National Politicians and Natural Disasters = Please, Shut Up

By -
It is said that an ordinary citizen is likely to experience a stampede in their lifetimes only if they stand between a politician and a TV news camera. With that in mind, I'd like to, yet again, offer advice to President Trump and the members of his administration (I'm looking at you, John Bolton). That advice is very brief: stop commenting on Hurricane Dorian or any future natural disaster. You make yourself look incompetent while possibly misleading people in life-threatening situations.

The list of stupid things said by politicians during hurricanes the last 15 years is long and getting longer.
  • President Trump today: Hurricane Dorian headed toward Alabama. It will not get anywhere near Alabama.* 
  • John Bolton Friday: "All eyes are on Puerto Rico and US VI as Dorian approaches." But, by the time he tweeted, the storm was past the islands and moving away.
  • New York Mayor Bloomberg: Sandy will be "less dangerous" than non-dangerous Irene the year before. 
  • Candidate Barack Obama: 10,000 people died in the Greensburg Tornado (actual number = 11) plus the horrible screwup of the catastrophic Kentucky ice storm of January, 2007.
  • President George W Bush: "Heckofajob, Brownie" and his tone-deaf and ineffective response to Hurricane Katrina. 
I could provide more but this should be sufficient. 

National politicians, if they comment at all (I wish they would not) should say, "Please follow the advice of local authorities and meteorologists. I'll try to assist in any way I can." Then, President He/She should work behind-the-scenes with FEMA and Cabinet agencies to effectively get help to people.


*And, let's give a special consolation award to CNN. They don't exactly have the high ground to mock the President's poor geography when they aired this map. Sheesh. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hilary's Forecast Path Shifts West; Updated 9:20am PDT

By -
Image
The forecast path of the center of Hilary has shifted a bit to the west. This increases the threat to the Southland, especially in terms of flooding.  Rainfall Note the heavy rains are forecast for Los Angeles County. Serious flash flooding may result. Because the forecast path has shifted to the west, that increases the threat of serious flooding in Los Angeles County north into Yosemite and the southern Sierra. It lessens the threat in Utah and western Arizona. While the threat of widespread flooding in Utah and Arizona lessens, note that some thunderstorms with localized heavy rain show up on the map.  In Nevada, the more western path increases the risk of serious flooding around Mt Charleston and into the central part of the state.  Here is the updated  (9am PDT) flash flood risk map. Wind There are already about 40,000 people without power in California, mostly in the center of the state.  The maps above are the peak gusts forecasted with the storm. The highest winds, in general,
Read more

Dangerous Travel Conditions - People Reportedly Stranded

By -
Image
-- Note, more current info available. Scroll up. --- Updated Information as of 8am PDT You are risking your life if you attempt to travel through the purple area.  While the rain has not begun in coastal California, I would urge you to use this time to make any preparations. Power outages have occurred already in southeast California. Here is the latest radar as of 7:55am PDT. As of 6:40am PDT , the radar indicates moderate to heavy rain falling over desert areas of Southern California and far western Arizona (click to enlarge).  Rainfall amounts for the 24 hours ending at 7am PDT show more than two inches have already fallen. There are reports from reliable sources that roads are already washed out and that people are stranded in isolated parts of the desert.  Below is a high-resolution computer model's rainfall forecast from 5am PDT to 11pm PDT Sunday. More than a foot of additional rain is forecast to fall. This will lead to catastrophic flooding.  Here is a map of current watc
Read more

Update on Tornado and Wind Potential; 12 Noon PDT

By -
Image
There was at least one tornado and at least one funnel cloud yesterday.  --- original forecast --- Hilary (the swirly symbol) continues to move NNW paralleling the coast of Baja California, Mexico. The area outlined in red has a significant risk of tornadoe s the rest of the afternoon.  Below is a list of peak wind gusts so far.  Peak winds may increase farther north as the afternoon progresses.  Addition at 12 noon PDT: Sure enough, winds have increased.  Note: If you are in the San Diego area, I recommend not  traveling east on I-8. Heavy rains may cause flash flooding that will involve the highway. 
Read more