Monitor: Comment on the devastation wrought by Hurricane Georges

All the News of the World

THIS HURRICANE is serious business. Even if Tampa Bay is spared a direct hit, Georges is expected to bring strong winds, heavy rains, flooding and sporadic tornadoes across a wide swath. It is not an experience for thrill-seekers or those who cannot persevere for days without the conveniences of modern living. Staying informed and prepared is a price we must pay to live on Florida's coast. The greatest danger we face is our own complacency.

St Petersburg Times, Florida

FOR THE Caribbean survivors, things will likely get worse before they get better. The storm left at least 100,000 Dominicans homeless - more than 10 times the number that government shelters can accommodate. They'd better rebuild fast. Meteorologists at the US Hurricane Center in Miami have detected three other hurricanes swirling simultaneously in the Atlantic. Though they were not expected to reach land, they underscored one harrowing truth; the hurricane season still has two months to go.

Newsweek

A SENSE of dread hung over New Orleans as the city braced itself for the arrival of Hurricane Georges. Tens of thousands of residents were fleeing along clogged roads. The escape routes were painfully few. In every part of the city there was a palpable tension and a nervousness. By nightfall, the city had tucked itself in, locked its doors and huddled to await the storm.

New Orleans Times Picayune

GEORGES' WESTERLY route caused more damage in Cuba than expected and, because it kept the storm over land longer, helped South Florida. Fidel Castro declared before the storm hit that because of the US economic embargo, Cuba would not accept storm aid from the States. That's just one more example of how US-Cuba relations have degenerated to the point of mutual lunacy. Georges was expected to grow in intensity and make another landfall, perhaps today. A hurricane's path is outside of human control. The response to a hurricane's devastation isn't. Those who were spared - this time - should help Georges' victims here and in the Caribbean. We were lucky. Now we can be generous.

Palm Beach Post