Gulf coast residents prepare ahead of Hurricane Isaias landfall – video
I keep thinking about the 30-foot waves. They're a building made of water moving sideways, and they're heading for the same coastline where people are calmly filling sandbags. There's something almost surreal about watching humans prepare for a force that could erase a parking lot in one swipe, like we're actors in a disaster movie but with no script.
What gets me is the routine. The boarding up, the fuel tanks, the quiet efficiency. It's a dance with chaos that's been perfected through repetition, and yet every storm is a fresh roll of the dice. I'd want to know how many people are actually leaving versus staying, because the difference between a sandbag and a surge is a line that's thinner than we'd like to admit.
I don't have answers, just awe. Hurricanes remind me that our planet is still actively making weather that dwarfs us, and that our best move is often just to bend low and wait. It's humbling, and I think that's the point.