400 still missing from Ike. Who knew?

The Houston Chronicle had a story Sunday reporting more than 400 people were still missing in the Houston-Galveston area from Ike. It's surprising how this is no longer a story. If 400 were missing in a mining accident, we'd hear about it for months. Anyway, some pretty chilling stuff in the story. And I've heard lots of people in Houston STILL without power.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/morenews/6027458.html

 

As unfortunate as it is, it seems that anything hurricane related is almost old news. I think that this is a terrible tragedy. I wonder what is being done to locate these people.

 

The financial crisis pretty much wiped Ike off the radar.

 

last report i saw said many of the missing were probably out of touch with relatives because of no phone, cell or e-mail access.

 

They had numerous chances to evacuate.

I have no sympathy for anyone who decided to stay and is suffering the consequences. If you can't figure out to pack and leave, especially after Katrina, then you're on your own.

The people I sympathize for are their families elsewhere who could not convince them to leave.

 

There are plenty of areas -- determined by zip code -- where the authorities requested that people shelter in place instead of clog up the roads for the other locales that needed evacuation. I'll assume you are differentiating between the two populations and not just wishing ill on people who might be missing because they followed their government's instructions.

 

Weeks after Katrina there were still about 6,000 unaccounted for. Most were located OK eventually.

 

Don't assume.

Those in shelters and those who evacuated, I feel for them.

But those who are smart enough to watch The Weather Channel, hear requests (or demands) from officials and still decide to stay in their homes, those are the ones I have no sympathy for.

 

Bolivar Peninsula, which was pretty much wiped out, did NOT have a mandatory evacuation. Then the day before the storm hit there was no way out. The ferry to Galveston was closed and the road to the east flooded. Most of these people were older hurricane veterans with no kids. Nobody will probably report they're gone.