Last week, an AP story reported that half the people in the U.S. live along the coast, even though that’s just 17 percent of the country’s land area. So what, you say? So, in light of concerns about increasingly severe coastal weather due to you-know-what (starts with a G, rhymes with noble forming), all that crowding makes evacuations a lot more complicated. One solution suggested by weather gods NOAA: vertical evacuations. That’s right, shove everyone into a highrise and tell ’em to climb. (Hey, look how MSNBC calls the agency “Noah”! That’s so cute.)
This week, as officials continued to gear up for the unknown, NOAA commended Lincoln City, Ore., for being the nation’s first “TsunamiReady” community and listed 15 others in Alaska, Hawaii, California, Oregon, and Washington that have also qualified — by establishing emergency operations centers, figuring out how to warn people, and mapping out hazard plans.
Far be it from me to panic. But the Farm Belt is looking mighty appealing. (I know, I know, tornados. That’ll be my next post.)
