The Sky is Falling; The Sky is Falling

[Guest shiloh357]

Had they not issued warnings, and people died, the govt would have been soundly condemned ... and sued.

They are pretty much wrong no matter what they say, according to some folks. Better to issue the warnings and err on the side of safety.

Quoting AyinJade - Better to issue the warnings and err on the side of safety.

Response - This being the case, couldn't we just save a lot of money by saying all hurricanes are going to wipe out everyone that remains, because we absolutly cannot from a scientific point of view know which way the wind blows? Hey everyone, run for your lives everytime one is seen on the horizon; it gives us practice in an orderly process of evacuation because we need it, we lost over 100 people in our first try at it. Can you imagine the effect these kinds of things have on the people involved by just basically saying"The sky is falling?" and then claiming their prophesy is based on scientific evidence. To me weather predicting is a very poor science at best.

I would rather them err on the side of caution and over predict the threat in order to save lives, than to treat the threat is minimal and end up causing people to not take cover or evacuate when they should.

You really should cut them some slack. They may not be correct, but they are trying to do their part to keep people safe.

[nebula]

To me weather predicting is a very poor science at best.

No, it's pretty ingenious science. The problem is that it is impossible to calculate every minor detail that crops into the equation.

Weather is fascinating. Trying to understand it, though, will make your head spin.

You should try it sometime.

[traveller]

There is a wall of debris that used to be houses and businesses that lined Galveston Island. Some of the businesses were historical landmarks that have stood for over 100 years. Clearly, if the residents had stayed in the houses that wound up in the debris pile - they would have perished. We still don't know the fate of many - as the rescue teams have not been able to get to parts of the island.

Also - things were learned at the last evacuations that helped to make this one better and more orderly.

Those that stayed took shelter in the school building, or hurricane built hotels. None of these shelters could have housed everyone. If they had not evacuated - many would now be dead.

[sheya joie]

As someone who lives in a hurricane-prone area, I am very glad for the weather forecasts, inaccurate as they can be.

[nebula]

A Race Against Time For Stranded Texans

Search And Rescue Teams Canvass Neighborhoods In Wake Of Ike; Houston Posts 9 P.M. Curfew

Rescue crews canvassed neighborhoods inundated by Hurricane Ike's storm surge early Sunday morning, racing against time to save those who spent a second harrowing night trapped amid flattened houses, strewn debris and downed power lines.

One team of paramedics, rescue dogs and structural engineers fanned out under a nearly full moon on a finger of land in Galveston Bay. Authorities hoped to spare thousands of Texans - 140,000 by some estimates who ignored orders to flee ahead of Ike - from another night among the destruction. Some had been rescued, but unknown thousands remained stranded.

Source

~~~~~

No, it wasn't the "doom and gloom" they feared, but it has still been devastating and life-threatening.

[tah]

Run, run all ye that live in the path of hurricane Ike's million foot ocean surges; for sure you're going to all die if you stay. How many have died as a result of not believing the weather bureau and staying? No wonder with prophesies based upon the knowledge of man even unregerate man fails to listen to them. This makes me wonder what all the money spent into study of hurricanes is really being spent on; has there been any correct forecaswts yet? This reminds me of Romans 1:22; "Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools."

I cannot understand this post..

So much heartache and grief and sorrow in the wake of this terrible storm..

to watch the folks who are so devastated ....

So many homeless families today...

and losing everything you have in your life but your life is not a trivial matter...

Praying that no more lives have been lost...

[Larry 2]

Run, run all ye that live in the path of hurricane Ike's million foot ocean surges; for sure you're going to all die if you stay. How many have died as a result of not believing the weather bureau and staying? No wonder with prophesies based upon the knowledge of man even unregerate man fails to listen to them. This makes me wonder what all the money spent into study of hurricanes is really being spent on; has there been any correct forecaswts yet? This reminds me of Romans 1:22; "Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools."

I cannot understand this post..

So much heartache and grief and sorrow in the wake of this terrible storm..

to watch the folks who are so devastated ....

So many homeless families today...

and losing everything you have in your life but your life is not a trivial matter...

Praying that no more lives have been lost...

You are right, losing everything they own is not a trivial matter, and I certainly do pray for these suffering through that devastation, but there has to be light shed on the poor development of science associated with our weather system. We have spent billions on weather satellites, unmeasured time and resources trying to develop some pattern in these tragedies all to no success. If they can force people out of their homes every two weeks, why can't they just close down that part of the U.S and turn it into a National Park or something? I bet that would save lives in the long run. Better to err on the side of safety even if we save only one life in doing so and then we wouldn't need to worry about hurricanes. After having seen the aftermath of that storm, I'm certainly thankful for God's mercy with the lessened surge of water that came to that area, but it really amazes me that they can miss an estimate of the amount of the surge expected by 30 % or whatever it was.

[traveller]

Our weather science can't predict the Lord. A hurricane can change dramatically either way close to landfall. By then, it's too late to put a plan in action to get the people out. When it affects millions, time must allow for evacuation. Unfortunately - that doesn't give much leeway. They can predict with enough accuracy to evacute in a widespread target area, but only God knows the outcome.

Look at the hurricane of 1900 on Galveston. No one was warned because we didn't have the things in place to do so, nor the communications. The results was thousands lost. God only knows how many more were swept out to sea, and not counted among the dead. Again - communications weren't good.

We should be thankful to have early warning systems in place to give us a fighting chance.

[nebula]

but it really amazes me that they can miss an estimate of the amount of the surge expected by 30 % or whatever it was.

You really should learn how complicated the weather is.

[Larry 2]

You really should learn how complicated the weather is.

Why, I can scarcely handle the job I have. I sincerely have nothing against the people working for the weather bureau; they're just doing what they're told, but when whoever is running the operation continues giving out erroneous information it produces the effect of a Chicken Little saying "The sky is falling" which results in many not believing them, and in this case I believe it was 24,000 who didn't. If they could just honestly warn everyone of the general direction and strength of the storm, more would start using their own discernment and probably make wiser decisions.