03-15-2011, 09:23 PM
I realize it's a digression from topic, but I for one was infuriated by the letter to the editor in today's (3/15) Tribune Herald by Jim White. Seems Jim took it upon himself to ignore the many siren alarms and the cops traveling up and down the roads in lower HPP urging people to evacuate because HE researched it online and determined that there was no severe threat.
Is he a meterologist? An oceanographer? A disaster management research scientist? He didn;t say but I am guessing no.
We've had 2 tsunamis in 13 months and have been very lucky. At some point we WILL get hit with another large tsunami. Letters like Jim's give people the impression that it's ok to ignore government evacuation orders if they find someone on the internet that says it's ok.
Who gave Jim such special info that he had better info than state and county Civil Defense inside the EOC? Apparently, Jim based his research on info he found online, including the Pacific Disaster Center (PDC). While I have the utmost respect for the work conducted by the PDC, I am NOT willing to risk my life by staying within a tsunami inundation zone just because their computer model says its ok.
People like Jim piss me off because, they snub their nose at authority in the face of disaster, put first responders at risk during disasters because the first responders have to either keep asking them to leave or go back and rescue them, and then they are the first to complain about lack of response.
I am reminded of the severe hurricane that struck the Texas coastline a few years ago. People ignored evacuation orders and stayed. When the storm got really hairy, folks who stayed behind got scared and demanded that fire & police come rescue them. Only it was too late and firefighters couldn't reach them. Many of those folks were washed away and never heard from again.
God forbid we get hit with a hurricane and/or tsunami and Jim's last thoughts before getting killed are "but the internet research said it would be ok...."
Is he a meterologist? An oceanographer? A disaster management research scientist? He didn;t say but I am guessing no.
We've had 2 tsunamis in 13 months and have been very lucky. At some point we WILL get hit with another large tsunami. Letters like Jim's give people the impression that it's ok to ignore government evacuation orders if they find someone on the internet that says it's ok.
Who gave Jim such special info that he had better info than state and county Civil Defense inside the EOC? Apparently, Jim based his research on info he found online, including the Pacific Disaster Center (PDC). While I have the utmost respect for the work conducted by the PDC, I am NOT willing to risk my life by staying within a tsunami inundation zone just because their computer model says its ok.
People like Jim piss me off because, they snub their nose at authority in the face of disaster, put first responders at risk during disasters because the first responders have to either keep asking them to leave or go back and rescue them, and then they are the first to complain about lack of response.
I am reminded of the severe hurricane that struck the Texas coastline a few years ago. People ignored evacuation orders and stayed. When the storm got really hairy, folks who stayed behind got scared and demanded that fire & police come rescue them. Only it was too late and firefighters couldn't reach them. Many of those folks were washed away and never heard from again.
God forbid we get hit with a hurricane and/or tsunami and Jim's last thoughts before getting killed are "but the internet research said it would be ok...."