Weather, It Depends on Where You Live

Linna Jones
Commentary Editor  

   The talk of Hurricanes getting bigger and bigger sounds scary, but it is true. I feel for my neighboring states of Texas,  Louisiana and other affected coastal states with their trouble with the wind, water and destruction of Hurricane Gustav and now Ike.

  Hurricane Ike killed 48 people overall, 17 from Texas due to the storm, falling trees, carbon monoxide poisoning due to improper generator use and fires from the use of candles. The hurricane shattered glass in Houston’s tallest building and glass fell from its lofty height.

   More than 1 million people evacuated from Texas's coast to go a safer place; 20, 500 people stayed in 190 shelters and less than 9, 000 people stayed in government-funded hotels before the hurricane hit land.

six miles from Fort Morgan, Ala., after it finished its rampage.

    Hurricane Ike also leaves Texas with a financial impact of $6 billion to $16 billion in damage and the seafood industry in shambles. Shrimpers and oystermen lost their boats and will have to start over.  The storm affected every aspect of industry in the area. 

   My imagination fails to comprehend what the citizens of Louisiana, Texas and the coastal states affected may have gone through or how they felt. I fail to imagine losing a home or part of my life to the  powerful force of wind and water that it blows away a house or creates a wave a surfer dare not try.

   Hurricane Gustav brought waves of evacuees to Arkansas and other states.  Monticello responded to the call of help by opening churches, motels, providing food and shelter, and families housing families. With Hurricane Katrina, Monticello provided places for evacuees to live, so the victims of Katrina might live a normal life until they received clearance to go home. From the many conversations with Gustav evacuees I heard, many evacuees said words of thanks and how generous Monticello was. 

   I pose the question, what would we have done in their shoes? Would you run? Would you ride out the storm? Many people made it through the storm. I cannot give a comparison or even my thoughts on the matter of eyewitness accounts of the damage I saw in pictures after the storm hit Houston.

   The only thing I may even compare a hurricane to is a tornado. Arkansas and others states reside in what is known as “Tornado Alley.”  Those who live in the Tornado Alley know the dangers of living there. Just as those who live near  the Gulf of Mexico and coastal states know the dangers of hurricanes and tropical storms.

     Like hurricanes, tornadoes have the power and strength to level towns and destroy lives. Tornadoes bring with them wind that may pick up debris, cars or other loose materials; rain, thunder and lightning; and hail, which might destroy farmer's crops. It also chooses what it will destroy, destroying one house and leaving another intact. It may destroy a house, but leave the bathroom or another element intact. The tornado that struck Dumas on Feb. 24, 2007, ripped off the unused part of the old Wal- Mart building; the Fred's store only remained. Tornadoes are funny that way.

   Unlike a hurricane, tornadoes sometimes give no warning to when or where they will form, where they will go, where they will land or what elements such as rain or hail it will bring with it.  The tornado that struck Dumas and areas around it, destroyed buildings, caused damage to homes and other areas around the city, including Backgate and Pendleton.

    Storms like life are unpredictable; many people choose to live in a place where storms may disrupt their lives. The choices they make determine what they may have to face when it comes to the weather.

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