Americans have been trained to evacuate as daily forecasts
on TV, radio and social flood the air waves and internet
From its birth as a tropical depression hundreds of miles
away a hurricane’s path and intensity are tracked to give residents time to
evacuate from storm surge, winds and rainfall that will on them beset
Likewise in the case of wild fires whose growth or containment
is tracked
Except in rare cases like Maui or the Palisades where raging winds of hurricane force likely
containment lacks
And residents have little time to valuables and pets pack
And evacuate before their homes and escape routes are
attacked
13-15 minutes of warning for tornadoes is the norm
If the car is not already packed in the driveway pointed out
residents may not escape the storm
In storms of heavy rainfall flood watch alerts give
residents time to with sand bags their homes from flooding protect
But flash flood warnings usually come too late as the surrounding
rivers have jumped their backs and nothing stands in their way to the surging
waters reject
In Central Texas after numerous flood watch alerts in the
early morning of Independence Day
The Guadalupe River rose 26 feet in 45 minutes sweeping
campsites and structures away
The death toll quickly rose to nearly 80 as drownings were a
fact of life on display
No evacuation warnings came soon enough for deaths to delay
Fingers already being pointed at Trump for cuts at NWS that
prevent flash flood prediction
Like the uproar over cuts at the FAA following near National Airport a military chopper
and passenger jet midair collision
Trump is being falsely being blamed NWS cuts when offices in
the flooded area were with weather forecasters fully staffed
The left led a rush to judgment that because of Trump, the
NWS failed in its forecasting craft
100 year events are difficult in the extreme to predict
We hope that calmer heads surface to review the warnings so
the next flash flood does not so many deaths afflict
© 7/6/2025 Michael P. Ridley aka The Alaskanpoet
No comments:
Post a Comment