as i watch different reports about the aftermath of ike...

i'm very confused about why people chose to stay on galveston island or any other area that was under mandatory evacuation. this has been a horrendous natural disaster, and i just cannot understand why people chose to stay. was evacuation not efficient or timely? was the threat not clearly communicated? was transportation/traffic a concern? was there not enough time to evacuate the medically fragile? please help those of us who are not in the situation to understand. thanks

these people made the choice. The warnings went out. Buses were provided. People were told that they faced "certain death." These people chose to stay behind. They had plenty of time to leave and had resources provided to evacuate with.

So far almost all they have interviewed have said they would never stay again. Some lessons learned the hard way.

Sandy is right. You can't force people to leave and you definitely can't stop people from making mistakes.

I'm not saying it was smart that they stayed, but I imagine one of the main reasons many stayed is the same thing that is being discused on here. Those that left are having to let their property sit for maybe a month before they are allowed to even see it and survey the damage. In that time, the damage will become worse due to mold and there is always looters as well. Just thank God that the looting situation is nothing like they allowed in new orleans. 99% of all my family there left and it was not an easy choice for them.



[This message has been edited by Ag_B_10 (edited 9/15/2008 8:20a).]

I talked to an evacuee and his family yesterday in Castroville. They left before the storm hit and have talked to friends who stayed. They have told him they now wished they had evacuated as well. There is no power, no water, limited food, few places to drive, insects are everyone and plenty of snakes looking for dry land. So far there has been little relief since many of the roads are impassable.

There are many reasons why people decide to stay. Some people are old salts and cocky BOI's that are hard headed/stupid. Then you have people like my family that have the means to evacuate and have evacuated from many storms only to see it turn at the last minute. However, I was really baffled by their decision to ride this one out. I live in Friendswood now I and still evacuated. I tried to get my parents to leave, but they were dead set on staying. They knew a lot of the population did not evacuate. My dad has a local business so he wanted to protect it and their home from looters.

Fairway,
The people I talked to were from Friendswood. Here's hoping your family and friends stay safe.

I firmly beleive the people who chose to stay should have to pay to be rescued. They should be sent a bill for a thousand to 2 thousand dollars, just as if they were calling for an ambulance. The monies should be used to rebuild cities and towns devastated by Ike. I think it is only fair.

[This message has been edited by 1984Consol (edited 9/15/2008 11:20a).]

Sadly too many people are hung up on the things that aren't as important as your safety and life. THINGS can be replaced. However, that is easy to say, but difficult to accept. When we were on vacation this summer, our hotel caught on fire. We sat outside watching parts of the building burn and I was upset thinking that I could have grabbed my week-old laptop on the way out. My husband reminded me that the important thing was that we all got out safely. Our laptops and suitcases were all things that could be replaced.

Many of the folks who stayed probably value their own lives more highly now.

Agree with the stay and protect property, however, what can you do, no water, food, power, can't go anywhere, insects, living conditions are horrible. Staying is not a good idea, ever!!

"57"

property can be replaced- people cannot. If you wanna stay and protect your property, thats fine but if it puts you in harms way and you have to be rescued, you should have to pay for it because it was your decision to stay and you knew the risks involved in staying.

You should take pictures of all your property from every angle before you leave, then have the insurance company take after pictures later. So what if you get looted- at least you are alive and safe. Insurance will cover what you have lost

Think about it this way- if you stay and you are killed, you will probably get looted anyway- at that point, its a moot point.


[This message has been edited by 1984Consol (edited 9/15/2008 12:27p).]

what i dont understand is the people who stayed who are complaining that they dont have any food/limited food. my dad didnt leave our house in orange county, but he has enough water & food to last him a while.

did you not even try to prepare??

^^ some of them believed that the federal governments would be at there beck and call for everything....

People who stay, are not smart. Being someone who evacuated from the island in corpus only to have the storm turn at the last minute I can tell you, I would do it exactly the same way in a heart beat.

If you live in an area like that you should have plenty of insurance to cover your losses of material items. If you don't have the insurance you shouldn't live there. You should also have a plan for removing the items that can't be replaced.

I wholeheartedly agree with those that say people that stayed in areas with evacuations orders should PAY for their rescue. Though I believe that money should go to the people that must risk their lives to rescue you in that situation. Call it hazard pay.

CalAG, some of the people who live on the island have been there their whole life. They certainly couldn't afford to buy a house at today's prices, but that property has been in their family for a while.

My mom had decided that she was going to stick it out in Goliad, before the storm turned. Her house is over 100 years old, and it has a lot of huge trees all around the property. She didn't want to load up her car with four dogs and three cats, only to spend 8 hours on the road to get to Austin. While I was glad Ike turned away from Goliad, I knew that where it was going instead was not going to be pretty.

All my friends and family in the Houston area have been accounted for and are safe. If you have family and friends there as well, I hope they are all safe as well.

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CalAG, some of the people who live on the island have been there their whole life. They certainly couldn't afford to buy a house at today's prices, but that property has been in their family for a while.

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This has nothing to do with evacuating when a storm is coming. If you live in an area that is prove to hurricanes you SHOULD BE PROPERLY PREPARED TO EVACUATE.

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My mom had decided that she was going to stick it out in Goliad, before the storm turned. Her house is over 100 years old, and it has a lot of huge trees all around the property. She didn't want to load up her car with four dogs and three cats, only to spend 8 hours on the road to get to Austin. While I was glad Ike turned away from Goliad, I knew that where it was going instead was not going to be pretty.

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Then your mother was making a poor decision. Does it really make sense that it was worth risking her life over the trouble of packing up animals? If she were faced with the prospect of paying for her own rescue had the storm come that way, might she have chosen a different course of action?

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All my friends and family in the Houston area have been accounted for and are safe. If you have family and friends there as well, I hope they are all safe as well.

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I am glad your friends and family are safe in Houston. It makes me sick to think of the number of peoples lives that were put at risk due to the storm. But it ANGERS me to think that others chose to put their own lives at risk and then are screaming and yelling about the FEMA response. In my opinion FEMA should focus primarily on those in shelters, with those that evacuated under their own power second. Rescuing those that ignored evacuation orders should be WAY down the list of priorities.

Thanks hornfan. My family is in great health. They may not be in the same condition after we finally get together and have a "talk".