Subject: Hurricane Florence
Message Body:
Living in NC, I wanted to share some observations about Hurricane Florence. At first it looked like the hurricane would come ashore strong and head either to Fayetteville or Raleigh. Then, the forecasts had the hurricane turning southwest after landfall. I observed people panicking in grocery stores. They seemed unable to decide what to buy. However, they did grab bread and water, clearing off the shelves. I observed similar behavior at a large, hardware store. Batteries went fast, as expected. One of my neighbors witnessed fights at a gas station. This was needless panic, that appeared to result from a lack of preparedness. Most people appeared not to have learned what to do, not to have accrued the most basic gear, and not to have acted before fear overcame others. They did not already have cyalume glow sticks, they didn’t think to tie down outdoor furniture, they had never learned and practiced knots, they didn’t own an inexpensive hand-crank powered radio. They had vacationed in Hawaii, but never bothered to buy a sturdy, folding knife. They owned a beach house, and complained that they were losing rental income, but they didn’t have a first aid kit, and then asked me why they would need a first aid kit! Wednesday night before the hurricane, I met some evacuees from Wilmington. The subject of dogs came up and they said, “We left our dogs (3) in the house.” They left their dogs to die, how disgusting! The hurricane was much less damaging than the early predictions, though we may not always be so lucky. Regardless, the lessons will be just as valid for the next one.