Blame some deaths on storm, but others on sheer stupidity

I haven't paid much attention to the storm coverage coming out of the east coast.  All I know is I used to live in  York County, VA - very near the coast - and I'm glad I now live in Cheyenne, Wyoming (having moved here 2 years ago) , even if we do have never ending wind here (sometimes even up to 45 mph) - it's nothing like hurricane force winds (80 - 90 mph) of the coast.

But I read a few message boards where people are discussing it.

There's one guy, a 60 year old successful soundtrack producer, who lives in California, but has friends in New York. So last night we're getting all this terrible news about people dying, and buildings flooding, and this idiot says he doesn't believe it, the newscasters are making things up, because he's been talking to some of his friends in New York and they're having no problems.

 Today someone patiently pointed out to him that his friends live above 42nd Street -  the ground rises as you move north. Battery and lower Manhattan was flooded, but the Upper West Side and areas above 42nd Street came through rather well. Riverside Park is a good 10-20 feet below West End Avenue at 82nd Street. All three rivers flooded - East, Harlem and Hudson, so Riverside Park is below water as well.

And they're also posting news about a couple who were killed by a falling tree while out walking their dog. Why in the world would you walk your dog in such weather. Stay inside and let the dog go where he wants! But lots of people have been killed by falling trees and I do have to ask myself...where were they going that they couldn't wait until the storm was over?

When I used to live in Minnesota, many years ago, we were always told to have winter survival packs in our cars - extra food, extra water, extra blankets, boots and so on. That way if you get stuck in a winter snow storm you'll be fine - if a bit uncomfortable - until help arrives. But every year during a snow storm, there were always people who would be driving in remote areas, slide off into ditches, have no food or warm clothing, and freeze to death trying to walk to a main road. Idiots!

This record producer that I mentioned above also pointed out - a couple of days ago before the storm hit - that he didn't believe that it was going to be as serious as everyone was saying, that the news was just over-dramatizing. Well, 30 people are dead now, Bruce- what say you now?  (Of course, he doesn't say anything. He is never in the wrong...)

I'm reminded of those poor earthquake scientists in Italy who were sent to prison for two years because they didn't correctly predict that an earthquake was going to destroy a certain town.  Even if they'd predicted, there was nothing anyone could do - it was an earthquake, for goodness sake! Do you think if they'd said, "Everyone evacuate now," that people would have gone? Of course not.

Although I do think the main reason people never like to evacuate is not because they don't think something is going to happen, but because they believe looters will come in and steal their treasures while they're gone - and you know the looters will. I have to admit, I do think looters should be shot on sight. They're scum.