You mean the all-benevolent government isn’t around when most needed?
Who’da thought?
I’m still trying to figure out why people don’t just take a week’s vacation out of the path of Harvey. I heard plenty of....”Oh no...we’re ataying” like it would be some kind of afternoon shower.
When you live in a city of 2.5 million people, don’t think you will be rescued in a cataclysmic situation without having to wait hours or days. Plan ahead for the survival of yourself and your family. Store an axe in your attic, for example. Spend few bucks and hope you never use it. There is no system in the world that could handle hundreds of thousands of incoming calls that may not be necessary but every 50 or 100 years.
God bless the intrepid boaters who filled the breach and Gov. Abbott, who had 300 Texas National Guards men ready to roll in their high-water vehicles.
Guess what, boys and girls? 911 is designed to work when only a tiny fraction of the population is having an emergency at any particular instant. When the number of people needing help exceeds the number of available responders, then you are out of luck.
Ping.
So, Mr. Hooey trudged through Dark Shadows II in a flood that he knew was coming, to high ground, the location of which he knew, in order to dial emergency numbers that he knew would be utterly slammed in order to complain about it on Twitter because... wait for it...
Trump’s Fault!
FEMA or some part of effort announced that they were trying to transfer incoming into the federal system in some way to help out local 911. i don’t know timing.
How bad is the flooding/damage to Galveston? We have a reunion there in October.
Keep voting for Democrats to run your city, idiots!
I thought I saw/heard the message that went out, if you didn’t get out, you were on your own... no 911 and no help would be available. Everyone was warned ahead of Harvey.
Lesson: Don’t rely on Government.
Having worked 911 & police/fire/EMS dispatch radios during a hurricane & in the aftermath (& one no where near as catastrophic as Harvey), I can tell you that everyone is working as hard as they can and dealing with stuff you would never imagine having to deal with. When I was dispatching fire resources (lots of downed power line calls in addition to everything else), my ‘alert’ to dispatch calls was constant - I ended up standing the whole shift with a battalion chief sitting across from me telling me what was out there to send ... brush trucks, stuff I’d never had to dispatch. One of my trainers, when I started the shift, was on a nearby tac radio and he looked over and said very calmly “one call at a time - one call at time” and that kept me calm as the alerts were going off constantly.
Lots of IDIOTS call in and tie up the lines, just unbelievable. One guy called in to complain that an ice cream truck was in his neighborhood playing repeatedly “When the Saints Come Marching In”, it was driving him crazy & he wanted a police officer out there. Our officers were handling emergencies & even the plain clothes guys were in uniform, directing traffic at major intersections because all the traffic lights were out. Then you had people calling in with situations where there are bodies being discovered (had that call & remarkably ended up talking to the deceased’s brother when he called in the next day) .... people who cannot get medical help for some reason and then you have the run-of-the-mill (so to speak) heart attacks, strokes, injuries, etc.
Best advice I can give - be prepared to take care of yourself. Have supplies for a minimum of a week, two or more is better. Have medicines on hand, extra gas, water, etc. Have a first aid kit so that you can handle minor medical emergencies. If it’s going to be bad and you can evacuate to friends/family, please do it. If you absolutely HAVE to call 911, be patient and realize that the people who are answering the phones are under EXTREME stress, they’re likely lacking sleep, the calls are overwhelming (emotionally at times, too) & that’s one job you don’t do for the money.
FEMA moved hundreds of trailers into the area to serve as temporary shelter for people displaced by the flooding.
None of the trailers was ever used. People just figured out how to deal with their situation. Imagine that.
I’m nowhere near Houston and our 911 has been off and on all summer. But these morons are surprised the service doesn’t work in the middle of a hurricane and flooding up to the street lights. Obviously, it’s Trump’s fault.
I’m not going to LOL
But I have a notice that moved to Houston to be with her husband - it was a job related move.
Quite sensibly, she looked at past flooding - and Houston floods a lot - they found an apartment that featured views of the bayou in the back yard.
Flooding?
The apt building is all concrete and the first two floors are resident parking. She lives on the fifth floor - great view of all the flooding.
Had plenty of water, food, a small camp stove fro cooking and they were able to park their auto at hubby’s workplace - and high ground. After all, any sensible person would realize that hurricanes are a problem anywhere on the GoM.
She did say they would be glad to leave when hubby’s contract is up - and leave behind the crime (Houston is #4 for crime in the US) and the horrible traffic.
As someone noted earlier o the board, the first hurricane prep is to NOT buy a house in a flood area.....
Sadly, the State and FedGov will - once again - pour billions into the area and enable folks to rebuild just in time for the *next flood*. I wonder how much the developers paid to get zoning approved for flood prone regions...
Oh, heck. go ahead media, blame Trump!
Smart phones and social media, in the case of such emergency happenings in the hurricane impacted areas, are very similar to Ham radio’s and are an effective way to go around a bogged down/overloaded official emergency (911) system.
Being an amateur radio operator (N0CUO), I was actually involved in the use of my equipment some years back, due to a flood in a local city (Tomah, WI). I expect there are “Ham” operators down in Texas using their services in a similar capacity. The only difference, Ham operators need to be licensed while not so with a cell phone. “Any port in a storm” seems appropriate due to the current happenings in Texas.
Smart phones and social media, in the case of such emergency happenings in the hurricane impacted areas, are very similar to Ham radio’s and are an effective way to go around a bogged down/overloaded official emergency (911) system.
Being an amateur radio operator (N0CUO), I was actually involved in the use of my equipment some years back, due to a flood in a local city (Tomah, WI). I expect there are “Ham” operators down in Texas using their services in a similar capacity. The only difference, Ham operators need to be licensed while not so with a cell phone. “Any port in a storm” seems appropriate due to the current happenings in Texas.
This is why everyone should have a portable inexpensive Ham radio that also allows the 14 FRS (Family Radio Service) channels. One can’t use Ham frequencies unless it’s an emergency involving property or life which this situation does rise to. They are great to keep in the trunk and in a Faraday bag in the even of an EMP burst. At a starting price of just $25 shipped right to your home; it really is a good deal. There was a complete kit for sale with a lot of extra accessories but I see they sold out.
These even receive FM radio stations in your area and NOAA, the weather service, reports.