Hurricanes Do Not Negotiate

Here in Houston it is raining. It’s been doing that pretty much ever since Dolly made landfall yesterday, a hurricane at that time. Lots of water but not much else here, so we’re pretty relieved. The projections were pretty the last two days before Dolly arrived, but if you go back and look at Katrina in 2005, you may notice that Katrina made some unexpected moves. That’s one reason why so many people were surprised by Katrina; while everyone knew the track it took was possible, it was not what people expected it to do. One of the lessons learned from Katrina, is that you pay attention to what the storm could do, and not just what you think it will do. Because you can’t argue with a hurricane, it will go where it will go, and you’d better be ready.

Too many people today think that everything is relative, everything can be negotiated or controlled. Hurricanes are just one reminder that such thinking is not only naïve, it can be very dangerous.