How in the world can someone write about a major hurricane with millions of lives being threatened, while it is happening, without sounding condescending? The emotions, compassion, and concern even for those of us that have no one close to us in the affected area is very strong. Watching the weather channel or other news station, the high winds and heavy seas when it first met the land is a powerful sight to behold. There have been some nasty powerful hurricanes rip through that part of the country, they sure seem to get their share of them. The evacuation line, although listening to a lady on TV this morning who was part of the line of vehicles heading north, said the traffic was moving and it took twice as long to get from Corpus Christa to Austin. In my opinion that spells a success, a success of many things that are taking place and many more of which we will hear of.
Hurricane Harvey (click for resources) at 130mph winds at landfall, is now stalling, slowing down to a crawl, it's going to hang around and dump a bunch of rain while it lumbers along.
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Most deaths during a Hurricane are caused by drowning, most drownings
during a hurricane occur in the victims vehicle. |
In 1969 I was in Memphis Tennessee when a hurricane struck the Gulf states, I don't remember what it was named or even if it had a name. I was in the Navy at the base for training when the storm came through. Originally from further north on the other end of the Mississippi river, we did not experience effects from hurricanes, leaving me with no idea of what to expect. I was 18 years old, in a barracks with a wall of glass windows, I was 20 feet away from them, of course, invincible and watching the storm out the window, when it exploded. I had never seen a window explode like that, the wind was most likely around 80 mph, shaking those windows like they were castanets. The window exploded sending glass shards across the space, a large one struck me on the upper thigh causing me to suffer a deep long slash, I'm fortunate it did not slice an artery. I went to sick bay and got stitched up, I was and am OK, I've had a lot of stitches since.
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Big ships rock and roll in heavy seas and high
winds, like a Hurricane. |
Out at sea about a year after my first hurricane experience, we (the ship) got hit by one on Yankee Station off the coast of Vietnam. A big ship rock and rolls when in a hurricane, the waves were breaking over the bow which was 100 feet off the surface. The flight deck was full of airplanes, they were securely chained down to the flight deck, however, there are a lot of chains some are bound to come loose. This was no exception, a plane about six off the port (left) bow had chains come loose, one uncoupled. I was directed to run up there and secure it, there is no sense in placing two people in a dangerous situation so I told the Chief I'd do it alone. Not a big deal if a guy is able to stay on the deck, it would surely be a lost cause if I were to be blown off into the ocean with waves that size. There are "pad eves" in a square pattern measuring approximately 10 feet on a side, thousands on the flight deck level with the top. The pad eyes are there to secure the aircraft to the deck, normally with a minimum on 6 "tie downs" two on each wheel were used. During a storm such as this, 12 would be a normal set, one on the nose and tail would equal 14. The exhaust end would most of the time be hanging over the ocean above the "cat walk". I worked my way up to the plane by using the pad eyes as grips and walking on all fours, it had to be done or we would lose airplane over the side with possible damage to the ones on each side of it. I had 150 pounds of chains in a backpack on my back so it helped to hold me to the deck, I did lose the sack over the side after I took the last chain out of it. The aircraft was secured, I made it back to the compartment one deck below, and the ship made it through the
Typhoon, they spin counter clock wise in the South Pacific.
Sometimes things just have to be done, sometimes they are done due to moments of panic, during an emergency we need to control our fear and eliminate panic. (The following did not occur during Hurricane Harvey, it took place in an earlier one) The weather channel reported a family decided not to evacuate, it was an OK decision because their house survived unscathed. When the first high winds struck their home they decided to evacuate, in a moment they did, they were caught in a water surge and met their demise. Had they of stayed in their home they would have survived, it wasn't a dumb decision or stupidity it was most likely a panic. When Hurricane Harvey made landfall it had the lowest barometric pressure ever recorded, a hint that this is a very dangerous storm. The winds were 130 mph, I can see how someone would panic or even not panic but making an unfortunate decision trying to save their lives. Isn't that a terrible spot to be in to make a life or death decision? How does a person do that, how can a person with a family make the decision placing the people involved in direct danger? The very people they live their lives around, kids, grandma,
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Sometimes we all make mistakes, this one could be disastrous, and it looks like
it may have been. |
grandpa and other loved ones, What a terribly impossible decision to make, if it is successful you're fine if it's not successful you're not fine. I personally feel terrible about this incident, I imagine it happens often while experiencing a hurricane it would be impossible for a by stander (as I am) to know the thoughts flooding a person's mind. Imagine 130 mph winds pounding on the roof and walls, those walls had to be jumping and vibrating. The windows rattling, some plywood may have been ripped off, Mom and Dad two children a dog and Grandma, Knowing the storm would most likely be hanging around for 3 or more days, with the family in the house. I imagine the discussion goes a little like this. "It's getting really bad", Dad says. "We can die here or die on the road, we may be better off taking our chances by evacuating." The decision is then made to make a run for it, I think I'm capable of making a decision like that, maybe disastrous.
It appears the people in the affected Gulf states, Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, with Texas as the epicenter. The prediction is the storm will stall, with hard rain falling causing massive flooding, 30 inches of rain is predicted. In every natural disaster, the major cause of loss of life is flooding, people drowning in floods, in their cars. Flooding during hurricanes is a given, contaminated water driven in 130 mph winds, it must feel like rocks when it strikes a person. Electrical outages are also common and expected during a hurricane, we need to be certain to secure all of our electronic equipment and isolating the main circuits breakers. Turn off the gas supply if you can, evacuate if you smell gas, Listen to the emergency radio station, stay as informed as possible. Click
here for a lot of information on Hurricanes.
What a terrible tragedy, in the meantime, if we are close to the disaster we can help in any way we can, further away we do not have many choices until it is over. Prayer, positive thoughts and national unity are the order of the day for at least the next few days, possibly longer, I certainly hope not. Thanks for reading I would like to hear comments and concerns. Thanks again.
jacquesandkate
emergencykitsplus.com
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