Some who were only mildly affected by Irene seemed almost to be a tad disappointed that effects of the storm were not more serious in their area. Since I live near the coast in south Louisiana, I've endured the watching and waiting many times, and I've never thought news coverage was overdone, and I'm no great fan of TV news. Each time the worst effects of the hurricanes or tropical storms by-passed my area after we appeared to be under threat, my reaction was one of relief and gratitude, while at the same time I felt great sympathy for those who were affected badly by the storm.
From CNN:
Flooding emerged as a major concern Monday for states hit by Irene, which hit the East Coast as a hurricane and then a tropical storm over three days.Never, ever will I forget the commentary after the worst of Katrina had passed through New Orleans that the city had, in effect, 'dodged a bullet', only to have the levees break and flood large areas of the city, killing nearly 2000 and wreaking massive destruction. The kvetching has now died down as we know more of the devastation that resulted from Irene, but what I read pained me at the time.
Even as Irene weakened to a tropical storm, authorities warned that its impact was not waning, especially in Vermont.
"Many Americans are still at serious risk of power outages and flooding, which could get worse in coming days as rivers swell past their banks," President Barack Obama said Sunday, adding: "The recovery effort will last for weeks or longer."
Officials said the storm had knocked out power to more than 4 million people and was responsible for at least 21 deaths.
Let us pray for those who were killed in the storm.
Let us pray for those who grieve for lost loved ones.
Let us pray for the safety of those who may yet be in danger from flooding.
Let us pray for those whose homes were destroyed or massively damaged in the storm.
Let us pray for those who lost their businesses or their jobs.
Let us pray for those without electrical power, especially those who may be without power for days or weeks.
I've only scratched the surface in listing those who are in distress from the storm. Pleas pray for all who were harmed in any way by Irene.
Click on the link below to watch a slide show.
Photos: Hurricane Irene Aftermath | Denver Post Media Center — Denver, Colorado, Photos and Video
Do read Rmj's post at Adventus, titled 'Still the view from Manhattan'.
Amen, Mimi.
ReplyDeleteAnd let us keep praying for all those who are still not back to their lives even now after Katrina.
ReplyDeleteI do believe that the wise preparation on both federal and state levels meant that there was less loss of life that there could have been. Who says that Obama isn't doing his job?
wv: saftsi
Amen.
ReplyDeleteI posted pictures from our neighborhood... and there are dozens more within eye-shot. Gimme an earthquake any day, thank you.
In my post, I say the kvetching pained me, which it did, like a blow, but I should rather have said I was mightily pissed off. The remarks seemed so selfish and small-minded as to be unbelievable. I'm OK, so give me back my regular programming. Crikey!
ReplyDeleteI've noticed a high correlation between those kvetching about Irene coverage and those who will take any opportunity whatsoever to speak out against the democratically elected President of the United States.
ReplyDeleteThe kvetchers should head to the Catskills, and up-state NY, and Vermont where the flooding is astronomical. Then step up to the plate and attempt to predict a hurricane and see how they do.
ReplyDeleteWe got off easy in Northern DE. We lost power, but not our homes and livelihood.
Even today on the news the talking heads are discussing the news coverage of Irene, whether it was right or wrong, and they're replaying and parsing Obama's responses word for word.
ReplyDeleteWe are not seeing the massive failures of response at all levels of government that we saw in Louisiana in the wake of Katrina.
Yes, your view can depend very much on where you're sitting and your own past experience of hurricanes.
Better safe than sorry, surely? ... if the news coverage (amid other preparations) are underplayed, people obviously won't take the threat seriously, and then they might die.
ReplyDeleteCathy, I saw only a few complainers, but the few were enough to set me off.
ReplyDeleteSeems to me a lot of the complaining is that NYC wasn't destroyed, therefore nothing really happened.
ReplyDelete40 dead, 4 million or more without power (at one point or another), Vermont reduced to the status of New Orleans after Katrina (helicopters are delivering supplies to villages stranded by flood waters), and this storm was overrated?
Rmj, exactly. If the destruction did not happen in the Big Media center, it didn't happen at all. What more would be needed to call the effects of Irene a disaster? I'm getting angry all over again.
ReplyDelete