The cavalry ain't comin' to the destroyed Bahamas quickly enough

[LOL!]

I found this to be a great article about what happens when a natural disaster happens:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/07/world/americas/bahamas-hurricane-dorian-relief.html

Basically, citizens are angry that there is not instant relief to their plights. They forget about things like the government doesn't even own any helicopters and that First Responders have their own families to stabilize and many other basic things. Plus no one can imagine that someone else might be worse off than they are.

That is, the world does not revolve around people who have been wiped off the face of an island.

I've kinda known all this after experiencing personally hurricanes such as Sandy, Ike, Rita, Harvey, and some others. Cash won't help you no matter what people say. You had better be able to camp without any external power, fuel, water, food, medicine, or news for a few weeks at a time. Or you need multiple ways to get out of the disaster zone without any help from anybody else. If you can't do these things, then you need to get out ahead of time if you get any notice of impending doom. It is better to get out ahead of time and then nothing happen than to be stuck when the SHTF.

 

[zinger1457]

With rising sea levels it does make one wonder if places like the Bahamas are even worth rebuilding. The islands are barely above sea level as it is and it will only get worse.

 

[JDARNELL]

With rising sea levels it does make one wonder if places like the Bahamas are even worth rebuilding. The islands are barely above sea level as it is and it will only get worse.

I guess someone could say that about New Orleans being below sea level. Although I would agree economic value in the latter is more. Historic or cultural ties and connection to the land carry big value in the is it worth it camp.

 

[lemming]

I am so sorry you had to listen to those complainers.

 

[NW-Bound]

With rising sea levels it does make one wonder if places like the Bahamas are even worth rebuilding. The islands are barely above sea level as it is and it will only get worse.

Where would the Bahamians go? Any country willing to adopt them? There are only 400,000 of them, not too many.

It's good to hear the US Coast Guard is helping with the rescue.

 

[frayne]

I couldn't and doubt if many here could begin to imagine the logistics of getting these poor souls the help they need, in a timely fashion much less the rebuilding effort. Good bless the first responders and the Red Cross.

 

[timo2]

With rising sea levels it does make one wonder if places like the Bahamas are even worth rebuilding. The islands are barely above sea level as it is and it will only get worse.

So we should also abandon all the barrier islands on the east coast of the USA?



If humans abandoned everyplace that ever had a natural disaster, there would be few places left to inhabit. It is the repeat natural disasters that repeatedly happen in the same spots that are annoying. Like flooding along the rivers in the Midwest. There is no way places with repeated issues should be rebuilt. Now if a Cat 5 hit the same islands every other year, that would be a different situation.

 

[NW-Bound]

So we should also abandon all the barrier islands on the east coast of the USA?

If humans abandoned everyplace that ever had a natural disaster, there would be few places left to inhabit. It is the repeat natural disasters that repeatedly happen in the same spots that are annoying. Like flooding along the rivers in the Midwest. There is no way places with repeated issues should be rebuilt. Now if a Cat 5 hit the same islands every other year, that would be a different situation.

Well, the barrier islands of the US are mainly vacation homes, I suspect. And they are a minuscule percentage of the US landmass.

On the other hand, Bahamas is a country of 700 low-lying islands. There's no place for the Bahamians to go.

 

[davebarnes]

Can we buy the Bahamas?

 

[RAE]

You had better be able to camp without any external power, fuel, water, food, medicine, or news for a few weeks at a time. Or you need multiple ways to get out of the disaster zone without any help from anybody else. If you can't do these things, then you need to get out ahead of time if you get any notice of impending doom. It is better to get out ahead of time and then nothing happen than to be stuck when the SHTF.

While this may be true, the reality is that the majority of people will NEVER be prepared to live for weeks at a time without power, fuel, water, etc. (especially in a place like the Bahamas). I don't think it's realistic to think (or expect) that many people would be able to do something like that. Further, a lot of people don't have the means or ability to evacuate ahead of time, either. Either they don't have the $$, or they have family obligations that mean they can't just leave (elderly parents, etc). Sure, if I (with the resources that I have) had been on Abaco and I knew that Category 5 Dorian was headed straight at me, I would have left. But you can't expect that a majority of Bahamians would be able to do the same thing.

 

[LOL!]

I guess someone could say that about New Orleans being below sea level. Although I would agree economic value in the latter is more. Historic or cultural ties and connection to the land carry big value in the is it worth it camp.

New Orleans has not recovered to the population level pre-Katrina:
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LAORLE0POP
However it is almost double the population immediately after Katrina.

I expect the Bahamas to thin out quite a bit in the same manner.

 

[NW-Bound]

Can we buy the Bahamas?

I think if the US gives them shelter, many will abandon their home land. We can then use it for a vacation spot, when there's no hurricane that is.

While this may be true, the reality is that the majority of people will NEVER be prepared to live for weeks at a time without power, fuel, water, etc. (especially in a place like the Bahamas). I don't think it's realistic to think (or expect) that many people would be able to do something like that. Further, a lot of people don't have the means or ability to evacuate ahead of time, either. Either they don't have the $$, or they have family obligations that mean they can't just leave (elderly parents, etc). Sure, if I (with the resources that I have) had been on Abaco and I knew that Category 5 Dorian was headed straight at me, I would have left. But you can't expect that a majority of Bahamians would be able to do the same thing.

It just sucks when you do not have money. No money, no option but to stay and pray.

 

[LOL!]

While this may be true, the reality is that the majority of people will NEVER be prepared to live for weeks at a time without power, fuel, water, etc. (especially in a place like the Bahamas). I don't think it's realistic to think (or expect) that many people would be able to do something like that. Further, a lot of people don't have the means or ability to evacuate ahead of time, either. [...]

I completely agree.

My comments were directed at folks reading this forum in terms of their own disaster preparation.

We often see threads started on "disaster prep" and lots of interesting advice. Besides the current situation in the Bahamas, another disaster scenario is Venezuela which is not a natural disaster.

The lesson, however, is that if the Cavalry is not already in place, then it will never arrive in time, so be prepared or be a stoic.

 

[Aerides]

Living in FL, + being of some means, + ER'd, + having been through a few hurricanes, my "plan" is far more easily executed than someone who works for a living and lives on a small island.

If my house is decimated and I live, I can and will pick up and go somewhere else. I can afford to drive or fly or at least get myself to wherever I can get a plane or a vehicle. In the worst case scenario, I'll experience survival-camping stuff for a few days. Even after IRMA left us with no power and damage, we spent 12 hours on the turnpike for a 4 hour drive and were in a hotel 2 days after the storm.

Folks who live in CA in the areas prone to burning have "go boxes" - they have a plan to execute if and when they get that 15 minute warning. I have a friend who lived in Paradise who got out just in time last year, and with the help of FEMA and insurance is in a new home and new town this year.

People in Tornado alley should have a plan for when the sirens go off.

I think it's a little different if you're on a island, and of comfortable financial means. And now everything is flattened, and you have no boat, no money, no water. Every day these people are finding out that loved ones didn't make it. They saw their pets die or get washed away. They are mourning their old lives and scared, so I have nothing but sympathy for their situation.

There are ways we can help. Many charities big and small. In FL my local fire and police are arranging boats for shipments of supplies to take over in many trips. Even on nextdoor neighbors are organizing supply runs in their smaller boats. Now is not the time to tsk tsk shoulda coulda woulda.

 

[timo2]

On the other hand, Bahamas is a country of 700 low-lying islands. There's no place for the Bahamians to go.

Just one more example of the current and upcoming global warming induced human migration crises that is driving so much resistance from the destination countries around the world.

 

[Midpack]

It’s sad when a hurricane strikes, but no government large or small can afford to be staffed and trained to deal with sporadic catastrophes, much less Dorian going thru the Bahamas, the strongest hurricane ever? No one, except maybe the residents who know they’re dangerously exposed, wants to pay for a permanent disaster personnel on a scale that would sit idle almost 100% of the time. Nor will there ever be enough contractors and supplies to immediately start rebuilding as soon as a storm passes. Even a large country like the US can’t afford to have personnel trained and ready for Sandy, Andrew, Katrina, Dorian, etc. No one living in coastal NJ, FL, NoLa, the Bahamas and all the Caribbean, etc. can say they didn’t realize they were exposed to severe damage from hurricanes. It’s going to happen, and lengthy hardship will follow for most, doesn’t matter how beautiful or historic the place is.

And I’ll leave the subject of fools who choose to ride out hurricanes knowing they’re in the path alone...other than I have no sympathy for them and no expectation that first responders should take risks to bail out those who stay. They’ll respond when it’s safe and they get to you, be prepared for a long wait and hope you get lucky.

And if climate change is making things worse as many contend, there’s going to me more hardship for those who choose to live in harms way.

Dorian became a historic Category 5 hurricane Sunday with sustained 185-mph winds and gusts of up to 225 mph, the highest ever recorded in the Atlantic, the National Hurricane Center reported.

 

[CyclingInvestor]

for future planning :

 

[MissMolly]

Can we buy the Bahamas?

 

[NW-Bound]

^^^ Nice and interesting chart, but we need to know what the colors of the circles mean.

Who wouldda thunk Dallas is such a high-risk area?

Corvallis is another city called out in the map. I know some posters here live there.

 

[NW-Bound]

OK. The above disaster map has been "stolen" and posted all over the Web. I found a reference to its origin here, in the NY Times in 2011.

https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/05/01/weekinreview/01safe.html?_r=0

The above reference has a list of 8 most hazardous cities in the US, and Texas has the honor of having 5 on that list: Dallas, Corpus Christi, Houston, Beaumont-Port Arthur, and Austin. Yikes!

And I don't think the preparer of that map has seen REWahoo's list either. This just makes Texas a more scary place.

PS. I found and linked the complete map, with annotations.

 

[Ronstar]

^judging by the labels, it appears that red circles are high risk, yellow are medium risk, and green are low risk. i would have thought that more of the Florida cities would be higher risk along with New Orleans.

I guess it really depends what criteria they are using in determining risk. It would help if there was some explanation on how the risks were determined.

 

[zinger1457]

If humans abandoned everyplace that ever had a natural disaster, there would be few places left to inhabit. It is the repeat natural disasters that repeatedly happen in the same spots that are annoying. Like flooding along the rivers in the Midwest. There is no way places with repeated issues should be rebuilt. Now if a Cat 5 hit the same islands every other year, that would be a different situation.

I wasn't referring to unforeseen natural disasters like hurricanes. It may take many years but the rising sea levels due to climate change will eventually hit many coastal communities around the world (including the US) making them uninhabitable.

 

[Souschef]

i feel sorry for the Bahamians, but there was an article recently in the Miami Herald that Puerto Rico still has not recovered from last year's hurricane damage. They are US citizens, and we did not help them that much.
As an example, FEMA supplied some generators, but did not give them funds for gas to run them.

 

[Popeye]

Can we buy the Bahamas?

We could buy Greenland and move everyone there. I hear it is melting.

 

[NW-Bound]

The poorest of Puerto Rico may be still suffering, but the better-offs may be OK now.

I just gave myself a quick lesson about the economic condition in Puerto Rico and the Bahamas. Bahamas is poorer than Puerto Rico, but both are quite better than Mexico.

Country	per capita GDP (PPP)
USA	$62,606
Puerto Rico	$39,763
Bahamas	$33,494
Mexico	$20,645
Brazil	$16,662

PPP means Purchasing Power Parity, which accounts for the cost of living relative to that in the US.