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I still remember the 1993 Cryptosporidium outbreak in Milwaukee. Even though 1.6 million people got sick and 104 people died, I remember the city handling the outbreak very well. We had a boil water notice for two weeks and in that time, city and county officials very regularly kept us updated and dispelled any sensationalist rumors or myths to keep people calm. They also quickly mobilized a fleet of people to visit every house within the Milwaukee Metropolitan Serwerage District within the first two days to make sure we were handing our water properly.
Our other major "disaster" was the July 22, 2010 rainstorm which was handled alright....I guess. I don't think anyone could have predicted 9-12 inches of rain in 2 hours. It came out of nowhere, terrorized the city and left a mess, but no one was killed so Cheers! Nearly every house on the North side of Milwaukee had sewage backup in their basements, which took a couple of weeks to clean-up, but the city was very routine about that effort which frustrated many further down on the lists.
If you're curious what 12 inches of rain in 2 hours looks like (pleasantly narrated by some typical college freshmen), check this video out:
Please tell me you're joking. There are still thousands of cars abandoned on the road right now!
If the same storm happened a few states north, it wouldn't even make the news, and would be a normal commute. In Atlanta, it's worse than Hurricane Sandy in NYC and probably the worst US natural disaster since Katrina.
And it's even crazier because Atlanta gets snow! This isn't Miami we're talking about; Atlanta gets below-freezing weather every winter, and snow and ice isn't that uncommon.
The mayor of Atlanta, whoever he is, should be immediately recalled and removed from office.
Prove your point.
Show us with what traffic camera in Atlanta right now is like Katrina, go! These are live traffic cameras
I would say San Fran, LA and Miami are the leaders in this one. Miami is very well prepared for hurricanes after learning from Hurricane Andrew, that was not the city of Miami but the southern portion of the county. With the amount of close calls and hits we get from Hurricanes it is pretty much routine. The amount of damage Hurricanes have done like Katrina in NOLA or Sandy on the East Coast would have not been nearly as much if those storms gave Miami direct hits and the same strength. Some of that has to do with those places geographic locations but I am taking that in Miami. Even though Miami's geographical location is bad for hurricanes to hit often. With Ocean, Bays and the Everglades flooding is not a major issues. The city is thin so a East to West or West to East traveling storm is relatively quick. People take it seriously and actually evacuate when needed and the city and state are very well prepared with evacuation plans and tons and tons of shelters.
I'll believe the Atlanta newspapers over anonymous people on the internet. The fact is that they reported thousands of cars still stranded last night, two days later.
Which is very true. It was a mess getting to the grocery store yesterday because of cars parked everywhere. This wasn't even on the interstate.
Many schools are still closed today, even though we've had blue skies the last two days.
How are you going to even compare? I mean first of all a snowstorm, sleet, extreme fog, sandstorms and derechos aren't NATURAL DISASTERS. They're just weather events. We get derechos in Chicago every few years with their 100+ mile an hour straight line winds and it causes a lot of disruption for a few hours, power goes out and everyone is all excited, but then life goes on and a day later you forget about it.
You can't compare a category 5 hurricane or an F5 tornado to something like a blizzard because they're totally different. Blizzards such for a day or two, but they aren't going to destroy your city like a 9.0 earthquake or a category 5 hurricane with a 30 foot storm surge.
I mean I can say Chicago handles their natural events pretty well, tornado cleanup, they do great in blizzards and thunderstorms, etc (yes Lakeshore got shut down with cars, but it was just the northbound side of Lakeshore and the cars were lined up for maybe a mile - out of thousands of miles of roads in a metro of 9 million people with extreme wind and two feet of snow). That said - Chicago just doesn't get any terrible disasters. I'd hardly say it's better than New Orleans or San Fran/LA - places that get REAL disasters. They need to know their stuff and they are the ones judged. Most of the cities on that list don't see much major.
How are you going to even compare? I mean first of all a snowstorm, sleet, extreme fog, sandstorms and derechos aren't NATURAL DISASTERS. They're just weather events. We get derechos in Chicago every few years with their 100+ mile an hour straight line winds and it causes a lot of disruption for a few hours, power goes out and everyone is all excited, but then life goes on and a day later you forget about it.
You can't compare a category 5 hurricane or an F5 tornado to something like a blizzard because they're totally different. Blizzards such for a day or two, but they aren't going to destroy your city like a 9.0 earthquake or a category 5 hurricane with a 30 foot storm surge.
I mean I can say Chicago handles their natural events pretty well, tornado cleanup, they do great in blizzards and thunderstorms, etc (yes Lakeshore got shut down with cars, but it was just the northbound side of Lakeshore and the cars were lined up for maybe a mile - out of thousands of miles of roads in a metro of 9 million people with extreme wind and two feet of snow). That said - Chicago just doesn't get any terrible disasters. I'd hardly say it's better than New Orleans or San Fran/LA - places that get REAL disasters. They need to know their stuff and they are the ones judged. Most of the cities on that list don't see much major.
No but you can create a benchmark
Staging:
Emergency evac plans
Response times
Community support roles
avaiable resources
Funny how people laugh about Atlanta being locked down by snow. You have to understand that not allot of resources will be dedicated to an event that happens maybe twice a decade. No one was laughing at the North East when they got hit by a hurricane that caused mass flooding. A category 3 hurricane is enough to devastate a region that is not prepared for it like the NE. Can't blame a region for something that is not the norm. California and Arizona soil is not very conductive to heavy rain and when it pours the water crest quite easily since the soil doesn't absorb well.
Now to the question who is better prepared for a natural disaster and the answer IMHO Florida coastal cities. Once June 1 hits everyone has shutters on their windows, generators, flashlights, batteries, and can goods. Your city or county will usually give you yearly hurricane survival kit by early may or late April. Florida coastal area have architect intentionally built to withstand wind damage. People in coastal Florida take the possibilIty of a bad storm very seriously.
I would say Miami and Tampa are the best prepared.
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