Disaster Discussion

[mon]

You could fine them, yes indeed. No one would recieve nary a cent.

[mon]

Just sounds like a lotta paperwork and wasted energy to me.People do whatever they want it seems

[Grace]

I think in some situations, the authorities will spell it out - if you don't leave when they tell you to, you are on your own. As someone previously said, why should emergency personnel be expected to risk their lives to save someone stupid?

There was some unexpected, very fast rising flooding in Louisiana yesterday, and people had to leave with what they on at the time. No time to pack anything. Saw some film on the news this evening where some of the residents went back to get their pets - the water had started to recede so it was safer. Anyway, this one guy had several dogs and 23 cats - everyone of them survived by going to the 2nd floor. They were all rescued without incident

[catland]

If I were to choose to stay behind after a mandatory evacuation, then I would consider the rescuers to be off the hook as far as trying to save me at the risk of their own safety.

I don't plan to be rescued. I'd rather be a rescuer than a rescuee.

I took a FEMA class the fall after Hurricane Katrina and learned some of the basic skills to learn how to help at the citizen level. My husband and I have discussed where we would go in case of an emergency since I work on the other side of the river and am 20+ miles from home. We don't really get disasters here in Oregon, but the one concern is that we're overdue for a major earthquake which of course would totally mess up the freeways, bridges, etc.

[emily_the_spoiled]

The one good thing that came out of Katrina was that the Federal government pass the PETS Act. This basically says that if there is a human shelter opened there MUST be a place for pets to be placed also. In Florida many of the shelters will actually allow you to take your pet to the human shelter. In Maryland, they don't but we open shelters within a reasonable distance from the human shelter so that people can take care of their pets.

http://www.usatoday.com/weather/stor...ina/57454202/1

[mrspunkysmom]

The one good thing that came out of Katrina was that the Federal government pass the PETS Act. This basically says that if there is a human shelter opened there MUST be a place for pets to be placed also. In Florida many of the shelters will actually allow you to take your pet to the human shelter. In Maryland, they don't but we open shelters within a reasonable distance from the human shelter so that people can take care of their pets.

http://www.usatoday.com/weather/stor...ina/57454202/1

I must have missed that news. I've been aware that shelters now let you bring pets or have another space for them, but I didn't realize that it was a law that forced the issue.

I know if I had to evacuate the area, stuff would get in the car in this order: cats, meds, food, computer, clothes and other necessities.

[Steve Arnold]

As someone who lived through the second costliest natural disaster in the country after Hurricane Katrina - the Iowa floods of 2008 - I can say that the reason why no lives were lost here is that for the most part people followed the mandatory evacuations when they were issued. 20,000 people were displaced in Cedar Rapids and the evacuation was surprisingly smooth. (I was not personally affected, my parents home was not affected and I live in another community that was flooded but my home is a mile from the water.) But both our communities were hard hit.

Provisions were made by the city for pets from evacuated homes. Kennels were provided in a safe place far from the water. The few people who did need to be rescued were mostly because they were afraid they wouldn't be allowed to take pets with them. The rescues performed were surprisingly dangerous because of the swift current of the river and the fact that the flood water was seriously contaminated by farm chemicals from flooded farmland up river and the fact that the Cedar Rapids sewage treatment plant was flooded and raw sewage was going directly into the floodwater because there was no other option.

One of the most moving photos of the flood was from a small town in the path of the flood water with a herd of cows stranded in a small patch of high ground around a house - but the cows did survive.

The closest call my family had personally was that on the day before the bridges were to close, two days before the crest in Cedar Rapids, my parents had my older dog at their house to take to the groomer, as the flood was cresting in my town that day and I wouldn't have been able to get down. All the bridges in town but one were scheduled to close that afternoon, But the water was coming in so much faster than expected that the bridges were closed several hours early. They had a harrowing time getting across the river on the one remaining bridge to pick him up - the traffic was unbelievable and they were driving in water up to their hubcaps. A twenty minute trip took almost two hours, but they got the dog home safely. The next day all the bridges across the river were closed, and I was very relieved. I was without my dog until the water began to go down but at least he was safe with my parents.

So, yes, people need to take those mandatory evacuation orders seriously and move when they are told to move. I'm glad the rules have changed so that pets are accounted for!

[Karen]

How nice to know that in some places, folks actually heed the evac orders! Thanks for sharing that story with us!