re: #124 RadicalModerate

One question for these “libertarian” idiots.

How many people would have likely died if there was no federal infrastructure (NOAA, FEMA, ACoE, among other fed agencies) in place to warn and coordinate evacuation, and reduce damage levels of high-risk areas? Even though this storm wasn’t as bad as it could have been due to a couple lucky breaks (brush with NC coastline and cold front arriving right at NY/NJ landfall point), it was strong enough to have caused significant loss of life.

That’s exactly it. So far 18 people have died. What would have been the death toll had we not had this infrastructure? No doubt it would have been considerably higher. The deaths from Irene will likely rise.

The 1938 hurricane led to somewhere around 700 to 800 deaths.