Hurricane Eval

- The state and federal Emergency Management Agencies and meteorologists need to provide folks with all the facts about an impending weather event.
- The elected officials need to both reinforce the message as well as recommend appropriate action and reassure people that everything that can be done will be done.
- The media needs to report the story - the predictions, preparations, history, impact, aftermath and recovery.

But...

There is a phrase “cool under fire”. Every single one of the individuals mentioned above need to do their jobs without histrionics; without hyperbole. They also need to be “cool under fire”. They need to do their jobs with honor and dignity. If they exaggerate the potential and the risks, then they cry wolf and endanger the populace.

The New England Hurricane of 1938 killed over 680 people and did tremendous and lasting damage. It was a category three storm when it made landfall. Had the satellite and forecasting computers we have today been available back then, countless lives could have been saved.

This weather knowledge is vital and must be used properly. A hurricane or blizzard should never be a “ratings bonanza” nor an opportunity for self aggrandizement. It should never, ever tip over into what Jeff Jarvis has called “storm porn”. This flow of information and reportage is a responsibility of the highest order and should be treated responsibly, not like a carnival barker trying to get paying customers into a sideshow.