South Texas Paper Now Regrets Evacuation Call

[flowomo]

www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001179906


NEW YORK -- Like most south Texas newspapers facing the onslaught of Hurricane Rita, the Victoria Advocate moved quickly this week to evacuate its staff, plan for Web-based coverage during the weekend, and put off any local print product until at least Monday.

When the order came for a mandatory evacuation of Victoria County by 7 p.m. Thursday, the 34,000-daily circulation paper moved quickly to send its staff of more than 200 on its way, relocate many to office space in Austin, and keep only those critical to a limited reporting effort nearby. Editors even arranged an unusual deal with the San Antonio Express-News in which that paper turned over four of its pages to Advocate news so readers who had evacuated to the Alamo City could catch up on hometown events.

Then a surprise occurred. Rita changed her mind, headed in a more easterly direction, and the Advocate was (seemingly) spared. "We are probably not even going to get any rain out of this," said Editor and Publisher John Roberts, whose family has owned the paper since 1961. "It has turned into a non-event here."

When the storm moved away, the mandatory evacuation became a voluntary evacuation, and Advocate officials decided to put out a local print paper a soon as possible.

There was only one problem: most of the paper's employees were long gone.

[GOPAgainstGW]

1. Dumb-Better Safe Than Dead! - eom

[0007]

2. Better red than dead, yuk yuk

[hlthe2b]

3. When will people realize that nothing can be certain with nature...

I suppose if Rita ends up being far, far less than expected, we'll have more complacency (if that is even POSSIBLE, with respect to Katrina) from the FEDS for the NEXT time?

This is why PREVENTION is such a hard sell--whether in public safety from natural disasters or public health... People pay no attention to the horror prevented...

[belle]

7. Exactly. So they lost a few days of work and some aggravation-so what.

You can make up lost money and worktime. You can't make up lost lives.

[jobycom]

4. The danger is that next time people won't evacuate.

This is why New Orleans waited as long as they could before mandatory evacuations. They evacuated the lowest parts of La. first, then waited to see what the storm would do, stepping up evacuations as things progressed. They got over a million people out without the fear and drama.

For Katrina they've evacuated all along the coast, and still may not have gotten the right area. They started to soon, and had no order to what they did. If they had waited a little longer, evacuating the worst danger areas first (Galveston being a no-brainer), but holding off on Houston until they had a better idea, they'd have had fewer people on the roads, fewer refineries shut down, fewer resources tied up and wages lost.

Better safe than sorry, I agree, but they've got a lot to learn about evacuating. First lesson, don't listen to Bush when he needs a PR stunt.

[pitohui]

5. agreed

not to mention one less bus full of exploding senior citizens

[jobycom]

10. God, that was sad. nt

[jpak]

6. Every hurricane I have weathered

was supposed to make landfall SOMEWHERE ELSE - and I'm talking hundreds of miles away.

They are highly unpredictable in the end game.

Evacuations save lives - it's fucking do or fucking die.

and Monday Morning Quarterbacks can shut the fuck up...

[pitohui]

11. yes but they also cost lives

the reality is that when you evacuate the elderly, some of them are certain to die

unnecessary evacs do cost lives

i agree 1000 percent w. this statement tho: Monday Morning Quarterbacks can shut the fuck up...

the reality is we do the best we can, but these storms do turn

[TankLV]

13. But the repukes are now saying we should have evacuated 5 days before it

hits!

I mean, they all knew exactly where it would hit, right?

I'm all confused now.

[demo dutch]

8. That's just the way it goes, better be safe than sorry!

[Coexist]

9. Welcome to Florida

we do that all the time!!!

[Spangle]

12. Lives YES, but one must worry also about MONEY

Government officals understand that. Which is why making the call for evacuations is so hard to do. They want to be "sure".. and you just can't.

I'm seeing "If it saves Lives... so what". Yes, that is part of it. But if you evacuated and lost 4 days of work.. How are you going to pay your bills? Business can NOT afford to pay people wages if no work/sales/whatever isn't happening.

So you have the pay check issue. You also have the Business aspect of it.

A REAL procedure needs to be in place. Levels of evacuations or something. If there is a possiblity of a "hit", start moving hospital patients, etc. The closer the storm gets, the more likely the route will be known. So another level of evactuations start. Etc, etc, etc.

Sounds expensive.. it is. But It would also be life saving. Moving out persons who CAN leave without effecting the economy, etc.. much, much sooner.. will also mean less people on the roads, etc.

One of the reasons people don't just leave unless they have to is because of money. They have to get a hotel, etc. Evacuatoins MUST come with SHELTERS set up elsewhere. And the information KNOWN!

Good grief, some places don't want to even open up shelters until the LAST MINUTE! Open up the dang things EARLY so that those that are retired, etc.. can go ahead and get off the road!

There are people who can NOT leave until the last minute. Gas stations, etc. They and their family are STUCK if a traffic jam happens.

Another words.. Evacuations can work... if a REAL system is set up. Which includes early evacuations for some people. Early opening of Shelters so people have a place to go. Make the whole system as affordable and with less strain on the local economy. If they do that, then the local government wouldn't be so worried about calling evacuations.