Florida turning a blind eye to hurricanes
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http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/16/us/16hurricane.html?_r=1&hp
MIAMI — The hurricanes are coming. Carlos Alvarez, mayor of Miami-Dade County, cannot say when or how severe they will be, but every public speech he gives now includes a warning.“Hurricanes are part of our lives,” he tells people, adding: “Every time you get groceries, add a few extra cans. Have some jugs to fill up with water.”
For many, though, the message has yet to register.
Florida’s faltering economy and a recent scarcity of major storms have led to what emergency management officials now describe as a dangerous level of complacency. More than two months into hurricane season, and even as Tropical Storm Fay formed on Friday over the Dominican Republic and headed west, Floridians on both coasts are less prepared to withstand a major storm than at any other time in years, according to officials, business owners and residents.
Further, a Harvard study last month identified a significant post-Katrina distrust of shelters, with about a quarter of people surveyed in coastal areas in eight states planning to stay home if a hurricane hits.
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