My thoughts and prayers go out to those in the path who have been or will be injured and their homes damaged and destroyed. Having lived through a number of hurricanes I can tell you that they are frightening and can be deadly.

Having been through hurricanes I am not going to make light of them. The damage is very real and severe. I really feel for the people who went through this. I very much agree that it is devastating. So glad Ravencajun that you did not lose anyone. These events are something we cant prevent but we should feel for the ones who went through them. So very sad for you all. Hopefully they will get the help they need.

Luckily, my family in Texas all managed to dodge a bullet this time! They have not been so lucky in the past.

We lived in Charleston in 1989 when hurricane Hugo paid a visit. It was a category 5! We heeded the advice, and moved to family, that were inland. It left us without power for almost 2 weeks. Power companies from all over, came to help. My heart always goes out to people affected by a hurricane. But, at least, you know they are coming. Tornadoes scare the heck out of me. They are sporadic.

My comments in another thread were based on reports I'd read, repeated without personal opinions of my own added, that said that the intensity and damage were less than expected. I was sharing those views. I didn't in any way diminish or make fun of someone's tragedy. If these reports are inaccurate, your beef is with them, not with me. Some examples, easily found:

The Louisiana governor:
"“It is clear that we did not sustain and suffer the absolute, catastrophic damage that we thought was likely," Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said"

Headline of article from Lafayette, LA newspaper

"Hurricane Laura: Why the Category 4 storm's once "unsurvivable" surge wasn't that bad"

Article from Lafayette newspaper

I've been through hurricanes up to a CAT 3 (two that I experienced the eye wall) and can't fathom how anyone could dismiss a CAT 4 almost 5 as anything but horrifying.

This is the farthest inland that I've seen a hurricane maintain that high a rating. Anyone that would make those comments should be required to help replace those neighborhoods that are completely gone and see if they still think that it was no big deal. The death toll numbers will rise as cut off areas are entered and searched. Many farmers will have lost their herds, cattle don't swim - devastating them. Hunting season in that area will also be ruined, deer swim better but not for long. Those two losses will have a major economic impact on that area. Lumber prices are already sky high making rebuilding much more expensive.

It is something to be thankful that it didn't impact a higher population density such as New Orleans or Houston. But it's still not over, Laura has a long way to go to reach the Atlantic. There could be more flooding and tornadoes.

Sorry raye, but an area for which a loss of hunting has a "major economic impact" can't have much going for it.

I've read (more factual information coming) that Louisiana's barrier islands and sandbars that protect some areas have been eroding. I think the writing is on the wall for people who want to heed it - the increased regularity and intensity of Gulf Coast storms in Louisiana and elsewhere should dissuade people from living in dangerous areas subject to repeated storm or flood damage. I wouldn't be surprised if the federal flood insurance system started redlining areas to exclude them from coverage. That alone would serve to protect people and reduce financial damages that need to be covered by the insurance pool, because banks won't extend loans to buy or build properties that can't be insured.

Sorry raye, but an area for which a loss of hunting has a "major economic impact" can't have much going for it.

This seems like a really elitist comment. There are tens of thousands of good solid American families away from the big cities where farming and gardening and hunting are all traditional ways to procure food. Many are small towns with tight knit communities, wonderful places to live and raise families.

I won't review my comments with a microscope. You have a knack of misunderstanding what people say or looking for opportunities to pounce. Your issue, not mine. Let me rephrase it.

Any area for which a loss of hunting has a "major economic impact" can't have much going for it from a financial activity standpoint.

Right on Lucille - Louisiana's Motto - The Sportsman's Paradise!

I had a job in that area several months after Hurricane Rita and they were hurting due to lost hunting and farming.

The State thinks its motto is "Union, Justice, Confidence". (I looked it up because your suggestion seemed improbable and as I expected it proved to be not the case)

I'm always ready to learn. Tell me an area where visiting hunters spend billions every year. Or even millions. There are a few, not a lot.

I'm not disparaging the practice, that would be a different conversation. But it's a balloon you can't blow up to be that big, it pops. I'll stand by my comment. An area that relies on a few months of visiting hunters for its economic activity can't be doing well now or at any time. Visiting hunters aren't that numerous and don't typically spend big money where they go.

Normal tourism is a different story.

https://www.alabamanewscenter.com/2019/11/20/study-hunting-fishing-had-3-2-billion-impact-on-alabama-in-2018/#:~:text=Hunters%20spent%20more%20than%2014.3,2018%20ECONOMIC%20IMPACT%20%E2%80%94%20%243.2%20BILLION

If you don't hunt or fish or farm, SOMEONE had to or you would not have had any food to eat.

Read for yourself Elmer. From the National Wildlife Foundation. It's not broken down separately for each sport but I'd guess it is pretty close to 50/50.

In my state (Missouri) alone the economic impact from hunting and fishing is $4 billion a year.

Okay. I was off on the magnitude of the number but not on the impact. The Alabama article suggests that 91% of the activity was from Alabamans so that it's not bringing in business. In both cases, as a recreation activity it accounts for in the very low single digits of each state's GDP. By comparison, the president's policies and inactions have cost all of us nationally many multiples of that in just recent months. Does that interest you as much, a comparable disaster of another kind?

I'll stick with my comment. Any area for which hunting has a "major economic impact" is not an area that offers its residents economic and career opportunities and well paying jobs. Unless you'd put gun store and fast food workers, park and gas station attendants, etc., into such categories. I wouldn't.

Elmer - stop deflecting. What does Trump have to do with the OP? Nothing!

Most states choose to protect their outdoor resources for their own citizen's use by charging huge fees for non-resident tags and licenses. Outdoor sporting may only account for a small percentage of GDP but the tax revenue can be substantial.

Many jobs in the outdoor sporting industry provide a very good living. Hunting and Fishing outfitters. gun stores and tackle shops are often family owned and support large families, Taxidermists to name a few off the top of my head. Many farmers and land owners lease out hunting land for big $ to hunting clubs to augment their income.

My comment stands. You're talking about very small bucks that support few people in few places.

I wasn't deflecting. If you want to inflate the effect of an activity with a minor, very small percentage of GDP effect, I was wondering about your concern about matters with large percentage consequences on GDP.

I wouldn't be surprised if the federal flood insurance system started redlining areas to exclude them from coverage.

Or this:

Using tax dollars to move whole communities out of flood zones, an idea long dismissed as radical, is swiftly becoming policy, marking a new and more disruptive phase of climate change...

This month, the Federal Emergency Management Agency detailed a new program, worth an initial $500 million, with billions more to come, designed to pay for large-scale relocation nationwide. The Department of Housing and Urban Development has started a similar $16 billion program. That followed a decision by the Army Corps of Engineers to start telling local officials that they must agree to force people out of their homes or forfeit federal money for flood-protection projects.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/26/climate/flooding-relocation-managed-retreat.html

haha, thanks bookwoman. I hadn't seen those articles but maybe I had seen something similar some time ago and that had planted the thought in my mind.

It's lunacy to insure and rebuild in areas that have predictable and recurring natural disasters. And when doing so causes costly, needless and avoidable distractions for our law enforcement and public protection services.

A little info on the beautiful state of Sportsman's Paradise:

https://thestockade.com/louisiana-is-truly-a-sportsmans-paradise (front pic is just gorgeous)

https://www.houmatoday.com/article/DA/20050201/News/608092787/HC

Fun vintage license plates:

https://www.15q.net/la.html

I love the state of Louisiana, I've never lived there but spent plenty of time working there - kind people, beautiful scenery and incredible food. RavenCajun, so sorry about the damage to your family through this and how sad that someone chose to use your post to be ugly.

I live in Lake Charles. I'm displaced, worried, I am a refugee in the great state of Texas for the forseable future. I'm Gobsmacked @ Elmer J Fudd comments. But, as my Grandmother always said, "Ugly is as ugly does." So, I'm not the least bit surprised a person that has never left his keyboard and visited our amazing state has so much knowledge he thinks he knows. Then to have the audacity to tell people to "Grow up!"

We will rebuild. We will be stronger than ever. Believe it or not the hunting and fishing will be better than ever too! So come and visit often. We welcome you!

Thank you all for the kind comments about our beautiful state of Louisiana.

RavenCajun, I'm so sorry to hear of your families loss.

I am a refugee in the great state of Texas for the forseable future.

What can we do to help?

Saying "a loss of hunting has a "major economic impact" can't have much going for it." denigrates the people who live there and depend on this source of income which was compromised.

Raven, I am sorry your family was impacted. I remember how awful you were impacted by river flooding.

I lived in Lake Charles 1987-1996 -- a Yankee transplant from OH. What people, like Elmer, who don't have a clue, and can't possibly know is, that most of these people have families who have lived there for generations. It's a very tight and close-knit community. (Even more so in Sulphur and Cameron. And Lafayette, where my dear Daughter-in-Law for 25 years and mother to my fantastic 4 Grandkids, was born and raised) For them to relocate would be like abandoning a family member. They know this is a way of life. Their ancestors lived this way of life before flood insurance and FEMA. Elmer, educate yourself about Acadiana and how the "Cajuns" were forced out of Canada and settled in Lafayette. MANY generations ago. There are many Cajuns in Lake Charles. Maybe visit the area. It is BEAUTIFUL. It is fiercely and proudly tied by ancestry. And you can get both Cajun and Creole food. Cajun is better IMHO.

Raven, I’m sorry to hear of your family’s losses. When you read that 150 people cannot be located, it is serious. I hope some have been found since I read that. The photos and video I saw yesterday were awful.

And riverrat1, I hope you will let us know more about your situation.

My situation is not nearly as dire as many others in Lake Charles and the surrounding area. In a natural disaster everyone is on the same level playing field. You can be wealthy or you can be poor. Everyone is in the same boat. No ice, no water, no electricity and no home to go to sleep at night. There are limited supplies and we all share what little we have then start all over the next day. Cell and internet service are spotty. We are luckier than most and try to help as much as we can while maintaining good mental health. It truly is a very sad and heartbreaking event. So many doing without. The elderly, that live at home, have really been impacted. That’s who we will help once we go home and have electricity and water. That may be many weeks. Maybe months. We have been staying with a very generous friend in Texas! We leave tomorrow for a small town B&B for the foreseeable future.
Please excuse any typos or grammatical errors. I’m typing on my phone and I’m used to using a pc.