Is Dallas a pretty city? (Houston, Midlothian: how much, universities, tax)

[twange]

Originally Posted by aceplace

Well, then your fears are unrealistic and your perceptions are exaggerated... I take it lightly because in my experience nothing happens when the TV reports a severe thunderstorm.

On the Gulf coast and the Southeast, severe hurricanes are a realistic and serious threat, causing billions in property damage, and affecting the lives of millions of people, not just 13 deaths over a half century. In fact, a hurricane killed almost everyone in Galveston in the 20th century. A similar storm today would probably kill and injure hundreds of thousands in the Houston area. While their cars are jammed and immobile on the freeway, they would be bludgeoned to death by debris from 200 MPH winds, or drown in storm surges. And Global Warming is making severe hurricanes more likely.

I'd have to weigh that against the possibility that a tornado might tear the roof off of some house every 9 or 10 years.

Hmm. Personal fears are often irrational but I'm not sure I would characterize them as "unrealistic". If something scares you, that's real and can affect the choices and decisions one makes. I'm afraid of sharks and therefore will not swim in the ocean. The chances of getting attacked are small, but still possible. My fear is based on fairly irrational data (movies, sensational news etc...)but very real never-the-less. I literally would have a panic attack if I fell unexpectedly into ocean water, which might cause me to act foolish and erratic But I have walked alone in some sketchy areas of NYC at 3am and only felt slightly nervous.

Ah, to be human

[KewGee]

Originally Posted by aceplace

Well, then your fears are unrealistic and your perceptions are exaggerated... I take it lightly because in my experience nothing happens when the TV reports a severe thunderstorm.

On the Gulf coast and the Southeast Atlantic coast, severe hurricanes are a realistic and serious threat, causing billions in property damage, and affecting the lives of millions of people, not just 13 deaths over a half century. In fact, a hurricane killed almost everyone in Galveston in the early 20th century. A similar storm today would probably kill and injure hundreds of thousands in the Houston area. While their cars are jammed and immobile on the freeway, they would be bludgeoned to death by debris from 200 MPH winds, or drown in storm surges. And Global Warming is making severe hurricanes more likely.

I'd have to weigh that against the possibility that a tornado might tear the roof off of some house every 9 or 10 years.

My fears are not unrealistic nor are my perceptions exaggerated. More than anything, I play on the side of cautious. Personally, I don't need to compare Texas with areas of the country that have even more weather related problems. I don't live there, and I never will. Those places mean nothing to me.

Your definition of paranoia is not correct. You stated......Paranoia is when you fear something because you don't like to think about it, rather than because it is reasonably likely to happen.

Paranoia has always meant as far back as I can remember and I'm old, is the extreme and irrational trust of others. It's a psychological disorder characterized by delusions of persecution or grandeur. Sorry, I don't have that mental illness.

I'm fearful of deep sea diving and parachuting and wouldn't do it; many get a thrill from doing such. To me, they are realistic fears.

[Lakewooder]

The scarecrow was afraid of a lighted match but stated he would face a whole box full of them to get to Oz (Dallas).

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by aceplace

Well, then Houston is also unacceptable. I bet Houston has had at least 13 deaths and 355 injuries over the last half century from one cause or another. Increased rates of cancer from Houston's petrochemical plants is a real, as opposed to a statistically infinitesimal, threat.

Paranoia is when you fear something because you don't like to think about it, rather than because it is reasonably likely to happen.

You better up that figure GREATLY! With the huge amounts of flooding that Houston sees I'd be willing to bet that more than 13 deaths in Houston have occured just by flooding alone. I'd be more scared of flooding than I would be of a tornado. As a matter of fact this is straight from the National Weather Service Southern Region Headquarters in Ft Worth:


"In fact, more people are killed by floods than any other weather related cause. Most of these fatalities occur because people underestimate the power of moving water.

It is common to think the stronger the storm the greater the potential for flooding. However, this is not always the case. A weak, slow moving tropical storm can cause more damage due to flooding than a more powerful fast moving hurricane. This was very evident with Tropical Storm Allison in June 2001."


Anyone remember the doctor that drowned in an elevator a few years ago in the hospital in Houston?

1983 - Hurricane Alicia caused 21 fatalities.
1989 - Tropical Storm Allison caused 11 deaths
2001- another Tropical Storm Allison (gosh, don't name your girls Allison) caused 27 deaths from flooding.
1994 - severe flooding of the San Jacinto River flood plain near Houston resulted in 14,000 people being evacuated and 20 deaths.

These are just a few. I'd be more scared of this than tornados in Dallas. Especially when some of these floods were forcast but happened much sooner than expected.

[aceplace]

Regarding an exaggerated fear of an extremely improbable event...

After I completed my previous post, I logged off and drove south on the ND Tollroad. Just north of the I635 interchange, I was behind a truck with some large objects in the back. I changed lanes for some reason. Suddenly, something fell off the back. It was a tire that belonged on a tractor, or some earth-moving machine. It was about 6 feet across. When it hit the ground, it began to roll on its edge topward ongoing traffic. Fortunately, no one was in that lane, and the few cars around me managed to swerve around it. As soon as it was safe to do so, I reported it to 911.

Now the possibility of colliding with a rolling tire on a freeway is an extremely improbable event. And I came closer to that tire than I've ever come to a tornado. Should I now be afraid of driving on a Dallas freeway? Should people avoid moving to Dallas because Aceplace was almost creamed by a tire?

The reason people can afford to be silly about fearing an improbable isolated incident is primarily because they are isolated and improbable. If I develop an irrational phobia of trucks with monster tires in the bed, it's unlikely to seriously impact my life or convenience, since there are so few of them. So the phobia survives.

[aceplace]

Originally Posted by momof2dfw

Anyone remember the doctor that drowned in an elevator a few years ago in the hospital in Houston?

1983 - Hurricane Alicia caused 21 fatalities.
1989 - Tropical Storm Allison caused 11 deaths
2001- another Tropical Storm Allison (gosh, don't name your girls Allison) caused 27 deaths from flooding.
1994 - severe flooding of the San Jacinto River flood plain near Houston resulted in 14,000 people being evacuated and 20 deaths.

These are just a few. I'd be more scared of this than tornados in Dallas. Especially when some of these floods were forcast but happened much sooner than expected.

People in Houston focus on freak incidents in Dallas, but ignore more common disasters in Houston. Why is this?

Maybe one answer is denial of their hometown's shortcomings. Or maybe they want to injure Dallas' reputation due to some city to city rivalry. But I think there is another answer. Houston people become complacent to common and ongoing Houston disasters precisely because they happen so often.

[KewGee]

Originally Posted by aceplace

Now the possibility of colliding with a rolling tire on a freeway is an extremely improbable event. And I came closer to that tire than I've ever come to a tornado. Should I now be afraid of driving on a Dallas freeway? Should people avoid moving to Dallas because Aceplace was almost creamed by a tire?

The reason people can afford to be silly about fearing an improbable isolated incident is primarily because they are isolated and improbable. If I develop an irrational phobia of trucks with monster tires in the bed, it's unlikely to seriously impact my life or convenience, since there are so few of them. So the phobia survives.

I hope you're not afraid to drive on the Dallas freeways because of what happened, but do be cautious. I'm still in Texas too, and I shall be cautious as well about the severe weather.

Thanks for changing paranoia to phobias. I believe you've now chosen the correct word. I'll admit to a phobia but never to paranoia as it's defined. People have phobias about bugs too. I'd rather have a phobia about severe weather; it's is so much bigger and better to fear.

Oh, I don't live in Houston and don't choose to do so either.

[Lakewooder]

Now a real fear is those trucks in Houston loaded down with drill pipe precariously secured by chains. When I lived in Houston several people per year were killed by those rolling off...

And no place has more detritus on the highways than Houston. You could furnish your house by stopping every few feet...

[aceplace]

Originally Posted by KewGee

I hope you're not afraid to drive on the Dallas freeways because of what happened, but do be cautious. I'm still in Texas too, and I shall be cautious as well about the severe weather.

Thanks for changing paranoia to phobias. I believe you've now chosen the correct word. I'll admit to a phobia but never to paranoia as it's defined. People have phobias about bugs too. I'd rather have a phobia about severe weather; it's is so much bigger and better to fear.

Oh, I don't live in Houston and don't choose to do so either.

Thanks for your sympathy. And I agree that "phobia" is a better word. In fact, I believe that conflict between ideas and people can be resolved through better clarification of language. Good for you.

Yeah, it was a close shave, but I think I'm beyond it. I'll hopefully see my near-miss as an isolated incident with no relevance to the future.

[KewGee]

Yes, most of us know that Texas leads the nation in flash flood fatalities, but The National Weather Service and other authorities consider heat to be the leading weather-related cause of death in the nation.

Unlike other weather threats such as hurricanes and floods, heat typically is not viewed as a natural disaster. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, however, excessive heat exposure killed more Americans (8,015) from 1979 through 2003 than hurricanes, lightning, tornadoes, floods, and earthquakes combined. And if recent trends continue, the incidence of heat-related deaths may grow worse in the years ahead.

I think lightning deaths are second, followed by flooding, tornadoes, and hurricanes. Of course, hurricanes aren't prone to areas all over the country.

I do feel badly for people who weren't able to stay off the roads and lost their lives because they have to travel for one reason or another. It is very heart wrenching. I just wish people would take the threat of fast moving water seriously. If that were to happen, I believe the fatalities would be so lessened.

Regarding hurricanes....Do keep in mind that many of the hurricanes produce deadly tornadoes, hence increasing the fatalities. Hail kills too.

Here is a list of the counties in Texas that had deaths by flooding from just 5 storms from 1991 to 2001 and 65% were caused by vehicles in water.

Bexar
12

Blanco
1

Burnet
1

Caldwell
6

Comal
4

Dallas
14

Edwards
4

Guadalupe
4

Harris
22

Hays
1

Llano
1

Milam
2

Montague
1

Montgomery
1

Navarro
1

Travis
5

Uvalde
1

Waller
1

Williamson
2