Monday, September 1, 2008
The perfect storm
Go to http://current.com/items/89253739_mayor_get_out_of_new_orleans_now and read the article about Hurricane Gustav. Leave a comment. What dilemma do the people have? What would you do? Discuss (if you have) your experiences with evacuations situations. What is (or do you think is) the most stressful aspect of a situation like this. Follow the storm tonight and come in on Wednesday ready to discuss.
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12 comments:
They have to leave everything behind them. They got to move out of their house the faster they can. They can’t take a lot of goods and have to leave without knowing how home will look after. People have to rebuild their own life.
If I would be in their situation, I would try to get help from my family who leaves faraway from the hurricane and make protections for my house. I would also get informed every day and move most of my belongings. I would basically try to save everything that belongs to me.
I’ve never been evacuated in my life but I think that the most stressful aspect of it, is not knowing what will happen, what will be destroyed, how life will be when we will get back home.
I really feel bad for them.
I mean they have to leave their whole life behind.
The most stressful part must be that you know ur life will never be the same again. this must really but a great neg. impact on the children.
My friend used to live in hati and she told me that her and her family had to be evacted from there because of the shooting in the streets.
If i were beaing evacted i would most likey make sure i have enogh money for my famliy for like food and stuff...but really i'd just be super happy if everyone were ok.
I hope that no one gets hurt in the hurrrican.
wow new oleans was really hit badly and like i hope that doesn't ahppen in this case.
The dilemma that some people have is that they don’t have transportation to take them out of New Orleans. There are, however, buses for the evacuation that are supposed to help the people without transport to evacuate. There is also the other dilemma of where you are going to stay especially if you don’t have any relatives living in the US.
I personally haven’t had any experience with evacuations. I’ve had drills, like when there is a bomb in the vicinity what to do and also the fire drill but that’s it. There was one time however when I was in Zimbabwe there was an instance where I cyclone hit somewhere and we got a bit if the after currents (just very windy and noisy wind). The cyclone was called cyclone Gloria (which just happens to also be my mom’s name). That is as far as my experiences go I’m afraid.
In my opinion the most stressful aspect is just leaving the house the way it is. First there is the problem of looters(even if the ones caught are going to a prison in Angola(which I think is in Lousiana, there is always the possibility that you won’t get caught) who could loot you out. Then there’s the whole thing of choosing your most prized possessions. There are so many things in my room that I can’t see myself living without. I would definitely take my dog and then from there I would have to buy a caravan for all my other stuff…
I think its Extremely sad to hear about and even worse for those that have to live it. people just want to live their life in a safe friendly environment but for the people of new orleans can't live like that. Every year a new hurricane comes and destroys everything they've ever called home. They have to live in fear of When is the next hurricane going to hit? and is it going to be as bad as the last one? They have to pack up as much as they can fit in their cars and head north. leaving with the thought that when they come back, there could be absolutely nothing left.
if i was in the situation, after going through it once, i'd move. i'd never live there again. i mean a city 18 feet below sea level on the coast is asking for trouble. But it's sad and i feel sorry for those that have to go through that misery and pain they have to feel whenever a storm hits.
Stinks for them, but u cant expect nature to be gentle and quiet while we destroy forests, slaughter natural wildlife for pelts or whatever, overpopulate the land and slowly deteriorate the earth with our Co2 exhausts... Its completely natural that these things happen and we should be happy we have the technology and communication systems to detect them be4 they hit! ofc it still sux for those ppl. i dont see that as a mayor you wont evacuate the city, i kno its a bunch of stress and panic but its worth everyone being safe and sound. question: where r they all going? and btw AJ, basically all of the Netherlands is underwater and we have no problemos (yet global warming might take care of that). must be a spectacular sight from far off or inside that hurricane...
This must be a dilemma for many people. Even though if they stay they will have a great chance of dying, people do not want to leave their homes behind. They have to leave all their belongings and say goodbye to their friends who may be going to a different place than them. Some may even have family businesses which they have been working on for years. This must be very hard for everyone who leaves in New Orleans. It is especially hard for them because many people who had gone away because of hurricane Katrina just started settling down again. Now they have to say goodbye to everything once more.
If i were in their position i would try to leave as fast as possible. I would make sure i don't carry to many things that may slow me down. I would also advice anyone i know, who is thinking of staying, to leave immediately.
I have never been in a position where i had to be evacuated. But i think the most stressful aspect of it is leaving everything you own and everything you have worked on behind. And not knowing how everything is going to be like when you come back.
The residents of New Orleans and other cities nearby don't necessarily face a dilemma, I think, because its obvious which to choose from: staying home with your stuff and dying or saving yourself by evacuating. However, I also know that leaving your home, possessions, and life behind is not an easy thing to do at all. I mean, if I lived in New Orleans, I would have found an apartment or something at a safe place and spent all of my time on trips back and forth ferrying all our from our home to the other place, or at least tried to or really really wanted to.
This is really a sad event for the victims of this storm, recovering after Katrina and now having it happen all over again except worst. This article also makes me wonder how Cuba coped with Gustav. There must have been less space to perform evacuations and they must have been less organized too.
It must be stressing for the people of New Orleans, whether they are out of there or not, to be following Gustav approach their homes, knowing that, when it hits, not much will be left of their past lives.
In any situation which includes evacuation, you have to pack up and leave, although the packing part would only include things that are crucial, such as a change of clothes, a phone, money, and some food. Everything else you have to leave behind. If you have pets, you might have to leave those behind as well. You leave your house unattended: anyone could break in and take anything they wish. Not only that, but flooding and high speed winds could cause severe damage to your belongings, not mentioning the house itself. I have so far only mentioned the physical damage. The Psychological/Emotional damage that comes along with having to leave your home, surroundings, and possibly friends and family to the mercy of an unstoppable destructive natural force can be surprising. You could also lose your job, leading to increased financial difficulties.
I think i would choose for evacuation, because i would much rather lose my belongings than my life. In New Orleans, evacuation is mandatory, and i would hold the government responsible if my belongings got stolen while i was gone. I would probably take my most prized belongings with me to make sure they didn't get stolen. I would also keep up to date with how my neighborhood is doing, to prepare myself mentally before i go back and see the actual damage. I myself have not been evacuated, but i have been in a situation where embassy people were evacuated, and i was stuck in my house. This was during a three day war in DRCongo, during the elections. The rebel troops invaded Kinshasa and tried to capture the city. We had twelve cars with soldiers in our street, in front of our house. We also had soldiers crawling through the open sewers 2 meters away from the wall that surrounded our house. The windows were constantly rattled as shells exploded in our neighborhood. We did not evacuate, but we did get ready to do so if it was necessary. I had gathered some of my most prized belongings in a little backpack: we should only take what was really necessary. I think the most stressful part is being away from your home, and not knowing what is going. During another short period of war in Kinshasa, i was in the Netherlands, and my mother was in Kinshasa. It was stressful because i was constantly watching the news to see how things were, at one point there was a BBC news broadcast in which the cameraman took a shot of some soldiers standing around, and it was really close to my house. It was exciting and scary at the same time. I was very worried about my mother and dog.
I would say that the biggest dilemma of the citizens is to leave all of their belongings behind them with no guaranties that they might find them again. If I was in those people's situation I would try to either find a way to evacuate all my family and get an insurance so that we don't lose everything in the worst case scenario. The most stressful aspect of such a situation is being woried about others that you know live in that area too and never being a hundread percent sure how it will end. I only had a single evacuation situation but it wasn't nearly as bad. When I lived in South Africa, I lived on the closest road to table mountain which is basically half way up the mountain. One day there was a fire in the mountain and it got to the houses on the otherside of my street so people asked us to leave for the night as the firemen would try to stop the fire from getting anycloser.
The dilemma as presented by my classmates is the choice in between risking their life for their belongings or accepting the fact that they must leave most of their possession behind. I find it really sad because the city was still recovering from hurricane Katrina and had made tremendous progress but once again they have to start all over again. Obviously most if not all of the citizens opted for life instead of possesion, but i think the mental distress in starting everything from zero would cause some people to stay.
I think I have been evacuated before with my family slightly after i was born. It was during the 1993-94 crisis in Burundi, being family of a UN Volunteer my mom, my sisters and I were evacuated. I was too young to have any response to it, but I'm sure it wasn't easy for my mom raising three children knowing that my dad was still working there. however we pulled it off and it seems to have been a very rich experience for my parents.
The dilemma people are facing here is whether to leave everything behind and save themselves or to stay behind guarding their homes and risk dying during the storm. The evactuation i was sort of in was not massive or catastrophic, it was just the evacuation of touristic areas in a beach resort in Cuba. They told guests they were to chek out by a certain date and head to a fixed position away from the resort which was too close to the hurricane. The owners of the resort applied some kind of paper to the windows and sealed doors and windows, i doubt any severe damage took place during that hurricane.
I think the most stress ful part of a situation like this is the dilemma that the people in new orleas faced. Having to leave your house and belonging behind to a storm and to possible looters is stressful. Actually, i think the most stressfull thing is the wonder of whether the following day u wont have a home, and everything you own will be gone because of the storm, that is what is most stressing!
I think the dilemma the people have is to either get out of New Orleans safely without most of their possessions or to stay there during Gustav and have a high chance of becoming just another statistic. I would bring some food, water, my iPod, computer, CDs, a book or two, and some Cash Money and leave automatically. Even if I stayed there and my doors were boarded up, a tree might come flying through them at 155 miles per hour and destroy me inside. I was evacuated from Lome, Togo to Ghana when I was about 1 year old. My dad found a bullet outside of my window, and soon found out that rebels were trying to take over the government. We went to Accra and stayed there for a while until things calmed down. I think it is pretty stressfull to go through all your belongings and decide what you are going to bring. Also, it must be pretty stressing to fit everything together. I know some people couldn't decide their luggage for the fateful trip and might have a very hard time leaving their home.
P.S: Even celebrities lose things too in natural disasters. Lil' Wayne lost his house and his two cars in New Orleans during Katrina.
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