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Thanks for doing yeoman’s work on these threads. It is appreciated. I do have one complaint, however. If you say something stupid that I disagree with in the future on an unrelated thread, I will probably think back to your public service here and be less likely to call you names even if you deserve it and even if I really want to spout off. So that grates on me a bit. :-)

On a side note to some others: Yes, Irma was not as bad as Camille or Katrina. I remember them both vividly. Thankful that Irma was not as bad as forecast, although some areas were indeed hit rather hard. However, Camille and Katrina come into play, because, with Irma as a large, persistent, category 5 hurricane headed toward the United States mainland, it was reasonable to think that another Camille or Katrina was possible. The next time that a large, persistent, category 5 hurricane heads our way, should we not evacuate based on your downplay of the possible ramifications? Alas, I fear that you are neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet.

Best wishes in the rebuilding process to those who suffered from Irma and Harvey.

It really is a can't-win situation, the trick is not to lose. Houston evacuated for Rita and the evacuation was worse than the impact as Rita veered to the east. Then Ike came along three years later and hosed the region and showed the raw power of surge. Houston's mayor, given the forecast for Harvey, took heed more of the flawed Rita evacuation than the impact of Ike, did not back evacuations, and as a result a lot of people were subject to water rescues. Meanwhile, the worst flooding in Florida from Irma was in Jacksonville, far away from landfall and subject to 'only' tropical storm-force winds.

Anyone who studies hurricane history knows they are fickle, will do unexpected things that put a lot of people in harm's way, and to assume that decisions can be made with utter certainty in a timely enough manner to act upon them is being completely unrealistic.

Thank you for your kind and thoughtful comments! I can say that receiving a robo Emergency Management call at 0500 on the day of landfall stating “Get Out Now! Storm Surge 12-15ft expected” is startling. Fortunately, it didn’t happen. Very fortunate. And that is a fact, not an opinion.

I’ve heard about the speed with which recovery is progressing and how fast power is being restored to some areas.

If people had not made ready for the worst case scenario, they might still be trying to pull supplies together instead of already being on the job and getting things back to normal as fast as possible.