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cross post from IfLizWereQueen
The Truth of Irene’s Strength? –not nearly that of her related headlines for the past two days from the US media.
Here is the latest report from the National Hurricane Center as of 6:03 AM Central Time and the hurricane still has not made landfall on the US shores.
*Note: A Category 1 is the lowest category on the Saffir-Simpson scale before a storm is classified as a tropical storm.
I guess they’ll have to dream up another distraction to keep our minds off the jobs that they are not creating, the Keystone Pipeline, and other real issues as these headlines have now proven themselves to be what they are: Hyperboles of the first degree. [On the plus side maybe this is their idea of stimulating the economy as no doubt millions of people went out and purchased items they might not have otherwise bought--water, flashlights, motel rooms inland, etc. Of course this may not have been on the plus side for many of these people as they might not have been able to afford these purchases.]
But the problem and danger with this type of exaggerated and irresponsible reporting is the same as that of the little boy who cried wolf. Maybe next time it really will be a Category 3 hurricane and thousands of people will not heed the warnings.
Addendum [added after publication of post]
This is not like it is the first time that the public have been grossly mislead by false impending apocalyptic warnings from the main stream media. Only a few months ago they were predicting that major portions of the West Coast were going to be consumed by a tsumini, resulting from the Japanese earthquake.
40 Comments
yep, a cat 1 hurricane only has SUSTAINED winds of 74-95 miles per hour, so nothing to worry about, go back to your reality game shows people, move along.
I say again – as an ex-Floridian of over 30 years, hurricanes of any strength are nothing to sneeze at.
Sometime in the early 1950s – when I was about 2 or 3 years old – a late season storm came up the eastern seaboard. My parents had just purchased a small house/cabin in Altoona Pa. My Parents went to Long Island to help my grandfather and a number other others keep my grandparents house boat – moored on the north shore – from being lost during the storm.
As my mother reports, it was touch and go. It was nearly lost, even though the storm stayed well off shore.
When they got back they found that the same storm had also caused an ice storm and their little house had been crushed by a large tree, as did many others in the area.
Your attitude toward these weather systems I find curious. Especially since you live in Texas. I guess you live in the western part that does not see anything more exciting than a thunder storm. In which case you are no more qualified to comment on them than you are to comment on earthquakes or volcanoes.
Liz is on the mark. Weather only “happens” when it impacts the east coast media. I mean New Orleans had to be essentially destroyed before they noticed.
We experience this every winter in the midwest. We wake up, plow 2 feet of snow, start the car in subzero weather, go to work and 2 days later the east coast shuts down with “BREAKING NEWS snow may fall” — which would be appropriate for their local news but why do I need to hear about it in Minneapolis 2 days after I already lived through it without them reporting it.
i always wished,after Hurricane Andrew..( ive been through at least12 hurricanes ,1 at sea)….that a lovey CAt5 would hit the Boooooosh compound on Lennebunkport…im bad
I’m with cmaukonen. So far two deaths have been reported, link: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/2011/08/hurricane-irene-first-deaths.html
And wunderground just reported 17″ of rain in Morehead City NC.
And I think your description of the reporting on Irene as “exaggerated and irresponsible” is unwarranted. Just my not-so-humble opinion, sorry. People needed to get the information about this hurricane, and if they ended up over-preparing for it that’s not such a bad thing.
you are right cmaukonen
There are many factors to be considered–not the least of which is the aging infrastructure of our nation.
Still, the propaganda of corporate media twists and distorts facts going and coming. For example, Katrina is often referred to as a “monster” hurricane. Katrina was no “monster” hurricane. It was a category 3 AND New Orleans had withstood more than one Cat 4 hurricanes prior to Katrina and sustained not even a fraction of the damage of Katrina.
The “monster” of Katrina had it origin in Washington DC and the allocation of funds that were supposed to go to adequately repair the levees.
But corporate media has created the image in the minds of thousands, if not millions of Americans that Katrina was some big bad-ass storm, an act of God and “thus none of those deaths could be blamed on the negligence of an administration”. That is a lie, a perfect example of purposeful obfuscation.
I expect that we will see more of the same hype from corporate media: “The storm was so powerful. . .totally unrelated to a weak and crumbling infrastructure.” “It couldn’t be helped.”
No, it’s not such a bad thing–as long as the people could afford the money
thethey spent for making preparations that were not necessary. It is not cheap to prepare for a “major” storm. and a Cat 1 is not a major storm.And all hurricanes do pose a threat and people tend to take precautions (those who are going to anyway) according to the predictions. for example, most people don’t go to the expense of boarding up their houses for a Cat 1 hurricane unless they live on the outlying islands.
one of the deaths could be said to be attributed to the general hysteria created by the media on this:
a man installing plywood on the window of his home in Onslow County, N.C., died of a heart attack, said Ernie Seneca of the North Carolina Emergency Management office in Raleigh.
It is unlikely that he would have been installing plywood on his window for at Cat 1 hurricane.
All this points to a basic problem with the American paradigm of “more is better” that underlies our thinking. “more is better, if a little is more is better, etc.”
This is a false paradigm. More is not always better. Sometimes “more” even kills. For example growth
offor the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell.Indiscriminate and extreme growth ideology has characterized our Nation throughout the 20th century–the presumption that growth everywhere is a blessing. It is not.
It’s also indicative of a parental stance: “Scare the hell out of them and they’ll behave. It’s for their own good.” Well tell that to the man who died of a heart attack while he was putting up plywood for what was a Cat 1 hurricane.
It would be interesting to see how much these scare tactics of mainstream media actually did cost communities. For example, many of these communities are locked into debris removal contracts with companies who have contracted with them long prior to any hurricane because that is how it is done. [You can't be calling around for cleanup crews in the midst of a hurricane]. Once the community leaders call these firms they have contracts with (many of which are located in other states) the time clock for charges begins ticking as equipment, based on reports, is transported to staging areas near the site. Once the hurricane passes, they will then be there to quickly move to the site to begin debris removal.
Though it’s apparently another fake disaster, it does point up the US lack of preparedness for such natural events: There is NO real-time hurricane tracking available online as far as I can tell. The National Weather Service, instead of constantly listing the position of the storm, only announces it once every 3 hours. The US is not interested in being prepared.
The last time a hurricane was heading into the Gulf of Mexico, the mainstream media took little interest in it.
We’ll have to agree to disagree.
Sigh..that is true. Like the guy who shot Reagan was a total loony. Actually he was most likely saner that most people.
Yeah, the media hype with Katrina was whipped up to protect the Bush admin’s inadequacies. with Irene, it may be what I’ve heard was Mayor Bloomberg’s inadequate response to the blizzard last winter that is causing MSM, which has a major center in NYC, to whip this one up so Bloomberg can appear commanding and concerned in the face of the monster.
True. But it’s also true that people in different regions are accustomed or unaccustomed to different kinds of weather. Living in upstate NY we are mildly amused at people in the south sliding all over the road in a couple of inches of snow. But to them it’s probably not very funny.
yep Normanb you are right. And what do you think is the difference between those along the East coast shoreline and those living in New Orleans? It’s money. If those folks in New Orleans had been wealthy white folk, instead of poverty stricken black folk, it would have been an entirely different story in terms of government attention AND press coverage.
Another disaster story paralleled the Katrina disaster. A california wildfire involving the homes of wealthy people was compared to the government and press response to Katrina.
You are not imagining things at all. Lots of people have been calling our attention to this inequities.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/429756/where_is_the_outrage_katrina_vs_california.html
What’s in a name? What is a major storm? Here are some statistics from Wikipedia. A lot of building damage in a number of Cat. 1 storms in the recent past that suggests boarding up windows is a good idea.
Category 1: Even though it is the least intense type of hurricane, the storm can still produce plenty of widespread damage and can be a life-threatening storm.[11]
Subsequent to the confirmation of the existence of Hurricane Alice (Category 1, 1954), the U.S. Weather Bureau Office in San Juan, Puerto Rico warned the islands of the northern Lesser Antilles to prepare for strong winds and rough seas.[1] Hurricane Alice produced moderate to strong winds across the islands, peaking at 81 mph.
Saint-Barthélemy, Saba, Anguilla, Sint Eustatius, and Saint Kitts reported damage from the hurricane, totaling $623,500 (1955 USD, $4.7 million 2006 USD). The passage of Hurricane Alice greatly troubled the economies of the small affected islands.[1]
Danny (1985) produced an outbreak of 39 tornadoes and flash flooding across the United States Gulf Coast and Southeastern United States causing 100 million dollars (1985 USD) and three fatalities, two of them directly related to the storm.
Hurricane Ismael was a weak Pacific hurricane that killed over one hundred people in northern Mexico in September of the 1995 Pacific hurricane season.
Offshore, Ismael produced waves of up to 30 feet (9 m) in height. Hundreds of Mexican fishermen were unprepared for the hurricane, which was expected to move more slowly, and as a result 52 ships were wrecked, killing 57 fishermen. On land, Ismael caused 59 deaths in mainland Mexico and resulted in $26 million in damage (1995 USD, $37.5 million 2011 USD). The hurricane destroyed thousands of houses, leaving 30,000 people homeless. Due to the damage and deaths, the World Meteorological Organization retired the name Ismael.
Claudette (2003) Widespread flooding and gusty winds destroyed 204 houses along the southeast Texas coastline, most of which occurred in Matagorda County. In addition, the winds damaged 1,407 homes, with 144 of them being severely damaged. The wind also affected 147 businesses, of which 64 were either destroyed or severely damaged.[14] Strong winds downed numerous power lines, leaving around 74,000 residents without power in the immediate aftermath.[15] Overall, Claudette caused $180 million (2003 USD, $215 million 2011 USD) in damage in Texas and one death from a fallen tree during the storm. Also, the storm was indirectly responsible for a death when a tree fell on a person in the aftermath of the storm.[1]
Hurricane Gaston (2004) was a minimal hurricane that made landfall in South Carolina on August 29, 2004. It then crossed North Carolina and Virginia before exiting to the northeast and dissipating. The storm killed nine people — eight of them directly — and caused $130 million (2004 USD) in damage. Gaston produced torrential downpours that inundated Richmond, Virginia. Although originally designated a tropical storm, Gaston was reclassified as a hurricane when post-storm analysis revealed it had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (Category 1 hurricane strength).[1]
As the storm tracked northward through Virginia as a tropical depression, it produced torrential rainfall, peaking at 12.60 in (320 mm) in Richmond.[23] The storm strengthened over Virginia, as it pivoted from a northerly track to a northeasterly track nearly over the Richmond area, which led to the afternoon of exceptional rainfall, with the epicenter over Richmond. There were also numerous reports of rainfall over 10 in (250 mm), primarily in the central portions of the state.[2] The heavy precipitation caused moderate to severe damage in Chesterfield, Dinwiddie, Hanover, Henrico, and Prince George counties, where 350 homes and 230 businesses were damaged or destroyed, and many roads were closed due to high water. Hanover, Virginia reported almost a foot of rain, 11.7 inches to be exact.[2] The heaviest-hit location was downtown Richmond, where 20 blocks of the city were under water. In the historic district, a brick building collapsed[18] and dozens of other structures received flood damage as water reached 10 ft (3.0 m) in some places.[24]
I heard that the angle of the storm and the rain and storm surge are what can make this storm so awful. I fail to understand your criticism of the coverage and reaction.
On the other hand, any hurricane, even a Cat. 1, has monstrous properties and we disregard it at our peril.
I know. Here’s a graphic from WaPo, everybody’s deserving whipping child for lousy media – http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/in-the-path-of-irene/2011/08/26/gIQAZwwLhJ_graphic.html
I do not see any hyperbole in it. Just not. Some facts, a path, estimated winds and rain amounts – and they don’t look appetizing or like “no big deal.”
6 people dead as of now and no power for 730,000 for starters and we’re all supposed to yawn?
And this from Liz:
“And what do you think is the difference between those along the East coast shoreline and those living in New Orleans? It’s money.”
Yep, there are no poor or poor ethnic folks in North Carolina, or DC, or Delaware, or NJ, or NY.
Just purely bad reasoning, and another Liz specialty.
Thank you, Kelly, for saying this. Thank you too msmolly. All up and down the east coast there are people in harm’s way, today and tonight and tomorrow. Per the NWS just a few minutes ago:
THERE IS AN INCREASING CHANCE FOR COMBINED STORM SURGE AND ASTRONOMICAL TIDE WATERS UP TO 8 FEET ABOVE MEAN SEA LEVEL WITHIN AREAS CLOSER TO THE COAST…RESULTING IN WORST CASE FLOOD INUNDATION OF 4 TO 6 FEET ABOVEGROUND LEVEL SOMEWHERE WITHIN THE SURGE ZONE.THE LOCATIONS MOST LIKELY TO REALIZE THE GREATEST LOODINGINCLUDE OCEAN CITY AND WACHAPREAGUE AND AREAS ADJACENT TO THECHESAPEAKE BAY. THE MOST LIKELY PERIOD OF IMPACT WILL BE DURINGTHE TIME OF HIGH TIDE…TONIGHT
A STORM SURGE OF 3 TO 6 FEET ABOVE ASTRONOMICAL PREDICTED TIDES IS POSSIBLE ALONG THEATLANTIC COASTLINE AND THE DELAWARE BAY SHORE. IN SUSSEX COUNTY DELAWARE … AT … 9.2 FEET ABOVE GROUND LEVEL…FLOODING OCCURS IN MILFORD…REHOBOTH BEACH…ANDMILLSBORO. SHOULD THE WATER LEVEL REACH …11.5 FEET ABOVE GROUND LEVEL…THIS IS COMPARABLE TO THE FLOODINGTHAT OCCURRED WITH THE NOREASTER OF MARCH 1962.
Take LL seriously, she knows what she’s talking about
*waving*
No kidding – a first responder dispatcher shouldn’t be taken lightly.
Hi LL! *waves*
And Katrina resulted in ethnic cleansing, electing New Orleans’ first White mayor in several decades.
When people were evacuated, it wasn’t simply to safety or to higher ground, it was states away, wherefrom many would not be able to return.
When people were evacuated, it wasn’t simply to safety or to higher ground, it was states away, wherefrom many would not be able to return.
I agree with Liz. I live on a barrier Island in SJ and I’m here riding this out. Evacuating millions days before a Cat. 1 or strong Tropical storm like this is going to be very controversial decision after this is over IMO. The biggest problems are going to be inland and in the city where large buildings dominate. Along the So. jersey shore we will see some flooding in low lying areas but offshore of here the forests are going to be a very dangerous place tonight as countless trees fall over because of rain soaked ground and hi winds bring them down. Not many big trees on a barrier Island. So its debatable evacuating people in a storm of this size makes sense. You expose people to many more dangers when u up root them from their homes.
*waving back to Ellie and Kelly (hey, I like how that sounds!)* Smooches!
It’s announced that “six people have died as a result of the storm, all six in Virginia and North Carolina.” I think they could have given us a more accurate count, something like “six regular Americans and a Puerto Rican died…”
Agnes did 4 BILLION dollars of damage in New England in 1972. Agnes was a Cat1 storm.
Irene may do as much damage as Isabel did in 2003 – that was TEN BILLION dollars of damage.
Cat1 doesn’t mean ‘not a problem’. ‘Tropical storm’ doesn’t mean ‘won’t drop 20 inches of rain on your area’.
They’re talking a storm surge up to 2.2 meters in New York Saturday night or Sunday morning. The sea walls are about 1.5 meters high. Do the arithmetic, all of you who think this is all hype.
lool Propaganda being spewed about propaganda, the irony…
Wow, so .7 of a meter of sea water might make it over the sea wall? That’s about 27 inches above the sea wall! Help me, mommy, save me from 2 feet of water sloshing up NY streets! If 27 inches of water crashes over the seawall in Battery Park, it might make it as far as Wall Street before trickling out! The end is nigh!
For pete’s sake. Every single year some of the Caribbean storms slide up the East Coast, touch land and cause some minor damage. NYC gets rain and the U.S. Open Tennis gets delayed. Big whoop. A whopping total of six people have died so far. Sucks if you’re them, but I’d bet it’s considerably less than the number of people in the affected states who die from traffic accidents on any given day.
In other news, 900 million people don’t have food. But they’re not in the media capital of the world, so screw them.
Well, that’s stretching it a bit, Liz. It’s always a good idea to install plywood over your windows if your house is near the coast even for a Cat. 1 hurricane. Sustained 70 mile an hour winds are certainly capable of hurling debris through glass.
In New York last night, there was nothing but Irene panic being spread on every channel. Not to sound too disaffected but there was no football, no entertainment shows like House on Ch. 9, just “The sky is falling” coverage.
There’s an incompetent weatherperson on the weather channel, some dirty blonde woman, who cannot put together an intelligible thought without stammering through her lines. And the guy with her just mentioned that people where I live, in the Hudson Valley, should be worried about mudslides. That’s right, mudslides and mountains collapsing. These are supposed to be scientists.
You go ahead Kelly and stick up for the fear-mongering press. I consider their fear-mongering tactics at least as dangerous as Hurricane Irene. When the corporate media leads with headlines such as: “Hurricane Irene looks “terrifying” from space Astronaut says” what we have is pure fear-mongering hype. Those headlines are designed to do nothing beyond instill fear in people.
I’m happy to read comments all over the Internet today of Americans who are mocking corporate media. You stick up for them and Wall Street all you want and attack me personally. It’s still a free country.
Yes 6 people dead is a bad thing. I never said that it was not Kelly. You implied that I did. I don’t think the dead that are being reported by Corporate media are bad and at the same time I don’t think that the fear mongering hype from mainstream media has saved any lives either. And if you do, then there something wrong with your reasoning, not mine.
While I don’t think that the timely and factual reporting of 6 people dead is “bad” I do think that the corporate media reporting on the 2000+ People who died in Katrina was. Anyone who says that Katrina got anywhere near the coverage that Irene is getting needs a history lesson. Bodies were left to rot in the streets for over a week and little was reporting by corporate media.
You go ahead and defend them. Kelly. You go ahead and defend fear mongering.
and finally, I am not saying not did I ever say that a Category 1 Hurricane does not pose dangers. Even a thunderstorm poses dangers. What I have been saying is that in my opinion, the corporate media hype and fear-mongering for Hurricane Irene is way out of line.
Furthermore, in regard to “my reasoning” as Kelly attacked me personally, There is nothing wrong with MY reasoning. A very good case could be made that the media hype is responsible for at least one death from Hurricane Irene.
A man died of a heart attack as he was nailing up plywood over the windows of his home. Those who live in hurricane zones don’t usually nail up plywood over their windows for a Category 1 hurricane.
Yes hyperbole and fear-mongering from corporate media is on the same level as yelling “fire” in a crowded theater in regard to the damage it can do.
It is not “reasonable” to use fear to manipulate the public.
And no, there is no excuse for some of the sensationalism reporting that has whipped up this Category 1 hurricane to the “storm of the century”. No, it is never “reasonable” or honest to use fear and exaggeration to manipulate the public into doing what you think they “should” do–whether it is to vote for a candidate or take cover from a storm.
Dont you think that any politician that cares what the public think of them, would rather over prepare for an huge storm like Irene?
Everyone pointed fingers after the Governments failures with Katrina. So any seasoned politician would over due any huge storm event.
And again I do not think that you visualize the size of the storm. Yes its not an high category hurricane, but its size puts it up in the huge category. I think the death toll is up to 21. Seems like too many people died in this modern age from an category 1 hurricane?