Hurricanes are coming

With Hurricane Gustav lurking around headed at present in a general direction of the central Gulf Coast of the U.S., memories of Katrina and Rita begin to rise. Center to recovery actions following those two storms (and all others as well) is the Corps of Engineers. If the worst happens and Gustav hits near New Orleans, lets hope that improvements made by the Corps after Katrina do their job. Let's also hope that as we get more into the peak period for tropical storms next month that people in harms way take heed and do the right thing. As Town manager of a coastal North Carolina beach town, I went through four major hurricanes in a very short period. I've experienced first hand their destructive nature, and have seen the results of the often overlooked threat from flooding and storm surge. One year, I remember riding around with the Chief of Police the day prior to landfall of Hurricane Floyd in 1999, seeing how many residents had made an unwise decision to remain on the island after the bridge to the mainland was to be closed. We made them sign a "release" stating that the town was under no obligation to "come get them" in the event they wanted off the island later. Sure enough, one guy who decided to stay called the Police as the storm neared landfall after we'd closed the bridge, pleading for someone to come get him. Didn't happen, so the guy sat buttoned up and rode it out. He made it OK, but when I spoke to him afterwards he sheepishly said what he'd done was a mistake. If you're in harms way of a storm, follow the advice of local officials. EVACUATE!