With June 1 approaching, perhaps it would be prudent to pay attention to the hurricanes, which will be hustling our way.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it is time to stow away those valuable belongings like your antique musket collections, and the prize winning stuffed deer heads that loom above your mantle pieces.
But seriously, is it time to reconsider what would happen if a hurricane hit our county?
True, probability suggests a hurricane will not hit this year or the next, but would it not be an exercise in practicality to at least pose the possibility of a different outcome?
The Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory reported that it has been more than a century since the first of three hurricanes clobbered our coast. Two category three hurricanes arrived in 1854 and 1893 near Savannah, and the latter storm killed more than a thousand people. The last major monsoon came near Brunswick in 1898, but since then, our coast has been practically calm and clear.
However, in 1999 a hurricane threatened to snap the 101 years of relative harmony by encroaching in our waters.
According to various Liberty County residents, the people in this area were ill prepared. People collected their families, pets and belongings and compacted them into their station wagons and pickup trucks.
The designated evacuation route for Savannah along I-16 West was a complete failure, and traffic was backed up for as long as the eye could see. The smaller highways north and south of the interstate, including Liberty County’s Highway 196, also presented streams of traffic and long, long drives.
Luckily, the hurricane never hit, and a good majority of the people just turned around and went home.
Following the flop of this terrible exit strategy, a superior evacuation route was drawn up, but who is to say this plan will be any better than the last?
Until the evacuation plan can be implemented, no one will know.
Since Katrina, we have seen how incompetent government agencies can be in these situations, and this reality is a little unsettling.
Until this storm of the century hits, I suggest you keep your mullets tightly braided, use strong adhesive tape to keep your bluetooths suspended to your ears and figure out your own way to get the heck out of Dodge.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it is time to stow away those valuable belongings like your antique musket collections, and the prize winning stuffed deer heads that loom above your mantle pieces.
But seriously, is it time to reconsider what would happen if a hurricane hit our county?
True, probability suggests a hurricane will not hit this year or the next, but would it not be an exercise in practicality to at least pose the possibility of a different outcome?
The Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory reported that it has been more than a century since the first of three hurricanes clobbered our coast. Two category three hurricanes arrived in 1854 and 1893 near Savannah, and the latter storm killed more than a thousand people. The last major monsoon came near Brunswick in 1898, but since then, our coast has been practically calm and clear.
However, in 1999 a hurricane threatened to snap the 101 years of relative harmony by encroaching in our waters.
According to various Liberty County residents, the people in this area were ill prepared. People collected their families, pets and belongings and compacted them into their station wagons and pickup trucks.
The designated evacuation route for Savannah along I-16 West was a complete failure, and traffic was backed up for as long as the eye could see. The smaller highways north and south of the interstate, including Liberty County’s Highway 196, also presented streams of traffic and long, long drives.
Luckily, the hurricane never hit, and a good majority of the people just turned around and went home.
Following the flop of this terrible exit strategy, a superior evacuation route was drawn up, but who is to say this plan will be any better than the last?
Until the evacuation plan can be implemented, no one will know.
Since Katrina, we have seen how incompetent government agencies can be in these situations, and this reality is a little unsettling.
Until this storm of the century hits, I suggest you keep your mullets tightly braided, use strong adhesive tape to keep your bluetooths suspended to your ears and figure out your own way to get the heck out of Dodge.