Since she wrote this, she's said that people are stuck in their cars, stranded with overheated cars or cars that have no fuel or just sitting in their cars with no AC to save fuel. Consequently, some of them are passing out, making matters worse.
Like we said in our hurricane evacuation essays (which need some editing), evacuation is not the calk walk people seem to think it is. Alas, there isn't even enough shelter places for people even if all they do is evac people to safe zones inside a metro area.
read more at: www.inkworkswell.com/security/preparedness.cfm
---- Hi Dave,
I don't know if this will be appropriate for IP. It's just more "real world" disaster planning. This is from a friend in Houston. She lives in a West Houston suburb, so her decision to stay isn't crazy. But, in spite of all the news that makes it look as if getting out is a snap, as long as it's done early, it's not always so easy, even when you have the money.
I hope the highways clear up with contraflow, since it will be horrible if anyone is still on the highways when the storm passes.
I've redacted her name and e-mail address to safeguard her from the spambots.
<begin forwarded message>
"It's taking folks ELEVEN FREAKIN' HOURS to drive just 20-30 miles on I45, I59 and I10. Plus, there's not enough gas to fill all these damn SUVS and Hummers, and so people are sitting in traffic, going nowhere -- literally -- in 100 plus degree heat, because of course we're breaking records here -- and passing out in their cars.
There's no good news to any of this storm, but I am hoping it continues to shift eastward. Bad for Louisiana, I know, but this is survival. I am most concerned about the winds. We're talking 75-140 mph winds for a minimum of 8-10 hours. The house is a one story, mostly brick, composition shingle roof. Everything will become a projectile. We've got water, are cooking up food, have tons of dry and canned goods, medications, essentials, everything. Neighbors are coming out and assessing who is still here -- most -- so that we can watch out for each other. By tomorrow afternoon, we'll be circling the mattresses and hoping for the best.
There really is nowhere to go. All those folks on the freeway? Unless they have family, they are fucked and going to be in their cars forever or in whatever shelter there is. BUT THIS IS THE KEY THING: They've been telling everyone to go NORTH. That means they're all coming up 45 and 59, going to Dallas and such. THIS HURRICANE IS GOING TO STILL BE A CAT 1 BY THE TIME IT REACHES DALLAS SOMETIME LATE SATURDAY. So if you're on the road, you're just running in front of the hurricane.
Going west is just as problematic, because the roads are stacked. Nowhere to stay in San Antone or Austin, and the wind range of this mofo is about 200 miles wide. Oh, and then there's the problem of NO GAS.
So, do you get on the road and be stuck in the heat or the deathly wind, or hunker down and hope for the best?
I think they've done as decent a job as possible to evac the worst zone -- the storm surge areas -- and getting the information out, but beyond that, what else can you do with an area of 4 million plus people and all of their cars, families, pets, etc.? To be realistic, not much. I doubt that's something some of our folks in tighter communities w/mass trans,etc., whatever on the east coast to understand, but that's the way of things down here.
It's a mess."
<end forwarded message>
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