EDITORIAL THE 'KATRINA FACTOR' EARLY EVACUATIONS SAVED LIVES.IF anything good came from Hurricane Katrina  Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled due to vandalism. , it was that the
country learned a valuable lesson.
Too often, residents in the path of destruction decide to stay in their homes, certain they can protect their properties, families and themselves from floodwaters, fires or landslides. This belief no doubt contributed to many people losing their lives in New Orleans New Orleans (ôr`lēənz –lənz, ôrlēnz`), city (2006 pop. 187,525), coextensive with Orleans parish, SE La., between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain, 107 mi (172 km) by water from the river mouth; founded and elsewhere in the Gulf Coast. The residents of Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. and Ventura counties in the line of this week's Topanga Fire clearly took that lesson to heart. Even before mandatory evacuations were called, residents in many threatened areas gathered up personal possessions and pets and fled to safety. Perhaps they might not have been harmed if they had stayed, but the danger always exists. This ``Katrina factor'' shows that early evacuation evacuation /evac·u·a·tion/ (e-vak?u-a´shun) 1. an emptying. 2. catharsis; emptying of the bowels. e·vac·u·a·tion n. can save lives. |
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