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Editorial
Officials take steps, but storm safety up to us
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Earlier this month, the National Weather Service announced an initiative to create a "Weather-ready" nation in the face of the threat of severe weather.
Skimming through the list of fatalities from Hurricane Irene, however, shows what a difficult job that can be.
The storm turned out to be less severe than predicted, but the fatality list is still about 40 and climbing.
How did they die?
A man in Croton, New York, died when the boat he was in overturned in strong rapids; three others were pulled to safety.
The body of a windsurfer was found in New York's Bellport Bay, but officials aren't sure it's storm related. A 55-year-old surfer was found face down in the water off New Smyrna Beach, Florida.
Most of the deaths, of course, did not occur when people were involved in recreational activities. Several involved trees falling onto cars or in houses, downed power lines, and more than a few when people drove into submerged roadways and were swept away and drowned, and several involved rescuers attempting to save others.
The weather service plans to work with other governmental agencies, researchers and businesses to:
* Improve weather and water forecasts and distribution to local authorities.
* Develop mobile-ready emergency response specialist teams to improve weather decision support services.
* Implement new radar technology, Integrated Water Resources Science and Services and the Joint Polar Satellite Systems.
* Strengthen joint partnerships to enhance community preparedness.
* Work with weather enterprise partners and the emergency management community to enhance safety and economic output and effectively manage environmental resources.
To start with the NWS plans test projects across the nation, including focusing on emergency response to ecological forecasting,
They will first be launched in the Gulf Coast, South and mid-Atlantic.
But the best forecasts and most advanced warnings will be useless if the public refuses to heed the warnings. We already have nearly instant access to the best in radar and satellite images, was well as warning systems like commercial broadcasting and the CodeRed paging system in Red Willow and other area counties.
In the end, it's up the us, the public, to ensure our own safety.