Les Jones: Hurricane Frances

September 04, 2004

News > Hurricane Frances

Melissa got a call last night from her cousin Lisa. We visited Lisa and her family in Edgewater when we were in Florida last May. Edgewater is about an hour south of Daytona Beach, on Florida's Atlantic coast.

Like so many other Florida cities, Edgewater has been ordered to evacuate in the face of Hurricane Frances. Lisa wasn't sure what they were going to do. They may not have enough gas to make it out of the state, and there are gas shortages everywhere. Their house is just a few years old, and is of the newer, hurricane-resistant type. The walls are made of poured concrete. Some of their windows have permanent hurricane shutters, and the rest have hurricane bolts so that shutters can be mounted in a hurry, without resorting to the plywood sheets that are always in short supply when hurricanes hit.

Lisa and her family are tempted to sit tight and tough it out, rather than going out into the open and not knowing how far they'll get on the congested interstates. As of tonight we still don't know what decision they made.

I got an email tonight from the Red Cross asking for donations. The submission form is right here. I'm sending the Red Cross some money to help with relief efforts, and I'm going to hope that Lisa, Jack, and their kids are OK.

Posted by lesjones

Comments

I too will be donating to the Red Cross, as I often do after these types of events. One thing that strikes me however about the Florida hurricanes is this: with the advent of FEMA, taxpayers are increasingly being asked to subsidize the irresponsibility and downright stupidy of citizens. Where huricanes, and other natural disasters are a norm, the localities in which they occur should be mandating building codes and other regulations that prepare for these events. The people that choose to live in these places should build and pay for the infrastructure that prepares for and protects against these events and should not expect others to pick up the pieces year in and year out. In Florida, we see repetition of destruction as huricanes tear through new housing developments. Why are these new buildings not built to survive the expected storms? In Southern California, where I live, destructive earthquakes come less frequently than Florida huricanes, yet building codes reflect the need to protect against them.... at least they do now. What is the status in Florida? For instance, why is there no requirment for specialize window construction to hold up to gale force winds? From what I understand, the imploding of windows is the most common cause of total structural failure. How long should Americans living in Idaho be expected to help rebuild the home of Floridians?

I am not insensitive to the current plight of friends and families. I just want people to prepare and take responsibility for the choices they make. Structures in huricane prone areas should be built differently, along with the entire civil infrastructure (ie, power distribution and storm drainage) to survive visits from the likes of Frances, Charlies and Andrew.

Posted by: Greg Sparkman at September 05, 2004

Er, if you had read what I wrote, you would have discovered that Lisa and Jack's house is "of the newer, hurricane-resistant type. The walls are made of poured concrete. Some of their windows have permanent hurricane shutters, and the rest have hurricane bolts so that shutters can be mounted in a hurry, without resorting to the plywood sheets that are always in short supply when hurricanes hit."

Posted by: Les Jones at September 06, 2004

how did you feel about the hurricane? Were you scared i would be i am the age of nine

Posted by: Marissa Armontrout at September 27, 2004