Do you think that the same kind of loss of life as in the Myanmar cyclone could happen in the U.S.?

Question

Yes, we are a more sophisticated nation, but I also noticed some frightening things in the recent past. One year, a storm was headed towards Galveston/Houston but was predicted to turn away to the West or NW. Well, the weather radio played old repeats all day long, which made me suspicious at the LACK of new info. Sure enough, the storm was still heading towards Galveston & long after it was expected to turn. Officials didn't seem to want to "unnecessarilly" worry or evacuate the Galveston area, so they seemingly were staying silent & saying nothing at all. If the storm had strengthened & stayed on that course, it could have been bad for the people there. We've seen that these storms can mushroom in a hurry! Why play politics with people's lives? It would've been impossible to evacuate Galveston, Texas City, etc. within the short time that was left if it had continued that direction. Officials should not gamble like that, which I think makes a disaster more likely.

Answer 1

The death toll wouldnt even be close!  Our houses are a lot stronger and more structerly sound!

Answer 2

I still don't believe that would happen.  Even though hurricanes are unpredictable to at least some degree, the big differences are that in the case of Myanmar (Burma), communications were little to non-existant for most of the people, thus they did not even know it was coming.  Second, the people there had no shelters, and lived in weakly built shacks that were no protection from the storm surge.  Construction standards here are much better and our abilities to analyze the environment around a hurricane provide for better track forecasts, especially in the short term so the surprise factor is diminished.

Answer 3

I don't think it will happen since our homes have to be up to a certain building code meaning that not just any old wind will be able to blow it down.  We have learned from the past from disasters such as Andrew and Katrina what should be done and what should not be done.  Hurricanes just do not sneak up on you and they don't move very fast you at least have 2 or 3 days or more in advance notice to get the heck out of the way or head to a shelter (unlike with tornadoes).  I have lived in Florida all my life btw and know just what these storms can and will do.  I'm not afraid of them to me they aren't a big deal unless your not in a safe place.