«-- Letter Re: The SurvivalistBooks.com Groups Match-Up Page is Back On-Line | Main | A Low-Cost Route to Earning a Bachelor's Degree, by V/Rs --»
Letter Re: Seattle Area Isolated Because of Flooding
Hello Jim:
Well, the weather hits for the Pacific Northwest keep on coming and lessons
still need to be learned. As I type this, the entire Western Washington region
is cut
off. That’s right! All three open passes across the Cascades to the east
have been closed due to avalanche and flooding concerns, flooding has cut off
I-5 between Portland and the state capitol of Olympia and Western B.C. is cut
off from blocked passes in that region. All official roadways have been closed
in Western Washington key areas due to flood and washout concerns. The news
is reporting that since there is no way for intermodal traffic to move in or
out (trucks and trains), there is a potential of limited shortages in stores
of perishable goods and JIT delivery failures. What a mess.
What is interesting is that, again, people had ample warning that there was
a potential for the migration from cold snowy weather to a quick warm up system
called the Pineapple Express. These weather migrations almost always lead to
local or regional flooding due to rapid melting of snow both locally and in
the mountains. I watched interviews of folks in well documented flood plains
and suburbanized farm land fail to take heed and either have an appropriate
home built (unlikely due to outdated city codes or height restrictions or homeowner
association covenants) or simply did not have their items in a ready to G.O.O.D.
condition. Some people freely admitted to going through this several times
and not being ready each time. I saw one interview where a fellow said he never
got flood or renters insurance despite knowing the flooding concerns. Never
mind that he had what looked like a large flat screen on the wall next to him.
What
screwy priorities! Some people admitted that they would remain safely in place
but had to leave once the realized they didn’t have any food or water
(despite being surrounded by some murky wet stuff).
I was working my police patrol job yesterday when a citizen in a known flood
area asked what the city would do for them to protect them. I tasted blood
from biting my tongue so hard. This citizen lived in a home worth nearly $700,000
and had been flooded before. I wish I could bark out, “Here’s a
clue for ya!” I shake my head at the priorities of folks sometimes.
Peace to you, your family and the readers of SurvivalBlog. - MP in Soggy Seattle
(a 10 Cent Challenge subscriber)
