«-- Odds 'n Sods: | Main | Letter Re: Pre-Assembling Charity Food Packets for Storage --»

A Reader's Observations on Preparedness for Hurricane Dolly

Mr. Rawles,
As you may remember from our profile we recently moved to new residence in luxury community in South Texas because of a job loss in the Pacific Northwest. Last week my wife and I learned of the tropical wave that ultimately created this storm, immediately we stocked up on gas and purchased some cheap extra batteries. (The pantry is still full). We also threw some clothes together and pre-positioned those in the car. We withdrew some extra money and got ready to board up (Our G.O.O.D. bags were already prepped and a once over was sufficient to add to and update them).
I mention this because all the Government officials, locals and people who have lived here for quite a while were doing nothing until the 21st. (Per the evening news reporting of this.)

This storm developed rather quickly enough to catch all the local government off guard and they quickly put together some meetings, et cetera.

Afterwards they were basically notifying the public that the storm had developed too quickly for a mandatory evacuation of the scope required and you're on your own (YOYO--something I’m sure all your readers already know). In their defense it looks like at the time of this writing that the storm will hit much lower than this area maybe even Mexico. That said, I had a flashback to video from Hurricane Katrina and those school busses sitting there empty. We also watched the evening newscast at 10 PM Monday night that was live at the big grocery chain and there were people interviewed that 'thought it was a good idea to stop and get some extra food and batteries'. On another newscast one vacationer to the coastal area of South Texas from San Antonio (also considered South Texas) exclaimed 'this is exciting”.

There are no absolutes when it comes to the path prediction of hurricanes and this couple of examples are pretty much the norm around my community. This has convinced me that we were wrong in coming here and I am resolute that we will get back to the Pacific Northwest at all costs to get back to a culture of preparedness and self sufficiency. IMHO, if and when TEOTWAWKI hits only the prepared few here in South Texas will survive and those that do will most probably be swallowed up by those that stopped by the grocer for some extra batteries or the Golden Horde from Mexico (the Alamo comes to mind) and I pray for the sake of my neighbors and friends that I’m wrong.

Keep up the work. And again our prayers are with Memsahib, - Mr. Foxtrot

P.S. I've decided that I sure get my money's worth on your site which is up until today I hadn't supported (except for purchasing your books and making purchases from your advertisers), but I'm sending snail mail cash for the 10 Cent Challenge

Permalink -