Originally posted by Malacasta

I’m not being rhetorical; I really am not sure whether the infrequency of catastrophic hurricanes in America is a valid argument against introducing a Cuban model evacuation plan. What do others think?
With catatrophic hurricanes happening SO infrequently in America (especially in NO), I think that it makes absolute sense to introduce something as extreme as the Cuban model evacuation plan. Evacuation plans are expensive WHEN they're carried out, and if it's that infrequent, then I see no problem for an extreme model if it will reduce 1) deaths, 2) anarchy, and 3) disease.

Whatever happens, I think it's been clearly demonstrated (regardless of whose fault it is) that New Orleans CANNOT use their current plan or their current levees. My greatest fear at the moment is that all of this, the truly important stuff, is going to be buried while the politicians make their moves.

I do not think it is feasible to have an evacuation plan where people are not allowed to bring ANY luxury items if it can be gathered up quickly and aren't gigantic. When you have so little or things you've worked really hard to get, your instinct is to stay and protect these items. We should keep in mind, as well, that some of these people are ANCIENT as well, and they don't have the education to fully grasp what happens in a catastrophic situation. It's easy to say, "I'd get out if I thought my life was in danger." It's a whole other thing to RECOGNIZE that your life is in danger. For example, how many people (including tourists) walked out to look at the bottom of the sea when the water receded? That's one of the reasons that SO many tourists as well as locals died. It's because education about what happens in a tsunami is VERY obscure. People simply had no way of knowing what would happen if they went out. They know now. I bet if any of us were on the beach and the water pulled back 100 yards, we'd be running for the hills.

No matter what contingency plan we put in, there will always be people who don't leave, but you need to put one in where you can get the most people to leave. For me, this means having a complete plan, which includes people coming back to their homes.

When I first started hearing about the hurricane, I got totally caught up in the news and what they wanted to report. I was upset about the looting. I was outraged about the delayed responses. I was boggling about the people who stayed. During a moment of outrage, I turned to Ari and said, "Why the hell would these people stay?" He pretty calmly turned to me and said, "Would you stay if you thought you'd never get to come back to your home, to everything you've worked to obtain in your life, to your heritage and legacy from your ancestors?" Of course, I started to argue that my life and the life of my child was more important than all that stuff, but then I realized that no matter where I went, I had enough to get back to where I had left. Some people don't have that, especially the elderly and infirm.

I'm still upset at the people who shot at the helicopters. The whole picture is just much larger than all of its little parts.