billion.

"Enought for a to rebuild a million million dollar homes"

Only if he was asking for a British billion ($1,000,000,000,000.00).

With an American billion, he could rebuild one thousand million-dollar homes.

To rebuild one million million-dollar homes he'd need 1000 American billions.

[Cobalt Violet]

22. Yes,

I should stick to the painting and give up mathematics.

[alcuno]

6. I don't know if anyone's at fault, but Tampa/St. Pete was built up

as the target and people seem to have been caught unawares. Seniors in Florida do not stay on the coast in a mobile home during a hurricane unless there has been some pretty poor communication.

[Catt03]

7. What's to use?

I would be mad as hell if I were you all.

While predicting the path of a hurricane is not exact, there are a lot of questions I would ask.

Why weren't evacuations in effect for the entire coast and not just Tampa?

I live in South Florida and when there is a storm watch, every city and town for almost the entire east coast of Florida is on high alert.
We have lived with these storms for so long that we know they can turn on a dime.


When this happens it is always a political issue. The building codes, mobile homes, land fill near the water, home construction, etc.

[DoYouEverWonder]

8. It will be Jeb's fault if the response to the disaster

resembles what happened when FL got hit by Andrew.

I don't fault Jeb for not being able to predict where the hurricane would make landfall. But I will fault Jeb, if his response to the hurricane is inadequate and if more people die as a result.

I heard that he called up 1000 - 2000 (?) National Guard yesterday. That is not going to be enough. The test of Jeb's leadership will be over the next few days. Unfortunately, I don't have high hopes for his success.

[slojim240]

19. I hope FEMA is as good as it was under Clinton.

It took the first half of the 1st term of the Clinton administ to straighten FEMA out after the loathsome Bush I administrations fumbled with the agency. During many of the disaster crises in the 90's there were complaints in the beginning but by the end of Clinton's two terms FEMA was getting high marks around the country from the people who were affected by disasters.

[lpbk2713]

9. I live about 30 miles east of Tampa.

I was watching the coverage on all the local TV stations. Up to just a few hours before the storm actually came ashore the experts were predicting it would come ashore near the mouth of Tampa Bay and then they moved it further north to the St Pete/Clearwater area. They urged, and in some cases, demanded people in those areas to evacuate to the inland areas. As we know now it missed St Pete by about 80 miles. The on-scene press were sending their reports from that area in calm sunny surroundings while the storm was doing its damage a long distance away. The real tragedy is the poor folks who sought shelter away from the storm were actually sent in the path of the storm. Either these experts ought to get better at their job or the people who order evacuations and other extreme measures ough to consider that they are not totally infallible.

[BiggJawn]

11. I wake up and hear "extensive loss of life" and wonder WTF????

What happened? They've been talking about this thing all week. Did they under-estimate it? Did people decide to stay home, clutching their Magical 9-11 Teddy Bears, trusting Jeebus to keep them safe?

Did warnings NOT go out? Were there no shelters opened? Were people not forced to leave (yeah, I know, turn out the lights and be quiet till the cops go away)

I don'r get it. There's no reason for people to die.

But the Nat. Guard is all in Iraq, and the Governor's a dick-wadd, just like his brother.

[rfkrocks]

12. Amen-there is no NATIONAL GUARD ANYMORE

Halliburton will get the contract to clean up Florida while the weekend warriors get shot at or blown up in Iraq

[bear425]

13. It's my understanding that

two of the shelters were damaged in the hurricane. I believe the roofs were damaged.

[alcuno]

14. Shelters were open and I heard no one was hurt in the ones where

the roofs blew off. People just didn't seem to think it was coming to their area. The media was obsessed with Tampa/St. Pete.

[RebelOne]

15. I remember way back when I lived in South Florida

we were hit by Hurricane Cleo. The hurricane advisory said that Miami was not going to be hit, so no one was prepared. All of a sudden, it turned and hit us head on. There was extensive damage because we were told it was going up the coast and out to see. Even as it was hitting, the radio announcers were say we were not going to get it.

[madfloridian]

16. BayNews9 in Tampa midmorning began calling landfall to the south.

Meanwhile, the National Weather Service kept preaching Tampa Tampa.

BayNews9 kept repeating it, showing the models, showing the little kick to the right. I posted it here yesterday.

Then for another several hours I would see Google, or national news still saying Tampa. I saw folks on local TV saying even though some suspected further south, the official path was still Tampa.

Someone or some model really goofed big time. Someone should check with www.baynews9.com and ask them how they figured it out before the weather service did.

[Ripley]

17. The number one problem is "trailers."

Here in Alabama when an F4 tornado hit one mile from my house it destroyed a grocery store and many brick homes, but only injuries no deaths. It continued on to the mobile home park and killed 10.

Actually the Senators here DID something. They made sure some of the federal disaster money was used to build this community a storm shelter.

Frankly, I think all mobile home parks in the south should be forced to provide an underground shelter for the residents. There is not always enough time to drive to a community shelter, since a lot of these parks are out in the country. And besides no one can predict with absolute certainty where a tornado or hurricane will hit.

I haven't heard from my aunt in Orlando, hope she's okay. Now my sister in Myrtle beach and parents in Wilmington are getting slammed. I can't reach anyone!

Damn Charley!

[skygazer]

24. Yep, trailers and hurricanes don't mix

I lived in Alabama for a year (Theodore, just south of Mobile)back in the 80's. We rented a trailer. When we arrived, I was puzzled to see that there were three or four lines of metal strapping that ran up from posts sunk in the pad and over the trailer to another post on the other side. To keep it from blowing away. Not real reassuring.

[thinkingwoman]

18. um, the strike zone clearly included punta gorda

Charley stayed within the projected strike zone. Anyone who watches hurricanes and certainly anyone living in a hurricane prone area should know that these storms can turn suddenly OUT of the projected zone. Turning within the zone is absolutely to be expected.

Also, Charley is a storm that made a nearly 90 degree left turn to miss Jamaica...anyone watching the storm approach the U.S. last week should have had that in mind.

Finally, intensifying from a Cat 2 to a Cat 4 in 2 hours is amazing. Weather forecasting is not an exact science.

On the other hand, I think we should all be told why buildings designated as shelters collapsed and why we don't have massive numbers of the NG and others in the area helping victims.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

21. A well formed storm travels slowly over the warm Gulf Waters

not much surprise it packed up a MUCH bigger punch as it closed in.
There's enough science and history to know that would happen.

[bluedog]

20. bushy......both coming for photo op

photo op my ass


I wish one of my neighbors would ask him where the hell the guard is. We are asking for volunteers to help down help.....the area is a mess and our guard is over in Iraq.......helping the Iraqis but not helping its own CITIZENS.........yes I am pissed to all hell.

My county Pinellas was evacuated Friday night.(I lived in E zone) and stayed.....my friends moved inward to Orlando.Polk county..they headed right for the path of the storm.......

What pisses me off.is they stated Charlie is coming in like Donna did.......well damn it.Donna came in at Fort Meyers and crossed over the state to Daytona..........these inland areas should have had the same warning we had to get the hell out.....

Like I said.photo op my ass......

[wellstone dem]

23. And the post disaster communications has been terrible

land lines and no cell phone access have apparently made communication extremely difficult.

So much for disaster preparedness.