Hurricane Preparedness Relies On Self More Than Media

Hurricane Preparedness Reduces Medial Weather Hype – Another good Reason To Be Prepared!

Thank you, Del Stone, Jr., for the interesting comments on weather reporting. I agree there is a great deal of sensational over hype on some members of the media. Emotional play of certain stories can help with media ratings and increase in media advertisement rates.

We as citizens of this world must live with weather every day and we need to go beyond the issues of weather storms here or there, big or small. We have no power to control nature. That is a reality of life.

What we do have control over is HOW WE REACT to our weather conditions. Part of the anxiety that many have is due to the underlying fear and knowledge that there is little to no resources and assistance available immediately should the weather event be more troublesome than initially expected or even hoped for.

We in much of Western Society have become dependent on our governments locally, regionally, nationally and even internationally in some cases, to rescue us, when there is a disaster. Dependency or government and social aid assistance agencies, ultimately makes us as rational human begins weaker. We as earth citizens are seeing this more and more.

I know I am preaching to the choir, but, we need to become self reliant as much as possible. That includes my famous chorus of getting as much disaster preparedness information as a person can before a disaster takes place. Each person young or old, in great health and in very poor health, rich or poor, etc. etc, needs to learn emergency preparedness tips and sound practices from those who have experienced disasters in the past or who are trained in the topic.

It seems everyone know the scores of their favorite sports teams but how many can list off the top of their head all the items they need to have in their emergency preparedness checklist or the emergency properness necessities pantries and disaster kit supplies that are needed to survive and recover from a major Category 3+ hurricane? Most people spend more time preparing for their annual vacation then they do in preparing their emergency preparedness plans that can last them for years. More money is spent on fast food in a month than is generally used in developing low cost emergency survival kits for the entire family that ultimately can save loved ones lives and restore equilibrium in the chaos that surrounds a disaster.

Will the medial be the hyped up entertainment of disasters? In some cases, the answer is ‘yes’ most probably. Yet those who are well prepared for disaster situations can go and look at the scientific tables, radar screens and all the rest with a keen eye on what is the possible level of potential disaster risk and also a calm heart rest assured that they have the emergency preparedness necessities of good disaster preparedness, recovery and evacuation plan, disaster kits for everybody including the pets and a sound, practical, well supported hurricane or disaster guide to weather any kind of storm.

COMMENTS WELCOMED!

Please share your thoughts, emergency preparedness tips and stories here on this blog.

All I ask is that everyone be respectful and sensitive of each other and that identifying information about a person who is not the author be limited to protect their privacy.

Be Safe

Terrie

www.trainforahurricane.com

September summary - and a screw-up in reporting

October 10, 2007, 6:31 pm

Posted by Del Stone Jr in General
http://www.nwfdailynews.com/blog/post/delstonetropics/750/September-summary--and-a-screwup-in-reporting#cmt

I was reading Strictly Weather's blog in which he replicated the National Hurricane Center's summary of tropical cyclone activity in the Atlantic Basin for the month of September.

While eight storms formed in the Atlantic during that period, the average intensity of those storms was the lowest it's been since 1997.

What I found most interesting was NHC's summary of Tropical Depression 10, which moved ashore here in mid-September:

TROPICAL DEPRESSION TEN FORMED IN PART FROM A DECAYING FRONTAL
BOUNDARY THAT BECAME STATIONARY OFF THE SOUTHEAST U.S COAST ON 17
SEPTEMBER. ON 18 SEPTEMBER...AN UPPER-LEVEL LOW FORMED OVER
FLORIDA AND THE EASTERN GULF OF MEXICO...AND A WESTWARD-MOVING
TROPICAL WAVE WAS MOVING OVER OVER THE BAHAMAS. THESE FEATURES
COMBINED TO PRODUCE A WEAK AREA OF LOW PRESSURE OVER THE WESTERN
BAHAMAS LATER THAT DAY. THE SYSTEM MOVED SLOWLY WESTWARD OVER
FLORIDA AND INTO THE EASTERN GULF DURING 19-20 SEPTEMBER. ON 21
SEPTEMBER THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY INCREASED NEAR THE SURFACE LOW...AND
A SUBTROPICAL DEPRESSION FORMED THAT DAY ABOUT 45 MILES SOUTHWEST
OF APALACHICOLA FLORIDA. THE SYSTEM GAINED TROPICAL
CHARACTERISTICS LATER THAT DAY AND BECAME A TROPICAL DEPRESSION AS
IT MOVED NORTHWESTWARD...BUT ITS MAXIMUM WINDS NEVER EXCEEDED 35
MPH. THE DEPRESSION MADE LANDFALL LATE ON 21 SEPTEMBER NEAR FORT
WALTON BEACH FLORIDA...AND IT DISSIPATED A FEW HOURS LATER.
IMPACTS IN THE AREAS ALONG THE PATH OF THE DEPRESSION WERE MINIMAL.


I remember at the time pointing out to people that (a) the depression likely wouldn't strengthen (despite the hysterical warnings of certain media sources that it might become a category 2 hurricane) ... and (b) late in the afternoon on Sept. 21 telling people the system had moved inland right over us, maybe a tad to the east - and they refused to believe me! Even when I showed them radar loops that clearly indicated the center was over Choctawhatchee Bay they STILL refused to believe me and continued to insist the storm was over the gulf heading toward Mississippi. Late that night, TV weathermen CONTINUED to report the storm center was over water when it had entered south Alabama north of the Santa Rosa County line. In fact, here's what I wrote at 2:51 on Sept. 21:

Don't look now but Tropical Depression 10 is coming ashore. The center of circulation is just south-southeast of Destin and about to move inland. I'm thinking somewhere between Fort Walton Beach and Pensacola will be its landfall site.

This points out a serious flaw in our weather-reporting apparatus. All information flows from the National Weather Service, and often it is HOURS behind in providing real-time data. That's crazy - especially when just about anybody with no specialized training can look at a radar loop and see a low-pressure center cross the coastline in Fort Walton Beach.

What really amazes me is the degree of blind faith people put into the "official" reports - I'm not talking about NWS but the crap being disseminated by folks on TV. WEAR, for example, assembled a "news team" that provided "all-night" coverage of the storm - AFTER it had gone inland. Talk about sensationalizing coverage and creating a climate of fear!

This is highly irresponsible, both on the part of the Weather Service, which should provide more timely information updates when a cyclone nears a coastline, and the news media, for stupidly and blindly stumble-bumbling along when facts contradict what they are being told, then trying to enlarge and exaggerate the negative aspects of that disinformation.

I have long criticized media for their inept coverage of tropical cyclones. The Weather Channel has been my prime target, but I must admit that on the afternoon of Sept. 21, Jim Cantore, who was reporting from Pensacola Beach, was the lone voice (aside from yours truly) who said, in effect, "This thing is over. It's gone inland over Northwest Florida."

I guess if it's on TV, it's got to be true.