The first place to start is with a strictly enforced building code. Frankly, it is not always possible to evacuate, even if you knew where to evacuate to (hopefully where the hurricane isn't going).

I live in South Florida. We have one of the strictest building codes in the country and, even though there were some sloppily built houses, by and large the area survived a category 5 storm with less than 20 casualties (counting some post-hurricane accidents). With a state shaped in such a way that everybody has to go due North, evacuation is not an option, so we try to build strong, prepare, and stock up.

For approximately 100,000 years our weather has been incredibly constant: typFor approximately 100,000 years our weather has been incredibly constant: typically no hotter than about 127-130F in the deserts, and no colder than about -60F in the artic regions (that doesn't include Antarctica that gets stupid-cold).
Well, "springtime" is over. There is more energy in the system (heat in the atmosphere and ocean) than ever in the last dozens of thousands of years. What does that mean exactly? The increasing amount of energy in the system increases the size of the range of weather conditions. In other words, the number of records (high/low temperatures, rainfall, snowfall, days without rain, days with rain) each year will increase. Don't believe me? Count the number of record high temperatures for each year going back 20 years.
Why is there so much energy in the system? Who cares; that's moot!
Sea level is rising because ice is melting. Water is heavy. It pushes down on the earth. The earth moves: earthquakes. As the earth under the oceans is pressed down, the magma under the earth is displaced: volcanoes. Dry land that gets more water, gets more insects: plague. (Don't believe that one? Infections of malaria and yellow fever increase during el niños.) Animals and insects relocate their habitats. (What are equatorial sharks doing off the coast of Alaska? Following the equatorial fish.) Crocodiles in the pool, mountain lions in the backyard, and bears in the street will become more and more common. Even the trees are relocating; the tree line (the highest altitude where trees can grow) has moved further up the mountains.
If you are alive on this planet, you are in more danger from natural disasters than any human, ever. There is no where to go where you can avoid them all: hurricane, tornado, ice storm/blizzard, flooding, earthquake, volcano, tsunami, drought, pestilence, fire, and plague. Insurance companies (big ones) are going to fail because the tables and equations they use to calculate risk have already begun to fail them.
ically no hotter than about 127-130F in the deserts, and no colder than about -60F in the artic regions (that doesn't include Antartica that gets stupid-cold).
Well, "springtime" is over. There is more energy in the system (heat in the atmosphere and ocean) than ever in the last dozens of thousands of years. What does that mean exactly? The increasing amout of energy in the system is increasing the

I can't believe that people posting here are even proposing not evacuating in the face of a hurricane. Comments like these do a disservice to the thousands (yes, thousands) of the dead who foolishly thought they could outlast Katrina and who ignored evacuation requests.

Although I was saved from Katrina due to geography (I'm in Illinois), I have been devastated by Katrina because she took so much from my family and friends in her path. My family in Biloxi, Gulf Port and the New Orleans area lost their homes, businesses and even their lives. Now that the dead have been buried and the homeless have been housed, our family is dealing with the harsh reality that it will take years before everyone resumes some sense of normality either in the Gulf area or elsewhere.

I know its a not fun evacuating and money is tight but the call to evacuate is a life or death decision. I would give anything to get back loved ones Katrina stole last August but I know this cannot be my reality now. They thought it was too much hassle to leave their homes and jobs so they gambled and stayed. Too late did they realize that it was the wrong decision.

On the advent of the 2006 hurricane season, please create a plan to leave your areas on your own if a storm threatens. Don't anticipate or wait for anyone to help you leave. I know its hard to leave the material things behind, but they are only things that can be replaced. Your life and lives of your loved ones cannot be replaced. Leave and live.

I live in Colorado, up against the foothills. No hurricanes happening here. No earthquakes either. We get the occasional brushfire, but we natives make fun of folks who don't keep a good firebreak space around their houses, especially in our famously-dry mountain forests. And my area is too hilly for tornadoes. My point? If Mother Nature, red of tooth and claw, keeps scouring your house off the map, maybe you should MOVE!

To RB in Chicago, and all those who coldly imply its our own fault for being hurricane victims because we live on the Gulf Coast . . . we were born here, grew up here, and are employed here. Making a choice of where we live and work never entered the equation. Do you have a job in Chicago for us? Better yet, will you help us find one? Will you then help us financially to relocate as funds are short here. Most of us have lost or damaged homes and many STILL waiting for the insurance company to pay our claim. I guess its easier to be critical than compassionate. (By the way, I am one of the fortunate few who will retire in three years and will be in a financial position to move. And am counting the days! But the majority of people on the Gulf Coast and New Orleans are not as fortunate as I.) So please offer constructive advice or compassionate comments, not ignorant criticism.

I just returned home from working on a photo-essay in New Orleans.

After interviewing residents from various parts of this great city, a certain level of injustice revealed itself to me. While I only spoke to a limited number of people due to a relatively short visit, those I interviewed were of a diverse enough group - black & white; old & young. Many people told me (and I actually observed), that there were few to no FEMA trailers in NOLA's lower 9th Ward & parts of St. Bernard Parish. Demolition & re-building efforts were also scant compared to other (even just slightly) more prosperous, but not by much areas of the city and surrounding parishes.

Granted, the lower 9th and parts of St.Bernard parish were most devastated by Katrina, and the interest/eagerness to re-build here may be more limited, those who had trailers, and who appeared to be on the rebound, were not the region’s most poor. Many of the region’s most poor are not even in New Orleans at this time, and some of those who are told me stories of how FEMA has turned a blind eye, how they have not provided trailers, or delivered promised assistance.

Rather than some of the above dialogue calling into question whether or not the government should be held responsible for the recovery process, maybe it’s right to question the fairness of what they ARE doing.

Rhonda is a "computer ghost"...David

It seems like the readers/writers that are the harshest and most unkind are those that really don't have a clue as to the way of life in the "Deep South". I live in the Midwest but I frequent the shores of the Mississippi Gulf Coast as well as N.O. on a regular basis and I've been to the coast three times now since Katrina wrecked the entire area. Those who've not witnessed the destruction in person shouldn't be allowed to offer their short-sighted opinions in these forums because they really have no clue as to how great these people are and how hard they're working to get their lives back to some kind of normalicy.

Yes, Katrina wiped out many, many homes, buildings, businesses, etc., but for the most part, the owners of these forsaken properties are bound and determined to rebuild and continue their way of life on the southern coast. How can anyone give the advice for them to move? That's assinine - it isn't even an option for most. That's a huge part of the beauty of the south...many generations have lived and prospered there. If half of you people had ever seen the sprawling mansions on the beach before Katrina and then taken a ride to witness for yourselves the slabs and debris after Katrina, I feel certain you wouldn't have such negative comments to make about these people and their way of life.

My aunt currently lives in Gulfport (my mother just moved back to Indiana earlier this month) and you can bet that she'll evacuate for any and all future hurricane warning(s). It doesn't matter where you live in the states as each has it's own peril where natural disasters are concerned. Evacuation really is the smart action to take; if your home is going to be swept/blown/flooded away, it's going to happen regardless of if you're there or not!

God bless our Mississippi Gulf Coast and the people who live there! You've not been forgotten!!

I have been in both hurricanes and typhoons and I have had it easy and I have seen total destruction. I now live in Ft. Walton Beach and we have had several storms in the past 24 months. People on the coast need to "think." Last minute preparation is not the way to prepare.

Our law firm's office is on a barrier island. We evacuate four times a year, on average. We now have it set up so that 1) our computers have been replaced by notebooks, 2) our data is kept in a server in a remote location, 3) we have built a separate technology center with a propane back up generator, and 4) we have set up a video conferencing system which goes online this month. For us, evacuation is just a fact of living on the water. We already telecommute for most of our work, and hurricane season only reinforces that way to work.

I was born and raised on the gulf coast and continued to live there through the 1980's. After several close calls, one direct hit, and many false alarms from the hurricane seasons, we finally decided that the tension of having to be "hurricane ready" through 6 months of every year was not worth it. It seemed that we were always preparing or repairing. We moved inland to Tennessee, and while we do experience our share of damaging weather here also, it is a relief to be out of constant worrying about hurricane season. The choice to live in the coastal areas is up to each person, and many find the rewards more than make up for the downsides. My family chose to move to another area for our mental and financial well being. After reading the many posts about life post-Katrina and pre-storm this year, I can certainly recommend relocation if you are considering that as an option. We plan to vacation on the coast whenever possible, but no, we will never live there year round again.

I am a college student at Indiana State University. I spent my spring break in the Gulf Coast doing volunteer clean up. Our group for 40 college students worked everywhere from Gulfport and Biloxi, to St. Bennard Parrish, LA. The devistation from this natural disaster can not be conveyed to the American people through the media. I could not beleive the stories I heard form the residents. Some waited out the storm, others left only to come back to nothing. Many did not realize how bad Katrina was going to be. Whether they evacuated or not, each had their own personal story that was as unique as them. I think sometimes the Man upstaris does things like this to open the eyes of people everywhere to be thankful for what they have. I think the attitudes of many people of the South have changed. Our work was greatly appreciated by most of the people we woked for. Others in the neighborhood were begging us to come help them the next day. Regardless of your personal feelings, no one asked for this to happen and everyone should do their part to help these people who have been devistated.

how would people leaving be a bad thing? come on people. i would be the one to get people to safety and to be the one who knows that houses wouldnt last long. some lasted a little bit more than others, but still.

That guy must have some pretty bad a$$ brick! Maybe we need some of that on our military trucks.

Tomorrow is the beginning of Hurricane Season. After reading all of the above comments boy I feel I have learned alot. I live in West Palm Beach Florida, we have been hit for the last two years and they get worse in Catagory every year. God knows what it will be this year but I do have a plan. I am the, "If its a three or more, I'm out the door. Not taking a chance. I have a driving route mapped out to get to my sisters in Northern Florida. I will have pets and Grandaughter with me and will leave ahead of time. Heck with the job, might not have it when I get back anyway, I live in an apartment so I know it will go when the winds hit. Wilma was a 2 when her eye went over us and that, thank you very much, was scary enough in that apartment. NEVER AGAIN. Get out, what makes it in material things makes it, what doesn't, you start over. Easy, no way, but your life is more important than material things. I will not relocate to south Fl if we are wiped out as for one thing it is just way to expensive, plus I am not going through that every year for the next 10 for 15 years. I depend on me, no one else.

Its always easy to blame someone else for you're
own downfalls, and short comings,but commonsense
will work everytime,if you have any sense at all.
(Think)How long was it,after 9/11 did it take for
the American people to get back into the same old
trend(Better them than me)Well Katrina victims,
welcome to the real world.If it had happened to
someone else that is just what you or most would
be saying right now.So get on with your life,
and quit blaming everyone else.Oh by the way,
For you people Blaming Republicans for your problems,,Remember your leaders in Loisiana are
Democrats...

It's inconceivable to me, what appears to be the sheer stupidity (perhaps just muleheadedness) of some folks. My wife and I lived in South Florida for 7 years. We fled from more than 1 hurricane that was a Cat. 3 or higher. Once we had children we decided that it just wasn't worth the risk...we love our family too much!!! We moved. It's that simple folks. This country is enormous! There is plenty of room in America, plenty of land. You can move elsewhere in the South if you can't bear the thought of leaving the South. But, for you and your families sakes...GET OUT...don't live beneath sea level. Now that you've seen what can happen, why test fate as if it can't happen again? It WILL HAPPEN AGAIN! It's not a matter of IF, but of WHEN. With that said, if you are that stubborn, that you just have to move back to that same area, when you have a country the size of ours to choose from, then you deserve whatever you get and shouldn't expect help from anyone. Our tax dollars should not be there to bail out stupidity. The first time yes, the second time and beyond...NO!!! As the saying goes: Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.

Silly to tell people not to live where there is a danger of a natural disaster! How about living near volcanoes - Washington and Alaska and Hawaii? Fault lines - California and the Pacific coast? Risk of tsunami - Paific coast? Tornadoes - midwest? Snow storms - lots of places north of the Gulf Coast?!?

How about you folks who comes to the Gulf Coast for its great fishing? The snowbirds who come down to enjoy our mild winters? Where would YOU be when you come down here without the local residents who keep the hotels, restaurants, grocery stores, gas stations, etc etc etc open so YOU can come for a week or two of fun in the sun?

Evacuate! Don't evacuate! Wait - maybe the storm will turn. Maybe it won't. Who knows until it happens? The forecast for NO, LA last year was that Katrina was NOT going to hit ... until the Saturday morning before it hit. Oops!

Until you've been through a storm or an evacuation, you don't have a clue. In Baton Rouge, LA, which is the capital of our state, the roads areusually DEAD STOPPED during an evacuation. There are two ways to get across the Mississippi River here and everyone must go across one of them if they are evacuating from NO, LA or other places east. And we are two hours from the coast. But if those folks had stayed where they were, they'd be dead. You'll hear no complaints from this southern girl about a little inconvenience in exchange for saving lives.

People HOURS from the coast in MS lost their homes. In Jones Country, MS, which is about where the hurricane began its NE turn, I have heard tell that nearly 60% of the homes had damage from Katrina. Not from the tornadoes, but from the hurricane itself. Who would have EVER thought that ANYONE THREE HOURS from the coast would worry about a hurricane?!? Well, they do now, I can tell you.

I read the post about folks down here being lazy. Let me tell you that these folks have been working and working hard. Despite depression and anxiety and having lost everything and not knowing where their next paychecks or meals might be coming from, they have worked. If someone is here to offer a little assistance for a week and the local guys needs a few hours rest, kudos to them both: one for being charitable and the other for resting in prepartion for the continued work he faces when the helpers go home.

Everyone tells everyone else what they should and shouldn't be doing. Until you've lived a day or a week or a life in my shoes, you are not fit to make decisions for me.

Here's what I just don't get....Why in the world would you stay if there were a "category 3 or less" instead of sitting in traffic in order to get the hell out? Especially Danica from Baytown TX? Wouldn't you want to kill yourself if your laziness resulted in the harm to your children? I certainly hope that anyone who lives in the Gulf Coast region would heed the warnings (Cincinnati weather stations had reported on Katrina every day for a week!) and evacuate while you had a chance. Who cares if you spend a day in traffic to go 100 miles. Isn't the peace of mind worth it?
I sincerely hope that the Gulf Coast can catch a break this year to give people time to recover more, but Mother nature is unpredictable. Please save yourselves and evacuate WHEN (not if) the next storm comes your way.

People need to quit blaming the government for the weather......and taking FEMA for granted....most people don't even know that FEMA was created by President Jimmy Carter....one of the worlds great humanitarians.....to "help" in the aftermath of a disaster....not a fix all!
FEMA trailers are temporary housing....now all these people are whining about a year later......that's what homeowners insurance is for....you should have had it.......like I do...no one likes to pay for insurance.....but when you have a loss you are greatful....I've lived on the Gulf Coast for almost 40 years.....been through dozens of hurricanes because I choose to do so...stop blaming the government and get on with your lives!

v. taylor Ofallon wrote: "Our government does not have unlimited money to keep rebuilding an area that is hopeless." This adminsitration's inexplicably foolish decision to invade Iraq contradicts your theory of unlimited money being used to rebuild a hopeless region. I mean, is there any place in the world more hopeless than the Middle East? These people have been fighting it out for THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS of years, but Bush thinks we're going to take over one country in the region and change it all? This domino theory is sillier than the original one. I hope you were against the war, comrade, because only then will your argument hold any water.

That said, people around the country have to understand that the Katrina-related damage in New Orleans was supposed to have been preventable. In fact, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for years had assured residents here that we were safe from Category 3 hurricanes, which is what Katrina was when it struck the city. Neglect, mostly by the U.S. government (and some by our corrupt locals, of course), caused this devastation in my hometown. Interestingly, we learned that a different type of U.S. government neglect helped allow the 9/11 terrorists to succeed in causing great devastation to New York City. This devastation in NYC, while much more shocking and dramatic, was not nearly as widespread as the devastation here in New Orleans -- and no less an authority than Rudolph Guiliani has said so. Yet where is the federal committment to New Orleans after Katrina as it was to New York after 9/11? We're not asking for handouts, people; we're asking for help, just like those in NYC received after 9/11. Is there any reason you would consider our requests unfair? Why is it considered whining and lazy to ask for the government to which you pay plenty of taxes to do its part?

To Barnes in Houston, the person everyone seems to idolize for his old-fashioned, hard-working American spirit, I say this: it must be nice to be able to post a message about how simple, hard work can overcome everything, but please remember that world about which you write so simply is much more complicated. Hard work in and of itself cannot and will not always overcome the intracies of being screwed over by the federal government, the state & local governments, the electric company, your insurance company, your mortgage company, your contractor, and possibly even your looting neighbors next door (yes, there is still looting going on). For instance, one my co-workers has been ordered to raise his house by the new federal guidelines, but here's the catch: he can't get the money to raise his house until it is repaired, but he doesn't have and hasn't been able to get the money to repair his house in order to raise it. He was turned down for the unbiquitously recommended SBA loan, and his insurance isn't covering this "flood" damage. Of course, he was told he didn't need flood insurance in the first place. Do you have any advice for this hard-working American, Mr. Barnes?

And finally, to all those who say we should move because we know we have it coming because we live in a hurricane hotbead: did you tell the good folks in San Francisco to move after the 1989 earthquake because they should know they have it coming by living in an earthquake zone? Have you been telling everyone in Tornado Alley to move all these years because they know they're bound to be destroyed by a twister eventually? Did you tell New Yorkers to move out or at least to quit their jobs at the World Trade Center after the 1993 terrorist attack because it was obviously a big terrorist target? While we're talking about the Big Apple, consider this: scientists expect a major hurricane to hit -- gasp! -- New York City sometime in the next ten to twenty years; depending on the size and speed of this anticipated hurricane, the effects could be dratsically more severe than Katrina's. Should we be telling New Yorkers to move now? In other words, where does it end? Every place one might choose to live has its inherent dangers; we simply must be aware of them and act in the interest of our safety first and our possessions second. Telling us simply to move is naive and arrogant, not to mention impractical. If we ALL move, where do you "move advocates" suggest we go? To other cities and towns that have too little space and money? Does this mean YOU would welcome anyone -- and I mean anyone -- from our community into yours? Surely you jest.

Some of us here in New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf Coast will continue the rebuilding process because this our home. Some of us will choose to deal with these risks rather than the risks of San Francisco or Oklahoma City. And then some of us will choose to leave this region rather go through this type of experience again. Everyone on the outside looking in should respect the extremely tough decisions we have been forced to make as a result of this devastating event.

Like it or not, it has always been the plan for each person to be respnsible for their evacuation. You should have your own plan. Newspapers and websites publish lists and maps to help you do this. Common sense must prevail!

Growing up on the Gulf Coast, we always acted accordingly to the status of the hurricane. If it was large, Catagory 3+, we left to relatives in Central Mississippi. If it was smaller, we whent to my grandparents house in town.

We bought canned goods and batteries, fuel for stoves and lanterns and checked that everything worked long before hurricane season began.

As one came close, we stored water in tubs and trash cans. Filled the cars, purchased ice for the coolers and filled the freezers.

As it cmae even closer, we put away hazards from the yard so they would not become missles and cause other people damage.

We were always nervouse, but never panicked. We survived, Camile, Frederick, Ivan, and many others. Not once did we expect the government to do anything for us. Thank God for what they did.

Yes, indeed, Shelley P from Littleton, CO, you are correct. It must be nice to live in such a paradise. Nothing bad has ever happened in Littleton, Colorado, right? We should all move there; I hear the schools are top-notch.

My wife and I just returned home from our second stint at disaster relief work in Waveland MS. In September, we spent three days working "behind the scenes" in Mobile Alabama, and then a day at a relief center called Camp Katrina, in Waveland. We were just awed by the amazing damage and destruction that was caused by Katrina. During this trip, we were able to spend a day in New Orleans--specifically the 9th Ward. Once again we were dumbstruck at the damage that Katrina inflicted. As we drove through the Ward, we noticed how much it felt like a ghost town. No street or signal lights were working, no people on the streets, hardly any businesses up and running. We also noticed how much debris was scattered about, and how many homes were totally destroyed. From my observation, it seemed that the folks who lived in that part of NO were forgotten by the federal government, the state of Louisiana, and even the mayor's office. I understand some of the complexities that are behind whether or not the 9th Ward ought to be rebuilt again. Regardless of how those decisions turn out, the people of the 9th Ward need and deserve resources that in my opinion, are currently being misdirected to Iraq, and soon to our Southern border. Let's direct the National Guard to help clean up the 9th Ward along with other coastal communities that so badly need the assistance.

Greetings to all;
Alow me to bring a bit of focus on the "forgotten hurricane", Rita.
Though not much attention has been given to the devastation of property,and disruption of lives by the media or the federal government, many here struggle daily to rebuild,restore and get their lives back in order.
I believee that you always prepare for hurricane season,as many comments have also agreed.Watch the weather reports,keep the car gassed up;fresh batteries in the flashlights and radios.And don't forget to keep a "hurricane box" of ready to eat foods and water,whether you leave or stay.
The key is preparation,but also to either leave early or late; get ahead of the evacuating crowds to beat the traffic,or wait and leave late after the roads clear.I got my family out 2 days before the storm,and made plans to meet them at another location. I left 14 hours before landfall,as the first outer bands of the storm came ashore.Yet I was able to get 120 miles inland before I hit heavy traffic,and made my final destination in Dallas in 7 hours.
With the possibility of loss of properety and life eminent, the only rational choice is to preserve life;take what you can with you,protect and insure the rest, and say a prayerfor your neighbors and self.