Monday, March 31, 2008

National hurricane center

We no doubt live in an unpredictable environment. Earth has proven its wrath time and time again, and sadly many times we've undermined it. One thing I've learned in life is never to doubt Mother Nature. If the national hurricane center states that a massive storm is headed our way, then we all better hustle to take cover. Hey, why risk it? It's always better to be safe than sorry. Just ask the folks who fell victim to hurricane Katrina.

Not too long ago, we watched a powerful hurricane rip and roar through New Orleans. And although the national hurricane center warned our nation of this vicious weather attack, many people decided to stay in New Orleans. HUH! To this day I will never understand why they did. We all saw that there were buses offered to take folks out, who couldn't get out by vehicle or on foot. Maybe they didn't own a car or maybe they had a health condition and couldn't walk. Either way, they could have left by bus. I watched one college student on the news, who literally caught wind of the situation, packed a backpack and some water, and headed out on foot. He walked completely out of harm's way and said he had plenty of time to do so. The national hurricane center warned folks far in advance. So why again did so many people decide to stick around? I also saw some people send their children out, but they refused to go with them. This makes no sense. If the hurricane rips up your home, it's going to do so regardless of whether or not you stay there. Therefore it made sense to leave. And that's why I don't feel sorry for the people who stayed and dismissed the fair warnings. Give me a break!

We're lucky to have satellites in space that inform us of the weather headed our way. We're fortunate to have the national hurricane center telling us when to duck and cover. These are great advantages we have over Mother Nature. Technology has allowed us to predict the future almost. As for the people who choose the naive route of staying in a place that's been deemed dangerous or deadly; well that's all on them. Maybe the next time the national hurricane center hits New Orleans with a warning, they'll respond in a prudent fashion.