Hurricane Andrew

[Ripsnort]

In the politicized world we live in, its understandable how everyone likes to blame our Fed Gov't for this catastrophe as well.

But the first-strike whining of Florida officials in the hours after Hurricane Andrew destroyed this line of reasoning before it ever got off the launching pad. Newspapers running the gamut from The New York Times to USA Today decried "the inadequacy of federal readiness." Sen. Barbara Mikulski (DMd.) said hurricane victims had been "devastated twice, once by the natural fury of Hurricane Andrew, the second time...at the hand of their own government," as though George Bush and his evil henchmen had been throwing their bodies in front of relief trains bound for Miami.

"A discomfiting number of Americans seem to feel that they ought to have constitutional immunity from the forces of nature–that for every injury there is a guilty party who must be punished. One unfortunate consequence of the public tantrum of local officials in the wake of the hurricane was that it encouraged this belief that Andrew was somebody's fault."

Interesting read on a 1993 article:
http://reason.com/9301/fe.garvin.shtml

[storch]

it has always struck me as odd how people choose to live in places that are prone to being on the destructive end of natural forces and are;

1. caught "unaware" inspite of ample warning regarding the event
2. complain when they are whacked.

here in southern florida these folks are generally people who are transplants from other areas of the country and disregard the warnings until they become a statistic.  you can find them making preparations for "hurricane parties" prior to the event and then begging for assistance after the impact, or worse lying face up under a blanket.

If you are going to live in florida (or any place subject to strong wind forces) it's a good idea to purchase a home built along the pattern of the old florida cracker homes.  while not the most elegant design they are by far the best suited for this environment.  they should have low roofs, preferrable flat and all the roof members should be securely strapped.  there is a product on the market that has been available longer than I have been around.  this item is called a "hurricane strap".  the "hurricane strap" is a flimsy piece of pre perforated mild steel that can be twisted to conform to any shape.  when hundreds of these are utilized to secure the roof trusses to the tie beams and the jacks to the trusses your roof is staying put.  If you will take the added precaution of purchasing storm shutters and installing them for each and every event forcasted any home built and secured along these lines is probably going to survive a cat5 or even greater storm.  the homes that are destroyed during hurricanes are the two and three story newer designs.  these homes are compromised by their tall cross section and the amount of resistance they offer to high winds.  we see people buying them by the 1000's  I'm amazed by this trend and I'm not surprised by the deaths that occur when nature drops a calling card.  people are generally unconcerned and many even mock those of us who take prudent measures during hurricane season.

during a storm you will lose power and water.  you should have a generator in good working order.  they are inexpensive and can at least power your fridge and a few other items such as a water pump, TV's and lighting.  you should have a well. in south florida  a well dug to sixty feet is inexpensive and you are tapping into one of the cleanest sources of water in the nation, the biscayne aquifer.  this water is potable right off of the pump's discharge.  if you take an added measure it is simple and inexpensive to install a device which allows you run your pump's discharge straight into your home's plumbing system by simply shutting off the water main.  now you have power and water.  by simply storing up on canned goods and frozen meats and owning an outdoor grill with a few extra propane tanks you are good to go for a couple of weeks.

[eagl]

Storch

You forgot that you need a gun to protect your generator from gangs who are out to take your stuff.  And teach your spouse/kids to shoot so they can cover you from the house if you need to go outside to greet/confront anyone.

[storch]

Originally posted by eagl
Storch

You forgot that you need a gun to protect your generator from gangs who are out to take your stuff.  And teach your spouse/kids to shoot so they can cover you from the house if you need to go outside to greet/confront anyone.

oops good point I tend to take that for granted.  generally speaking where I live not too many gang types come by.  that's not to say that during a catastrophy they wouldn't.  during the last hurricane we were able to provide power to our immediate neighbors.  most of the folks in my neighborhood are white collar types and perhaps not too handy.  since the hurricane many went out and purchased generators as evidenced by the generator boxes on the debris piles in front of their homes.  better late than never I suppose.  we were without power for four days here.  some people are still without power and some without power and water.