Gustav musings
Aug. 27th, 2008 10:43 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gwynhefarWhen I first heard about it two days ago, it was still a tropical storm and wasn't even to Haiti yet. Yesterday, folks were talking about it, and this morning I get an email reminder to sign up for the university's emergency text messaging system. Yes, folks, it's official. A hurricane is in the Gulf and Louisiana is on alert. It would be almost funny if it weren't so serious.
Years of having the Big One pass them by had made Louisianans rather blasé about hurricanes. They happened every year, after all. Then Katrina hit, and so many were unprepared, myself included. The first I heard about Katrina was when my parents called me on Saturday morning. Ok, so I'm not much of a news person or I would have heard earlier, but the point is, no one was even really talking about it on Friday. Then Saturday came and folks started to realise it might actually hit us this time. I got about four or five calls Saturday from friends and family, so I would have figured it out by then, but of course, when you're talking real preparation, that was way too late. Saturday afternoon I went out and bought a case of bottled water and some batteries and that was about the extent of my preparation (it was significant, I think, that I obtained both those items rather easily and without fuss). Of course, Baton Rouge is far enough from the coast to be pretty much safe from major flooding of the type seen in the lower parishes. I'd like to think that those in New Orleans and along the coast were paying more attention to Katrina than I was, but we all know how that turned out.
The point is, if nothing else, we've learned from our mistakes. We've been lucky in the past few years in that only a handful of hurricanes have made it into the Gulf at all and those that did hit far enough away to not be an issue. I mean, I feel sorry for Mexico and Texas and West Florida, but at least it wasn't here. And I knew about each one well in advance. Because we pay attention now. Every time a named storm rounds the Florida Peninsula, Louisianans keep a weather eye on the Gulf. Because you never know.
As for me, I still have that case of bottled water. I'll actually be in Birmingham this weekend, but I'll be keeping an eye on the news.
Years of having the Big One pass them by had made Louisianans rather blasé about hurricanes. They happened every year, after all. Then Katrina hit, and so many were unprepared, myself included. The first I heard about Katrina was when my parents called me on Saturday morning. Ok, so I'm not much of a news person or I would have heard earlier, but the point is, no one was even really talking about it on Friday. Then Saturday came and folks started to realise it might actually hit us this time. I got about four or five calls Saturday from friends and family, so I would have figured it out by then, but of course, when you're talking real preparation, that was way too late. Saturday afternoon I went out and bought a case of bottled water and some batteries and that was about the extent of my preparation (it was significant, I think, that I obtained both those items rather easily and without fuss). Of course, Baton Rouge is far enough from the coast to be pretty much safe from major flooding of the type seen in the lower parishes. I'd like to think that those in New Orleans and along the coast were paying more attention to Katrina than I was, but we all know how that turned out.
The point is, if nothing else, we've learned from our mistakes. We've been lucky in the past few years in that only a handful of hurricanes have made it into the Gulf at all and those that did hit far enough away to not be an issue. I mean, I feel sorry for Mexico and Texas and West Florida, but at least it wasn't here. And I knew about each one well in advance. Because we pay attention now. Every time a named storm rounds the Florida Peninsula, Louisianans keep a weather eye on the Gulf. Because you never know.
As for me, I still have that case of bottled water. I'll actually be in Birmingham this weekend, but I'll be keeping an eye on the news.
