It's almost funny, Val.
When I was a city councilman (really!) up in Satellite Beach, we went to conference after conference about hurricane preparedness. Except that there hadn't been a hurricane hitting Florida in decades. It was almost IMPOSSIBLE to get the public to take them seriously.
Then, we had Hurricane David (1983?) and it was barely a Cat 1. That made it even worse, because the people who evacuated the barrier islands were laughed at for being timid.
I moved away in 1985, knowing in my heart that if a big one ever did hit, it would likely kill hundreds - or worse.
Then came Andrew.
Since then...well, you know. At least it would be darn hard to find anyone but a really new Florida resident (and a moronic one at that) who doesn't take the things seriously.
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