Posted by: JaxMichael
Wilma, etc. - 10/19/05 11:54 AM
Not to beat a dead horse, but as I wake up this morning, in Florida, and see a record-setting 884mb Category 5 storm headed our way, I can’t help but wonder if FEMA can get it right this time. Still, I have great faith in Jeb Bush (the governor) and the local officials. After last year, they know the drill, and I think they acquitted themselves well in that busy hurricane season.
In the meantime, I’ve asked my wife if she can convince my stubborn-as-a-mule, elderly mother to leave the Clearwater/St. Pete area if Wilma decides to target that part of the west coast instead of Southwest FL. My mother would probably never leave because my sister won’t leave, but then my sister can’t leave. She’s a 911 operator for Pinellas County (the county which contains Clearwater and St. Petersburg).
On a side note, I sent my mother a hurricane package earlier this year that included a AA battery powered radio that picks up TV bands (discussed in an earlier thread). As someone rightly pointed out in that thread, digital TV signals will eventually make such radios useless, and that appears to be the case in early 2009 (e.g., http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9697337/ ). Regardless, I still think radios with a TV band are the only truly useful emergency radios for the average Joe.
In the meantime, I’ve asked my wife if she can convince my stubborn-as-a-mule, elderly mother to leave the Clearwater/St. Pete area if Wilma decides to target that part of the west coast instead of Southwest FL. My mother would probably never leave because my sister won’t leave, but then my sister can’t leave. She’s a 911 operator for Pinellas County (the county which contains Clearwater and St. Petersburg).
On a side note, I sent my mother a hurricane package earlier this year that included a AA battery powered radio that picks up TV bands (discussed in an earlier thread). As someone rightly pointed out in that thread, digital TV signals will eventually make such radios useless, and that appears to be the case in early 2009 (e.g., http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9697337/ ). Regardless, I still think radios with a TV band are the only truly useful emergency radios for the average Joe.