Media does a disservice to Galveston/Houston’s bout with Hurricane Ike

Watching the media coverage of Hurricane Ike I couldn’t tell if they were relieved or disappointed that more people didn’t die as a result of the storm.  I kept hearing how things were not that bad and how Galveston and Houston were “spared.”   

The folks that  I talked to in Houston said that riding out the storm in the city was a lesson in survival, but not something that they would do again.  People in Galveston who were being rescued said the same thing.  `It was crazy, crazy wild,” 21-year old Ronald Rodriguez told the Houston Chronicle.  The Galveston resident went on to say“We lost all our cars, furniture, everything.”

By midday, the news stations were reporting that the Hurricane wasn’t that bad and questioning whether or not meteorologists created a false panic with their caution of “certain death” for those who stayed.  But where is the introspective on the sensational manor in which this and most hurricanes have been convered since Katrina?

The over the top nature started with continous comparisons with Ike and the deadly Galveston Hurricane of 1900.  Forget that the city is now protected by 10 mile long, 17 feet high, and 16 feet wide sea wall.  The surge this weekend was estimated by some as 15 feet, not the 20-25 feet that some weather people had called for. 

Then there’s Anderson Cooper wading in about 3 feet of water with a sack cloth wrapped around him taking, a false risk of snake and alligator bites as well as electrocution for the sake melodrama.  He even conducted an interview asking his subject to wade out into the water with him where they commented on snakes and dead rats floating by.  This is while real citizens where battling those creatures in their homes with real stakes on the line.

You can show me high water without standing in it, the same goes for high winds.  What’s going to happen when a reporter or camera person gets hit in the head with a flying 2×4 in one of the these storms?

I like storm coverage as much as the next guy, but I’m more interested in what’s happening than what’s going to happen.  It seems like they aren’t giving their viewers enough credit. 

If the media sorts had wanted to provide a service to the people of Galveston and the coast, they should have mentioned that the evacuation isn’t just for landfall but also the aftermath.  What good is it to ride out the storm and hang around no power, closed stores, and gas shortages? 

On Sunday Interstate 45 in Houston was still closed in both directions between Loop 610 and Beltway 8 and large sections of Interstate 10 are impassable because of high water (Texas Department of Transporation).  Hundreds of thousands of people were still without power and many of them could be for weeks.  Grocery stores are closed and FEMA is having a hard time getting supplies in.  But no major death toll, then no major hurricane right?

Balance is a lost art, but some should be worked into the hurricane coverage from this point on.  Don’t just send the reporters down looking for body bags, stay until the story is done.