Why is everyone so worried about hurricanes?

[Dark Espeon]

Why is everybody getting so worked up about Rita and/or Katrina, etc, etc? It's just a hurricane, what's the big deal? Becuase It devastates everything? Yeah, it's what it does. Because it kills some people? Duh, it happens. Because it's the biggest or most intense hurricane ever? Meh, bigger or smaller, hurricanes are just hurricanes.

We have had them for centuries in Cuba, and the world sure doesnt' seem to care a whole lot. So why with the US? US is to me just another country . If ye ask me, only Unitedstaters should worry...

As for us (Cubans), when one is coming, we prepare ourselves, and usually there is only one or two deaths, if any. After it's gone, then we come back. Guess US doesn't get them as often as us...

And can I ask why on Earth nobody from New Orléans got their asses out of the city when Katrina was coming? Because being the richest country of the world, they oughta have seen it coming...

All I want is fairness. A third world country has a natural disaster and it's in the news alright, but people don't worry much (unless it's really huge, like the tsunami), and forget the next day. The US gets a natural disaster and it's all over the world. Why worry about the most powerful country of the world? It has more money than Latin America and Africa together. Surely they will recover from the damages in no time. After all, if it can afford spending billions in war, it can very well use more billions in helping the affected ones...

EDIT: Is this supposed to be in the Hurrican Rita section?

 

[Fig]

In this particular case :

1)Those hurricanes have both threatened major cities (New Orleans and 500 000 inhabitants before, Houston and some millions this time around).

2)People DID evacuate. Out of 500 000 citizens of NOLA, 400 000 managed to evacuate. But not everyone has the means to leave - some people are just too poor for it. So as far as "getting your ass out of there"...there are limits. Even the local government would likely have been hard-pressed to evacuate all those people.

3)Both Katrina and Rita are major economical threats for various reasons. First, they severly affect the production of oil in the United States, which is centered in the Gulf. Lower oil production translates to higher oil cost (as there is more demand but less offer), which means that in turn it costs more to transport freight from one end of the country to the other. Bottom line : the prices for a wide variety of goods increase (food, etc), people have less money to spend, so many sectors of the economy are forced to slow down, resulting in people losing their jobs, etc. THAT is the biggest threat from Katrina/Rita.

4)Second, they both threatened major seaports. Katrina actually clogged up the most important inland waterway in the United States (the Mississipi), which dramatically slow down the economic activities of several states along that river. Houston, similarly, is another major seaport (though not as important as New Orleans).

5)Any slowdown in the economy of the "mightiest country in the world" affect virtually *EVERY* other country in the world - that is, any country that has economic dealings with the United States (ie, pretty much everyone except Cuba). Much of Canada's economy depends on trade with the United States; if the United States are able to buy less, then Canada has fewer people buying its stuff. The same goes for virtually any other country.

6)The Oil price trouble is universal. The price will rise everywhere.

Essentialy, Katrina's a big deal for everyone because it's bad for everyone (except Cuba).

 

[spokethewind]

The reason why no one left New Orleans is b/c they had no idea their city was the bowl shape that it was. It was as catastrophic as it was not b/c of the hurricane itself but the flood walls collapsed sending water into the city. Not to mention, poor people who don't have cars, or very decent cars just couldn't leave. Buses weren't an option.

And yes, the US gets hurricanes I would say as much if not more than Cuba does. We worry b/c we worry about our people, the way our nation handled the situation and for the economy. Our dollar is weak now and gas has risen again even though it's probably less than the rest of the world, it's still a jump that we aren't used to and yes we're going to complain. Just like anyone can complain about anything.

Katrina was a catagory 4 storm. Which many of those haven't been around. THAT'S why it's as big of a news story as it is. I'm not trying to tear you down but have some respect. Over a thousand of people died. The Tsunami was big b/c it was sudden, but also b/c people were stuck. Same thing happened here, you get caught and when you don't have transportation you can't do anything but stay and pray.Things are in the news not b/c of a storm but b/c of the number of deaths. A hurricane hit some south american country like 5 or 6 years ago that killed more than a thousand people and that was all over for quite some time.

I blame the city of New Orleans for the way the people died, but even if they tried to fix the problem when it was known more than a few years ago, it would have taken years and years to fix and they still wouldn't have been ready for Katrina.

Just b/c our country is rich, doesn't mean we don't have homeless people. We have plenty of them and plenty of poor people who just couldn't understand what was going to happen. And see, we aren't so rich anymore. We're spending money that we don't have and Bush isn't taxing. You wanna know how not rich we are? We're 6 TRILLION dollars in debt.

 

[GrnMarvl14]

As for us (Cubans), when one is coming, we prepare ourselves, and usually there is only one or two deaths, if any. After it's gone, then we come back. Guess US doesn't get them as often as us...

Well yeah, you're lucky...Castro actually CARES about the people...at least more than Bush does. I've seen footage of the Cuban evacuation procedures, and it blows me mind that America is so inept. For THE world power, you'd think we'd be smarter.

And can I ask why on Earth nobody from New Orléans got their asses out of the city when Katrina was coming? Because being the richest country of the world, they oughta have seen it coming...

Even the richest country in the world (which...that just depends on WHICH defintion you're using, since technically Luxembourg is the richest per capita) has its poor. That's how capitalism works. People get lucky, others get screwed. Just because you KNOW there's a hurricane doesn't mean you can leave (because America is stupid when it comes to getting people out of obvious danger...and stupid in other areas).

All I want is fairness. A third world country has a natural disaster and it's in the news alright, but people don't worry much (unless it's really huge, like the tsunami), and forget the next day. The US gets a natural disaster and it's all over the world. Why worry about the most powerful country of the world? It has more money than Latin America and Africa together. Surely they will recover from the damages in no time. After all, if it can afford spending billions in war, it can very well use more billions in helping the affected ones...

That's not entirely true. That's all about WHERE the damage occurs and how much. Oklahoma is hit by tornadoes every year, and I RARELY see anything on it outside of the local news. Same with Kansas. Hurricanes just tend to be bigger and more destructive. And, as we control everything, we control how long it gets carried on news stations. Is it messed up? You betcha.

Even the local government would likely have been hard-pressed to evacuate all those people.

They could have. They should have. They didn't. Why? I don't honestly have the slightest clue. But if America could get organized (as our Homeland Security SHOULD BE DOING, BUT ISN'T...sorry, I'm a little ticked off at them) we wouldn't see this happen again.

Buses weren't an option.

Actually they WERE an option, just one of the ones that wasn't utilized, for whatever reason. They showed entire parking lots full of buses that COULD have been used, but somewhere in the organizational phase, something happen. I won't make assumptions at what.

And I guarantee EVERYONE that by this time next year (unless there's another hurricane at this time) no one will even remember Rita (unless they lived in an area affected). America, and the world in general, has a very short memory.

 

[Dark Espeon]

Yes, I did get a bit carried away, sorry. I just thought that with so much money, the US would recover from a hurricane really quick, unlike us, who would definitely take our time.

Still, did I miss something? Because I know there are poor people in the US, but so there are in Cuba. Yet, somehow, Fidel moves the earth and the sky to evacuate everyone, sometimes, even the cattle of farmers if possible, so I don't think being rich or poor is a good enough excuse for all of this. Guess you're richer than us, but we're better organized . *is astonished* How contradictory!

Yes, Cuba has less population, making evacuation easier, but really, you got the means to do it. I guess GMMarvl13 is right: Castro cares more than Bush. Well, either that or the US's president/government is a failure (c'mon, even with debts and economy affected, you're still the most powerful country of the world -pull yourselves together!) =O.

I also think that it was that you guys weren't ready/used to this. I mean, between June and November, every Cuban knows it's hurricane season, so they must be alert. You guys, however, are not used to it, for the islands of the Caribbean usually take most hurricanes themselves.

Hhhmm, ye don't have mountains around the south, do you? I don't think so...I was thinking about our shape. We're long, like a crocodile. The east of the island is full of mountains (the second highest in the Caribbean). The center is flat, and the west is flat with some mountains. If the hurricane touches the east, the mountians weaken it. As it moves towards the west of the island, it weakens more, for this takes time. By the time it reaches Havana (on the west), which takes two days or so, depending on the speed, the hurricane is even weaker, and people are ready too, so the effects are minimal. People also use mountains to avoid floods and such.

But Katrina, with no weakening (for it didn't touch other islands I think), and New Orleans, served in silver platter (for it is flat, and has no mountains around), it was just too easy to get you. The more a hurricane stays at the sea, the stronger it will become. Not always, but usually. I may not be a meteorologist, but I do know a lot about hurricanes.

 

[GrnMarvl14]

Yes, I did get a bit carried away, sorry. I just thought that with so much money, the US would recover from a hurricane really quick, unlike us, who would definitely take our time.

Well, keep in mind that it does take a certain amount of time to drain the city, and no amount of money in the world can speed that up. America DOES have issues we should be able to solve more easily, but the time it'll take is largely based on the simple laws of physics. You can only hammer a nail so fast.

Still, did I miss something? Because I know there are poor people in the US, but so there are in Cuba. Yet, somehow, Fidel moves the earth and the sky to evacuate everyone, sometimes, even the cattle of farmers if possible, so I don't think being rich or poor is a good enough excuse for all of this. Guess you're richer than us, but we're better organized . *is astonished* How contradictory!

I'm astonished, too. But I think it has more to do with having Republicans in power (and the conservative need to abolish government as much as possible, whereas I would assume that the communist government of Cuba would be more geared towards the people...at least in theory, since I don't claim to know as much as I probably should about the governments outside of the USA).

I'll give credit to my government for really working to clean things up along the Gulf coast, but I refuse to defend their actions leading up to it. It just seems like SOMETHING more could have been done without any major consequences or changes of policy. Although WHO is to blame is another matter entirely.

 

[Barb]

Hhhmm, ye don't have mountains around the south, do you?

Florida is almost completely flat, with the exception of a few landfills here and there.

Why is everybody getting so worked up about Rita and/or Katrina, etc, etc? It's just a hurricane, what's the big deal? Becuase It devastates everything? Yeah, it's what it does. Because it kills some people? Duh, it happens. Because it's the biggest or most intense hurricane ever? Meh, bigger or smaller, hurricanes are just hurricanes.

We have had them for centuries in Cuba, and the world sure doesnt' seem to care a whole lot. So why with the US? US is to me just another country . If ye ask me, only Unitedstaters should worry..

We worry about hurricanes because of the destruction they cause. Nobody with an ounce of common sense treats a major storm lightly. If you haven't already read it, check out Erik Larsen's book, Isaac's Storm. He contrasts the attitudes of Cuban meteorologists with the Americans, with surprising results.

 

[Girafarig_Magcargo]

Hhhmm, ye don't have mountains around the south, do you?

Florida is almost completely flat, with the exception of a few landfills here and there.

Why is everybody getting so worked up about Rita and/or Katrina, etc, etc? It's just a hurricane, what's the big deal? Becuase It devastates everything? Yeah, it's what it does. Because it kills some people? Duh, it happens. Because it's the biggest or most intense hurricane ever? Meh, bigger or smaller, hurricanes are just hurricanes.

We have had them for centuries in Cuba, and the world sure doesnt' seem to care a whole lot. So why with the US? US is to me just another country . If ye ask me, only Unitedstaters should worry..

We worry about hurricanes because of the destruction they cause. Nobody with an ounce of common sense treats a major storm lightly. If you haven't already read it, check out Erik Larsen's book, Isaac's Storm. He contrasts the attitudes of Cuban meteorologists with the Americans, with surprising results.

If you're trying to use the book against the Cubans, then it won't work because it makes us look like dumbasses.

 

[Barb]

I wasn't. My intention was the exact opposite; the Cubans clearly knew the dangers and tried to warn the Americans, who wouldn't listen. Their attitude seems far removed from Dark Espeon's, who basically states in his opening post, "Hurricanes? So what?"

 

[Asrialys]

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Just because America seems powerful and rich doesn't mean that it can do everything. Don't believe something if you haven't lived it. A lot of bad decisions were made concerning the hurricanes. Apparently, Canada was one of the first on the scene to help. The national guard in New Mexico was already set to go before Katrina hit, but the government kept telling them to wait until it was too late. And even other countries (even from third-world ones too I think) from around the world are providing what help they can by sending people, food, and even money.

 

[Girafarig_Magcargo]

I wasn't. My intention was the exact opposite; the Cubans clearly knew the dangers and tried to warn the Americans, who wouldn't listen. Their attitude seems far removed from Dark Espeon's, who basically states in his opening post, "Hurricanes? So what?"

Thanks for clearing that up.

To be fair, you can't really blame someone for dismissing hurricanes when he had no weather radar, satellites, or any form of modern meteorology.

 

[Barb]

The problem wasn't a lack of technology in 1900, it was a lack of humility. People, especially scientists, felt that they'd learned everything there was to learn.

 

[GrnMarvl14]

Ironically, we now KNOW there's more to learn, but most people are too scared to take the risks necessary to to learn more.