Sorry, @libertybele and @Smokin Joe
I agree with both of you on a lot of things, but not this.
Information was provided and people made their choice, as it should be.
We are conservatives, right?
We embrace the ability of people to have the freedom to make their own decisions, without Government interference, even if that means they have the right to choose poorly.
Private property rights and individual rights are still a tenet of what makes us unique as a nation.
I wasn't saying whether the Mayor should have ordered people out or not. People do ignore mandatory evac orders, too.
The implications of predicting natural events are much the same for any urban area or event, be that a storm, an earthquake, or a volcanic eruption. Predict it, and there will be a certain number of people who get killed in the panic to evacuate, ordered or otherwise. Businesses will shut down, people leave, and those businesses will be even more susceptible to looters than they would be otherwise, ditto upscale (or for that matter, ANY) homes.
If you are right, and the prediction comes to pass, there will be devastation.
If you are wrong, and it doesn't, the death and destruction will be laid at your doorstep, along with any loss of revenue from the interruption in business.
It's why geologists don't usually predict volcanic eruptions or earthquakes, except in a general way. And why mayors might be slow to call for evacuation. The only way you are a 'good guy' is if the worst case comes to pass and you predict it or nothing happens and you didn't call for evacuation. Any other combination of events and you are the lame duck.
People are allegedly educated, so provide the information, even assign likelyhood of adverse events, and let them act accordingly. Short of a volunteer brown water navy, picking people off of rooftops by helo gets expensive, as does providing shelter for the masses. Far cheaper to let them haul themselves and their stuff out of harm's way.
People have a right to be stupid, but that doesn't mean we have to subsidize it. If an area is extremely high risk, maybe the owner won't be able to get insurance. It's up to them to rebuild on their dime or sell the land for a park after getting paid for the previous dwelling by the insurance company that will no longer underwrite it.
You want that beach house on the cape, don't come crying to me when the hurricane hits to pay to rebuild it. Especially at six figures or more. So that's where I am coming from. People are ultimately responsible for their own fate.
