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Razhie. Advicenators Member Since: June 13, 2005. Answers: 5077. Visitors: 211514.
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The Question
I am a storm chaser and I'm becoming increasingly surprised, disappointed, and disturbed at how poorly my hometown is prepared for bad weather. I don't know if I'm being dramatic or not, but either way, we have a problem and I don't know how to fix it.
Our town does not use tornado sirens. We have them, but they're never used because the city feels they cause more harm than good, which I completely disagree with. In the past, when they'd go off, it would cause a panic, which would sometimes cause people to do stupid things, like get into car accidents and things like that. Although I understand why they quit using tornado sirens, I don't agree with the decision to do so at all. I mean first off, the whole car accident thing was rare and could be prevented if people were just better educated on tornado safety. People who are already on the road are one thing, but people who aren't need to know better than to get in their cars and try to go anywhere anyway. Even if the car accident thing doesn't improve, the lack of tornado sirens seems to be more problematic.
There was a tornado in town this past Thursday. It
damaged some houses and a golf course, but LUCKILY it didn't cause any injuries that I know of or deaths. Long story short, I wasn't working on Thursday and was home watching the weather channel all afternoon. There were thunderstorms that came and went all day and we were under a tornado watch, but a tornado touching down was never reported. It should have been. There's no way in heck that NO ONE saw that thing because It was in the middle of town. If tornado sirens were still in use, they'd have probably gone off and given people enough of a warning to get to safety. Instead. most people like me didn't even know it'd happened until it was over. I found out when I was driving by that part of town and saw the damage. What REALLY scares me is that the tornado hit very close to where my mom works and SHE didn't know about it until it was over as well. I also don't know how my town expects people who are asleep or somewhere away from a TV or radio to get the message if a tornado hits.
In addition to that, a terrible, terrible accident happened Friday night. That was the night that seniors from the town's high school had their graduation ceremony. After said ceremony, one senior, her parents, and her brother went to the airport to get on her dad's bonanza and fly out of town for a wedding on Saturday. For some reason, her brother actually stayed behind. He went to the airport to see them off, but relatives were going to keep him while his family was gone. There was a bad thunderstorm Friday night that her dad should have known he couldn't fly in. He tried it anyway, their plane crashed and burned, and there were, of course, no survivors. Not two hours after an 18 year old honors student, who was extremely excited about her very bright future, walked across stage and got her diploma, she was dead due to severe weather circumstances that her dad badly mishandled. Her brother is now an orphan and an only child and I can't say for sure, but I think he very well may have seen his family's plane crash.
Almost a month ago, a man from my city (although he moved away a while back) died in a flash flood. His city was flooding and while on his way to work, his car somehow ended up in a creek. They think his vision was obscured due to the storm and he couldn't see the water in from of him, so he drowned and made his wife a widow and his two small children fatherless. Oh yeah, and this happened to his wife TWO DAYS before Mother's Day. Happy Mother's Day, right?
I guess what I want is better awareness of the proper safety procedures to follow during such bad storms. I want tornado sirens back in use, and I want some kind of measure taken to prevent planes from being able to take off during storms. My question is, how do I get it done? Who do I talk to? Please help me if you can. I'm legitimately worried about the safety of my friends, relatives, and others in this town, but I don't know exactly how to help. Any ideas?
The Answer
Your best bet is probably to start having conversations with your local representatives. A letter of introduction, followed up by a request to meet (especially with anyone who is interested) is a good way to begin. Also, you don't want to be too focused on particular solutions, but be open to learning about the local history of the debate in government, and what current feelings and priorities are when it comes to this sort of safety.
Tornado sirens can be rendered ineffective if used inappropriately or excessively (and they often are programmed poorly or governed by out-of-date policies) so there is definitely going to be a lot of education you need to do for yourself, and for your local representatives to teach them how you can make that system actually work for the community.
You may also want to look into state or federal agencies that can offer material or advice for your local community.
It may not be possible to regulate away a stupid person choosing to fly, or boat, or drive their own private vehicle during bad weather, but before you decide what ought to be done, speak to your local representatives about what the current situation is, and find out what is doable at each level of government. Find some locals who share your concerns, then investigate possible solutions together.
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