ANSWERS: 12
  • Rescued. And that's that. Just the right thing to do. There shouldn't be any consequences. I'm sure next time - they'll evacuate.
  • Send them a bill
  • That has really been irritating. I know that some people felt they had no where to go, but that was no excuse for them not to leave. They should be rescued simply because its the right thing to do. If I were a first responder, I would not be happy having to save someone who shouldn't be there, but I would do it anyway. Good question.
  • They get paid to rescue, it is their job. If we do charge, we would have to charge for the police and fireman, every time they go on a call from someone being stupid. Maybe they could make them volunteer, to show them what they go through.
  • That is such a serious offense. There was an official in galveston that told residents "get out or face certain death." They definitely need to be dealt with, possibly even having to pay for their rescue!
  • They should be charged for the time and cost of the rescue and if the can't/won't pay, they should be required (not requested) to give that value in volunteer community services. Their stupidity costs the taxpayers in the rest of the nation hard cash and they need to be properly educated on the implications of their stupidity. They not endangered their own lives (which they may do and probably weren't punished for it) but they endangered the lives of others including their rescuers.
  • I feel they should have to pay for their rescue services....
  • That poor 71 year old woman, I saw in a picture today, being rescued after disobeying the order to evacuate is pathetic. There should be some penalty. She should be put in an old folks home on higher ground at the taxpayer expense for the rest of her life, and her home sold to help pay the bill.
  • I think they should be punished. If it had been me that refused rescue and then later they had to take extra time rescuing me then I can guarantee you that those people would have been going "it's not fair..she declined the first time..u should save her until last". That's what should have been done.. they should have been rescued last.. If they didn't have enough common sense to know the first time..pure stupidity is what it was..they need to pay for it. Thousands could have died while they were being re rescued.
  • I would like to share this email I received regarding this situation: The system in Texas did it right this time - I will stand by those words - Everyone and I mean everyone including illegal aliens were given the opportunity to evacuate out of harms way. The system struggled a bit here and there, but overall it worked this time and there was NO excuse for anyone to have remained behind. I will not feel sorry for those who were foolish and caused their families grievous harm or loss of life. This country and government all the way from the local town councils to the top of the heap did ten thousand times better than Katrina, Rita and even Gustav. The people of Texas are to be commended for their actions. Those citizens who did not leave when they should, have no place to sit, stand, whine or cry as far as I am concerned. It does not matter that the storm surge was not a high as anticipated or that the storm moved a small bit to the east before landfall. What matters is that an orderly evacuation was ordered and conducted, mandatory evacuations were also ordered and conducted and ignored. Close to 2 million people were smart enough to pay attention and leave town. The southern coastline of this country faces year after year of hurricanes of varying impacts. Our capabilities to see and predict the paths of these storms and estimate the intensity of them improves each season. Even the lightest/less intense storms wreck havoc for many miles inland. Those who live along the coastal regions for any amount of time know what they can expect and face as each storm approaches. The bravado of the past is gone now. You stay behind you run the risk of death. You have no right to demand that the system 'come and rescue' you after the fact. Precious time is wasted retrieving the foolish die-hards who very well may do just that. Resources need to be put into clean-up details, clearing debris, restoring power and water supplies, putting crucial and critical resources back in business. Hospitals, pharmacies, police, fire, emergency, fuel supplies (gas stations), food supplies, all should be the focus of the aftermath of such devastation. On top of all that, we need to be self sufficient - yes shelters are necessary, for many cannot afford to park their families in hotels/motels for weeks after such devastation and loss. However the following letter does point out the frustration that volunteers face when doing their best and seeing others reap what appears to be rewards beyond their generous giving. Remember Dear Abby used to say, "company and dead fish both begin to smell after three days..." I am not saying that everyone should go home after three days, some cannot for a long period of time, but the helpless and entitlement attitude should leave after three days no matter who you are. Some times the helping hand can come from the evacuees themselves and among themselves. No one ever really feels sorry for the one who spends his/her time feeling sorrier for themselves. The system is getting better, now we need to improve ourselves.... Anne Letter to Mr O'Reilly from a Shreveport nurse. Hello Mr. O'Reilly I am a nurse who has just completed working approximately 120 hours as the clinic director in a hurricane Gustav evacuation shelter in Shreveport, Louisiana over the last 7 days. I would love to see someone look at the evacuee situation from a new perspective. Local and national news channels have covered the evacuation and "horrible" conditions the evacuees had to endure during Hurricane Gustav. True - some things were not optimal for the evacuation and the shelters need some modification. At any point, does anyone address the responsibility (or irresponsibility) of the evacuees? Does it seem wrong that one would remember their cell phone, charger,cigarettes and lighter but forget their child's insulin? Is something amiss when an evacuee gets off the bus, walks immediately to the medical area, and requests immediate free refills on all medicines for which they cannot provide a prescription or current bottle (most of which are narcotics)? Isn't the system flawed when an evacuee says they cannot afford a $3 co pay for a refill that will be delivered to them in the shelter yet they can take a city-provided bus to Wal-mart, buy 5 bottles of Vodka, and return to consume them secretly in the shelter? Is it fair to stop performing luggage checks on incoming evacuees so as not to delay the registration process but endanger the volunteer staff and other persons with the very realistic truth of drugs, alcohol and weapons being brought into the shelter? Am I less than compassionate when it frustrates me to scrub emesis from the floor near a nauseated child while his mother lies nearby, watching me work 26 hours straight, not even raising her head from the pillow to comfort her own son? Why does it insense me to hear a man say "I ain't goin' home 'til I get my FEMA check" when I would love to just go home and see my daughters who I have only seen 3 times this week? Is the system flawed when the privately insured patient must find a way to get to the pharmacy, fill his prescription and pay his copay while the FEMA declaration allows the uninsured person to acquire free medications under the disaster rules? Does it seem odd that the nurse volunteering at the shelter is paying for childcare while the evacuee sits on a cot during the day as the shelter provides a "day care"? Have government entitlements created this mentality and am I facilitating it with my work? Will I be a bad person, merciless nurse or poor Christian if I hesitate to work at the next shelter because I have worked for 7 days being called every curse word imaginable, felt threatened and feared for my personal safety in the shelter? Exhausted and battered but hopefully pithy, Sherri Hagerhjelm, RN
  • Before reading through the answers, for a possibly better alternative, I'd say rescue them if time permits and it can be done safely. The next time evacuation comes up, you can be sure they'll be encouraging anybody who refuses so they'll be fewer conservative Republicans standing on their roofs with guns to rescue.
  • Those people should be fined for the amount their rescue cost. There is no way to charge for the risk that the rescue team went through, but they should pay a nominal fee. It is not fair they were advised and fully informed but they were sitting in their porch having drinks and watching the storm come at them. It is in no way the same as when we call the police or the firemen, that is an accidental emergency not a careless attitude of disobedience.

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