Preparations
In one downtown office building, more than a score of children of all ages had the time of their lives. Their parents—weary from putting their homes in order before going downtown—tried vainly to get them to sleep on desks softened by sofa cushions.
The Vidette-Messenger, October 06, 1941During the days before the storm's arrival in Florida, the Weather Bureau issued 40 tropical cyclone-related advisories. Extensive preparations that resulted in a low loss of life and property were attributed to the warnings. In southern Florida, residents boarded up homes and businesses, and sought shelter in large structures. Hurricane parties took place in bars and hotel rooms, while some residents sat in hotel lobbies, listening to radio broadcasts. In Miami, stores sold out of various essentials—including bread and butter—as people prepared for the storm. Evacuations were recommended from Homestead to Key West, and three Coast Guard planes dropped warnings to boats near the Florida coast. The Civilian Conservation Corps also evacuated 150 of its workers from West Summerland Key to Key West.
Local chapters of the American Red Cross organized first-aid stations and shelters; transportation was provided to those who were unable to reach the shelters. In advance of the storm, Pan American World Airways suspended flights departing from and arriving at Miami and redirected them to Havana, Cuba. The United States Navy also prepared its bases in the Florida Keys for the arrival of the storm by securing boats to piers and canceling all shore leaves, while the United States Army Air Corps moved its planes from Morrison Field to a safer location inland. The state of Florida stockpiled food for those affected by the storm, establishing depots in West Palm Beach, Miami, and Fort Myers, and the Governor of Florida, Spessard Holland, ordered state agencies to prepare for relief work. A detachment of officers from the Florida Highway Patrol was sent to Miami and patrolled along highways to provide gasoline to motorists evacuating the storm. The state also opened all of the school buildings in Dade County as emergency shelters.
Read more about this topic: 1941 Florida Hurricane
Famous quotes containing the word preparations:
“At the ramparts on the cliff near the old Parliament House I counted twenty-four thirty-two-pounders in a row, pointed over the harbor, with their balls piled pyramid-wise between them,—there are said to be in all about one hundred and eighty guns mounted at Quebec,—all which were faithfully kept dusted by officials, in accordance with the motto, “In time of peace prepare for war”; but I saw no preparations for peace: she was plainly an uninvited guest.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The most evident difference between man and animals is this: the beast, in as much as it is largely motivated by the senses and with little perception of the past or future, lives only for the present. But man, because he is endowed with reason by which he is able to perceive relationships, sees the causes of things, understands the reciprocal nature of cause and effect, makes analogies, easily surveys the whole course of his life, and makes the necessary preparations for its conduct.”
—Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 B.C.)
“Whatever may be the reason, whether it was that Hitler thought he might get away with what he had got without fighting for it, or whether it was that after all the preparations were not sufficiently complete—however, one thing is certain: he missed the bus.”
—Neville Chamberlain (1869–1940)