Hurricane Ike re-enforces need to be prepared, leave when told

The fallout from Hurricane Ike continues as rescuers and others get into hard hit areas along the Texas coast.

And all along its path, the storm showed what can happen when it moves inland.

Even the Chicago area saw record flooding, and the storm’s winds created problems all along its path across the United States.

In the Pee Dee and the rest of South Carolina, we are being affected by rising gasoline prices and short supplies because of issues in the Gulf of Mexico and refineries in Texas.

But we hope, besides the gasoline price/supply issue, the storm will serve as a reminder of what we preach all the time.

Be prepared for power outages and damages inland from hurricanes.

And when evacuations are called for, people need to leave.

Little last minute changes in a storm’s direction — by as little as 25 miles one way or the other — can have a big impact on what happens along the coast and inland, as well.

As the growth continues along South Carolina’s coast, we know that evacuation gets harder and harder.

And even with all the planning we have done in recent years, there will still be problems getting people out.

Making the decision to evacuate or not is a hard one.

If the order comes too soon and a storm doesn’t hit or cause as much damage as first thought, the coastal areas lose a huge amount of tourism dollars and residents decide the next time not to leave.

And if the order comes too late people get caught in vulnerable areas, and there is loss of life.

And even worse, as is the case in Texas, people ignore the warnings and stay.

And then afterwards there are hundreds of stories from people who survive saying they would never stay again.

These are some examples from an Associated Press story quoting people who defied evacuation orders and stayed.

The AP quoted Michael Geml, who lives in Galveston:

“I’ll never stay again. I don’t care what the weatherman says — a Category 1, a Category 2. I thought I was going to die.”

Kathi and Paul Norton, who, according to the AP story, stayed in their house in Crystal Beach until it collapsed and was swept away, also said the same thing.

“You never know what a hurricane is like until you ride it on a staircase,” Kathi Norton, 47, said.

It’s the same over and over again.

Let’s don’t repeat the mistake if a storm is headed our way and people are told to leave.