I understand the need to convince people to leave in the face of a storm. But really, certain death? Certain? Death?
Weather service warns of ‘certain death’ in face of Ike
Perhaps the National Weather Service doesn’t understand the word “certain.” To me, it means, there will be no escape. People will all die. There will be no hiding in attics, clinging to limbs or waiting on roofs to be rescued. It means no circumstance will prevent these people’s demise.
I just don’t see the need for the blatant bullshit. Yes, people’s lives will be threatened. But “certain death” sounds like something more equivalent to the 10 mile radius of a nuclear explosion than a Cat 2 Hurricane.
I don’t see how this insane, over the top fear-mongering is going to help anyone. Like John Barry said, “just tell the truth.” Who wants to be lied to? People don’t need to be spooked like this. They need to be concerned. They need to evacuate. They don’t need to be terrified.
Do I think Ike has the potential to devastate many parts of Greater Houston and Galveston? Sure. Do I think the people living there will face “certain death” if they stay? No.
I recall while I was safely evacuated from Katrina reading the following weather report from the National Weather Service, parts of which were true but most of which was bullshit…
URGENT – WEATHER MESSAGE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA
The following statements regarding Katrina’s impact proved to be bullshit…
ALL GABLED ROOFS WILL FAIL
ALL WOOD FRAMED LOW RISING APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL BE DESTROYED.
HIGH RISE OFFICE AND APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL SWAY DANGEROUSLY…A FEW TO THE POINT OF TOTAL COLLAPSE.
AIRBORNE DEBRIS WILL BE WIDESPREAD…AND MAY INCLUDE HEAVY ITEMS SUCH
AS HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES AND EVEN LIGHT VEHICLES.THE VAST MAJORITY OF NATIVE TREES WILL BE SNAPPED OR UPROOTED.
Understand that this forecast was made entirely in relation to wind damage and utterly avoided any mention of broken levees or storm surge.
Update: Last time ‘certain death’ was warned: Katrina
CNN comments on the previous NWS statement calling it “largely correct” even though it barely mentions the flood or storm surge that inundated New Orleans and Mississippi. The story also states “Parts of New Orleans and the Gulf coast still bear the scars of Katrina and remain uninhabitable.” They are correct about the scars but which parts can’t people live in exactly?
Understand that I do think folks in low lying areas should get out of Ike’s way. But I don’t think NWS and CNN should be using false language to do so.
i wholeheartedly agree. i heard “certain death” last night, on cnn, and just rolled my eyes. now, that’s not the response that should result from hearing such threatening words, is it? shouldn’t i be taking such a thing much, much more seriously? i have a love/hate relationship with news…news channels…staying informed, etc…
Certain death, my ass. Much more likely to be killed in a car wreck than in these storms. Seriously.
Hate to say it Booze because it will make us seem old, but a good way to avoid the love / hate thing is to just watch the nightly stuff on the networks. They aren’t perfect of course but they also only need to fill a 30 minute slot rather than the superfluous crap seen n the 24-hour channels. Also, and I hate to say this as well because they seem as bad as the 24-hour channels in the fear-mongering department and ratings thirst, try the first 15 or so minutes of your local news cast but avoid anything that says, “(Insert noun). What you don’t know might hurt you!”
That said, CNN is merely the accessory in this. It’s the damn NWS that’s the real villain. Of course, Liprap and I seem like we aren’t taking storms seriously and that’s not the case. We just don’t take certain death seriously.
And really, don’t we all face certain death? 🙂
I do take curtain death seriously though. That’s when a person gets asphyxiated by drapes. It’s rare but very serious.