Update - Tropical Storm Gustav

Thursday, August 28, 2008

One feature of the official government preps for Gustav that I've already noticed is the tendency for government to get ahead of itself/overreact. New Orleans was preparing to evacuate as of last night, our local university (Lamar U.) is holding its emergency planning meetings as we speak, and our local government here is already abuzz.

This storm has not even entered the Gulf yet. The official weather predictions and forecasts change several times a day. Yesterday (Wednesday), Southeast Texas was the far eastern edge of the 5-day warning cone. Now, they are saying we are more securely in the bullseye. What does all of this mean? The govt. agencies can't risk acting too late or not at all, so they tend to overreact, such as evacuating the Houston area before Rita.

By being wrong on that order, they risk having many residents ignore the next one. I suppose that overdoing it is better than doing nothing. But it does lend itself to crying wolf. Either way, I feel better when I take my own precautions and rely on my judgment.

The cars are gassed up, family has been notified, and if, need be, we leave the area; we know where we are going. And if, like during Rita, our initial evacuation spot turns out to be a bad idea, we have a backup plan, and then a backup backup plan. Even though Gustav will apparently not make landfall until Tuesday Am, wherever it lands, I'll keep a watchful eye on it all weekend.

Ready for whatever.

luke-n-bmt

Thanks for this valuable update!

Special Note:

For many of you out there you may have seen the large number of buses being assembled in San Antonio in case of emergency evacuations becoming necessary. What the news doesn't say is that a number of officers from the SAPD have been assigned to work extra shifts during these preparations for emergency evacuations to handle security.

For the latest news on what is currently Tropical Storm Gustav go to National Hurricane Center or check out this excellent site for storm information: http://www.wunderground.com/tropical/

Be aware. Be informed. Be prepared.

Riverwalker