Hurricanes and human nature

TFM and his family has been through three hurricanes in the last two years. If you want to read some of my experiences, click here and here.

In each instance, I took storm preperations seriously. Securing my house, stocking up supplies, gasing my car, what ever needed to be done. My house has some roof damage, one small leak is basically it. We've been very lucky.

Why am I writing about hurricanes three months before the season starts? The Palm Beach Post reports County Emergency managers are telling residents should stock five to seven days worth of supplies in preparation for the 2006 season. A public safety director saying people shouldn't expect the govt. to supply anything within 24 hours of a storm.

This is excellent advice. You want to bet people still won't heed it? Of course they will be on television and in print with their sob stories. It happened after Wilma and South Florida had warning on that storm for five days.

It's just human nature. No matter how much you warn people, there will always be some knuckleheads out there who won't listen.

Open Post- Bullwinkle Blog, Wizbang, Bright & Early,

Emergency managers say residents should stock five to seven days worth of post-hurricane supplies in preparation for the 2006 hurricane season.

In past years, the county had advised at least a three-day supply. Just hours after Hurricane Wilma roared through Palm Beach County last year, many residents left their homes in search of food and water.

"People have to better prepare themselves," said county Public Safety Director Paul Milelli. "To expect that the government is going to get you stuff within 24 hours is just not realistic."

Keeping five to seven days of food, water and other supplies is a key recommendation in a post-hurricane assessment Milelli delivered to county commissioners Friday.

For the first time, the county will publish its own hurricane preparation guide, which will stress personal responsibility, Milelli said. In past years, the county joined local television stations in publishing a guide.

Setting up distribution points for ice, food and water will depend on a strategic analysis of affected areas, Milelli said.

"Immediately after the storm, we want to find out what the damage is and then begin setting up distribution points where there is an actual need," he said. "We don't want to set up a distribution point near a Publix that is open for business."

The first distribution would be to neighborhoods where people, mostly the elderly, can't travel from their homes, he said. The county is working with community and condo groups and faith-based organizations to provide volunteers to deliver supplies door to door.

Some homeowner groups are considering buying generators to keep sewage lift stations powered in post-storm blackouts so their toilets will flush, he said.

The county plans to increase the number of major distribution sites, from 11 last year to 15 this year, if a hurricane strikes. But the sites will be selected for needs rather than for geographic balance, he said.

Many of the recommendations in Milelli's "after-action report" are being addressed with changes in local and state laws. The legislature is considering bills to require gasoline stations to have generators to keep the pumps running in a blackout.