Surprising Isaac

I’ve been fortunate, as a DirecTV customer, to be able to follow live wall-to-wall coverage from TV stations in New Orleans on the approach, arrival, and aftermath of Hurricane Isaac. “Only a Cat 1,” some said, many of them taking officials’ calls for evacuation of low-lying areas as suggestions rather than orders.

Even with “mandatory” evacuation orders, though, the authorities cannot force you to leave your home. I’ve often said that people who live in a mandatory evacuation area should be sent a bill if they don’t leave and public safety folks have to rescue them.

OK, that’s a little harsh. The fact is, while it’s assumed that people stay behind just because it’s inconvenient to move and they think they can ride out the emergency, there’s usually a much better reason for staying: they don’t want to leave their pets – which perhaps means authorities should give pets a higher priority in these situations.

Isaac, of course, was not Katrina. What it lacked in strength, it made up for in tenacity, hanging around Louisiana for days, dumping incredible amounts of rain on populated areas.

So you might wonder why people insist on living in these areas? If they lose their homes to a hurricane, well, that comes with the territory, or so the argument goes. Fact is, there really is no perfect place to live in the United States. The East and the Midwest get the winter’s cold and crippling blizzards. The South has humidity, bugs and in some cases, alligators. The West Coast has relatively little “real weather,” but like the rest of California, it’s prone to earthquakes. Desert residents trade the rain and snow for incredible summer heat. I’m trying to come up with what’s wrong with Hawaii, but I’m sure there’s something.

In any case, you learn a lot about how local media cover disaster situations, and through them, how people react, how public officials behave and the things they didn’t think of, who the heroes and villains are, and just how long it takes to return to something called “normal.”

Again, thanks to DirecTV for providing their hurricane information channel (and hey, if I convert you to become a customer and get credit for the referral, I think I’m supposed to get $100. I believe in full disclosure).