Posted on 12/14/2005 10:43:09 AM PST by Leatherneck_MT
For those of you who are not aware, North Dakota and southwestern Montana got hit with their first blizzard of the season a couple of weeks ago)
This text is from county emergency manager out in the western part of North Dakota state after the storm.
Amusing...
WEATHER BULLETIN
Up here in the Northern Plains we just recovered from a Historic event--- may I even say a "Weather Event" of "Biblical Proportions" --- with a historic blizzard of up to 24" inches of snow and winds to 50 MPH that broke trees in half, stranded hundreds of motorists in lethal snow banks, closed all roads, isolated scores of communities and cut power to 10's of thousands.
George Bush did not come.... FEMA staged nothing.... No one howled for the government... No one even uttered an expletive on TV... Nobody demanded $2,000 debit cards..... No one asked for a FEMA Trailer House.... No news anchors moved in. No looting No killing Jessie did not show up We just melted snow for water, sent out caravans to pluck people out of snow engulfed cars, fired up wood stoves, broke out coal oil lanterns or Aladdin lamps and put on an extra layer of clothes.
Even though a Category "5" blizzard of this scale has never fallen this early...we know it can happen and how to deal with it ourselves.
Everybody is fine
I think the point is, "you can't stop a blizzard, but with the right means, you can stop a flood".
If New Orleans got flooded every year, they would prepare to be underwater every year. Ask a Venetian.
Nope
Just different types of water.
I've been through both and the only difference is, the quality of people. Those who whine for someone to do something for them, versus those tough enough to do things on their own.
The class of people up here is far different from the whiners and criers we've seen on TV since Katrina hit.
Might I remind you, 9 years ago we had both. A flood and a blizzard back to back (basically the flood waters were frozen solid over the town).
It virtually destroyed several towns and cities in North Dakota. But other than 2 or 3 days of coverage, nothing else was said about it. Nobody whined because the guvmint wasn't there to give them 2000 dollar credit cards. Nobody whined and complained that they didn't get their welfare check. Nobody complained and bitched that Fema didn't have busses there to take them all to Houston or in our case, Pierre South Dakota.
They were thankful for the help they got, they rolled up their sleeves one and all and got to work rebuilding their towns and cities.
THAT is class
Lug, we got through Agnes in '72, seven years before FEMA was cobbed together. However did we manage.
I think almost everyone believed the "right means" were in place. The levees didn't overflow, they failed (in places).
hehe Gunny you must be having a heat wave. I don't think it's gotten above 12 here in Columbia Falls in the last 2 weeks.
To the point that you can either crawl into your attic or die?
Enjoy wallowing in the pride over your self-reliance. But your attempt to use that pride to disparage the victims of Katrina is not only misguided, it is mean. You may as well start questioning why those folks in hospitals and nursing homes didn't just buck up and walk out of there.
BSF, some folks really have no idea what happens when you get frozen temps and a foot or two of snow. The drifting, the white out blowing conditions. The weight on the roofs that collapses home after home. That list goes on and on.
Great point about needing medical attention and being on your own because that is EXACTLY how it is. Same goes for foodstuffs also!
Well, I guess you're a better quality person than a NOLA flood victim. Sorry for the confusion.
They should have watched the Discovery Channel special from 2002, complete with computer animation of what NOLA would look like after a CAT5 hurricane with the levees currently in place. The computer animation predicted 80% of the city would be underwater.
I'm from Southwest Louisiana and I have to say that Katrina was a black eye for the state. But, most of the state outside of New Orleans has little love for the city and it's staggering corruption and incompetence. Rita was a little different, but the "gimme, gimme" precedent from Katrina was already set.
But trying to compare a blizzard to a hurricane is quite simply sheer ignorance. Trying to compare 150 MPH winds with 50 MPH is ridiculous. Did any storms knock houses off their slabs or pilings? Did 20 feet of water completely engulf entire neighborhoods? Did 1000 people die? Are there any towns where the only thing left standing is the water tower?
When I went home to help my family and check on my father's camp after Rita, I couldn't believe the destrucion. Entire houses destroyed. Streets washed away in many places. Impassable streets blocked by what used to be some of the world's most beautiful oak trees. And this was just the Louisiana side.
After Katrina and Rita literally hundreds of acres of Louisiana are gone. Just washed into the gulf like the tide washes away sand castles.
To put this in a perspective that you might understand--these were F2 and F3 tornadoes several hundred miles wide.
Think about it. Your blizzard didn't destroy homes and businesses by the thousands. They also didn't interfere with nearly 25% of the nation's oil supply either.
Careful, I haven't read all the posts, but I'll bet real money you get a bunch of people from hurricane states crying about how bad they have it and how mean you are. I always want to ask them, "Then why the hell do you live there?"
Did those folks know they were in an are prone to flooding especially in a large storm?
Where those folks warned this storm was coming?
Did any of those that remained when the storm got there make ATTEMPTS to get out of there as they were warned to do?
Exactly how do you call them victims? What is it you mean to push when you claim they are victims but people that experience blizzards are not?
Both sets of folks know what is possible and one set does something about it and prepares for it while the other set sits on their butts and demands that others do things FOR them.
That is the REAL victimization sir, the culture of do it FOR me cuz I cannot do it myself! NOLA exposed something all right, too bad some refuse to admit what it actually DID expose.....and it sure wasn't victims of any water related issue.
Yep. For instance, I've always got on hand 2 gallons of milk and several loaves of bread in the freezer this time of year.
I asked on another thread do the taxpayers in ND, MT etc.. get tired of seeing their money wasted in places where people choose to live below sea level, flood plains, side of hills that slide etc... and they get or ask for very little help.
The constitution does not say the feds are responsible for disasters. It is the states who need to deal with it.
Didn't say that part in bold, did I?
NOLA survived the actual hurricane suprisingly well, it was the flooding that came afterwords that did the damage.
Just as in a blizzard it is the aftermath that does the damage and causes the loss of life.
Broaden that scope friend and see the forrest thru the trees.
Tornados wipe an area clean too, I live in tornado alley.....shall I expect FEMA to come fix everything for me?
You might want to check on things when you comment about oil supply....out supply never changed one ioda. That was all HYPE.
Grandma taught me the value of a stocked freezer and canned veges and sauces for such occasions.
I wonder what situation would have developed in NOLA had people actually had stocked up preparing for the storm they were told was coming?
If someone says it was the end of the month in response to that question i swear I will blow chunks!
I'd rather be in 100mph+ winds in 80 degree temps than 50 mph winds in below 0 weather. Maybe the destruction is not as catastophic but try getting snowed in for a month and I mean not leaving the confines of your house.
Anyway if you choose to live in area that suffers from catastophic weather events then your state and locals should foot the bill.
You are saying they are not comparable are you not?
You said it all right even if you didn;t realize it.
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