I understand that a Mayor (Houston?) has been criticized for not declaring a mandatory evacuation. What I have read is that there had been terrible problems with the last evacuation with people dying on the roads (flooding?). There are other dangerous things that people choose to do, and then many thousands of dollars are spent on rescue. I have wondered in the past why they don’t have a “danger, you might be on your own” form to sign.
I climbed Mt. Washington for my 18th birthday in July. The conditions were cold, and visibility above tree line was very poor and the marking cairns hard to see. My father walked as far toward where he believed he would find the next cairn and still see me and my 8 and 10 year old brothers. Then one of the children would join him. He would walk some more and stop, then my other
brother would walk to my first brother. Then one child would walk to my father, and stop while my father advanced some more. By that time he could see the next cairn and I would gather up the chain and meet at that next cairn. They were selling a book at the station describing over 150 people who had died on that mountain. Very informative on what not to do. Some had fallen off cliffs in the fog, others had tried to walk down through the forest which started as less than knee high but soon became waist and head high and impassible, and they froze or starved. Either they were traveling alone or were not as smart as my father. At the top of the mountain a camp troop came in and all the kids were in shorts with cherry red knees and shivering. Shame on the adult leader.
You are very lucky.
**Stranded with a sprained ankle on a snow-covered mountain, Eagle Scout Scott Mason put his survival skills to work by sleeping in the crevice of a boulder and jump-starting evergreen fires with hand sanitizer gel.
He put plastic bags inside his boots to keep his feet dry as he sloshed through mountain runoff hidden beneath waist-deep snow. After three cold days last April, rescue crews spotted him hiking toward the summit of Mount Washington, the Northeast’s highest mountain.
New Hampshire officials praised his resourcefulness. So grateful was he for his rescuers that Mason, 17, sent $1,000 to the state.
Sometime later, New Hampshire sent him a bill: $25,734.65 for the cost of rescuing him.
New Hampshire is one of eight states with laws allowing billing for rescue costs, but only New Hampshire has made frequent attempts to do so — even strengthening its law last year to allow the suspension of hiking, fishing and driver’s licenses of those who don’t pay.**
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nh-bills-lost-hikers-for-cost-of-rescue/
Hind sight isn’t helpful ...I think the call not to evacuate was the right one....nobody would have imagined the destruction these waters brought to be as severe even though the meterologists warned about up to 51 inches.....
I would have left simply because of Houstons history of constant flooding since it’s waterways run throughout the area....so common sense would say flooding would be severe. I suspect people there were simply accustomed to the flooding as a normal way of life there.
Having watched the event and people there in Houston I can understand why a friend of mine moved there and within a year moved back to the east. You really have to like all the many foreigners (diversity) that is represented there.....which wouldn’t be to my taste either. I’m not for mixing up cultures in one area side by side no matter how they present it.
No doubt people will rebuild....even with the dangers of flooding again....they’ll get bailed out regardless.
The Rita evacuation was handled badly. Pre-Harvey's non-evac (essentially) is a black eye too. We have the technology (communications) and knowledge (forecasting, hydrology, experience) to do much better, it's just that no one has really put it together, yet. Some of us discussed this, upthread.
In my line of work, one learns from experience / history, and uses all tools appropriate, with creativity, or doesn't last long. That should apply here, too. Two quotes come to mind, one famous, one not so famous:
"Those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it."
and, from Babylon 5, after a major cluster****:
"Now that we know that, we can make sure it doesn't happen any more. We learn. It's what humans do."
Ideally, anyway... :-)