Posted on 05/09/2005 6:47:35 PM PDT by Strategerist
MIAMI -- Many residents along the East and Gulf coasts don't plan to take simple steps to protect themselves and their homes from hurricanes, despite the devastation caused by five hurricanes that struck the United States last year, according to a poll released Monday.
Fifty-six percent of those surveyed said they felt ``not too'' or ``not at all'' vulnerable, according to a Mason-Dixon poll. And one in four would do nothing to prepare for a storm, even after a watch or warning was issued.
``We can't afford to wait for a hurricane to get close to prepare,'' said Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center.
The poll also found that one in four residents believed they could evacuate flood-prone areas 30 minutes to an hour before a hurricane made landfall.
``That is dangerous folly,'' Mayfield said. Flood-prone roads will likely become impassable, he said. Gridlock could also prevent a last-minute evacuation.
Last year four hurricanes _ Charley, Frances, Jeanne and Ivan _ struck Florida within six weeks. They were among six tropical storms and nine hurricanes that formed during the unprecedented 2004 season. Hurricane Alex also struck North Carolina.
Overall, the hurricanes and tropical storms cost 117 lives in Florida and more than 3,000 in Haiti. Storms damaged or destroyed one in five Florida homes, along with 90 percent of those on the Caribbean island nation of Granada. Property losses were estimated at $42 billion.
Yet 47 percent of those surveyed had no disaster plan for the hurricane season that begins June 1 and runs through November, the poll found.
``As we look forward, we have to look back,'' Lt. Gov. Toni Jennings said. ``People need to prepare now and they don't have their plans ready and we know it.''
Jennings said the most troubling finding was the misconceptions about the steps to prepare.
A majority of those surveyed _ 54 percent _ thought masking tape could help stop windows from shattering, which is a myth. And 96 percent didn't know that garage doors were the structural element most likely to fail first in a hurricane.
The telephone poll surveyed 1,100 adults from April 20-26 in 12 coastal states from Maine to Texas. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 points.
The pollsters asked a 20-question test about hurricane related issues. Eighty-nine percent failed the test, and only 2 percent got the equivalent of a C or better by answering at least 14 questions correctly.
``We hope this poll sends up a flare,'' said Salvation Army Maj. Steve Hedgren.
The poll was sponsored in part by The National Hurricane Survival Initiative, a collaboration between the National Hurricane Center, the Salvation Army, the Florida Division of Emergency Management and others.
On the Net:
National Hurricane Center: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov
National Hurricane Survival Initiative: http://www.hurricanesafety.org/
25% of our population is in the bottom quartile of IQ and probably is in a good need of a killin'.
Can one attain a 'Darwin' nomination by deliberate inaction (i.e. not prepping for a 'cane)?
Okay, I admit I didn't know that. But even surviving a direct hit from Andrew, knowing that wouldn't have changed a thing. It's not an important fact to know.
I wouldn't worry too much about the details right now. When a storm coming we get saturated with education.
It was done by Mason-Dixon so it was a real poll, but it did seem to have a fair number of non-obvious questions...the garage door one is a toughy; it was obviously designed to produce a result for those who contracted for it.
Still, there's obviously a lot of ignorance. To me the big problem is the Saffir-Simpson scale (1-5) "backfiring;" I CONSTANTLY see people interviewed when a hurricane is approaching with that base their evacuation decision on what Category the storm is, which is incredibly stupid; on multiple occassions storms have gone up 2 categories in a few hours right before landfall.
Hey, that's one good way to look at all the NYC residents moving down here to FL.
I'm prepared alright. My favorite surfboard is waxed up and ready to go!
We butted the inside of ours with 2x4s . Don't know if it was helpful but it felt like a good thing to do:')
Hurrican Alicia was almost 25 years ago, and it wasn't huge when it landed. There are a lot of young adults here with no memory of that whatosever.
It's complacency, fueled by a lack of historical perspective, that is the killer. Floridians should be a little more attuned to it this year, but I wonder if anyone else is.
I've increased my insurance coverage since Ivan.
I was living in the Richmond area at the time. That was the first hurricane that scared me.
When you see and hear that, you begin to wonder how long you can hold out. Of course, at that point, you have no choice. Duck and pray.
A garage door is NOT a structural element! It is a DOOR, which means that its opening is supported by the framing STRUCTURE of the building.
A structural element means that the edifice in question faces imminent collapse of part or all supported attachments should aforementioned part fail. Garage doors support ONLY themselves.
If losing the garage door means your house falls down, your house should never have been built!
Then again, some of the shotgun shacks I've seen.......
From last year's "extremely interesting" hurricane season:
A Hurricane Called Charley
various FR links | 08-17-04 | The Heavy Equipment Guy
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1193075/posts
We were living in the center of Houston when Alicia hit and we didn't have electric power for 9 days. I'll never forget that storm.
Bump.
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