Wilma madness

Human stupidity never ceases to amaze me. Let's see.

Hurricane comes and flood New Orleans, and the authorities are not ready to organise an efficient evacuation, so the hurricane kills hundreds (thousands?). A big part of the problem is misinformation: people don't know how serious this will get, and they don't ant to leave their houses. So far, it's OK. Bad but understandable.

Scarcely twomonths later another hurricane which is just as strong and dangerous goes to Florida. The authorities are a tiny little bit better prepared for an efficient evacuation, but hundreds (thousands?) are stranded and incommunicated and we don't know if dead or alive because they refuse to leave their homes. Lack of informations or means for evacuation are not a problem now. What the hmpf is going on? Is it something about being American that makes them prefer to die at home rather than evacuate or what?

I cannot simply say that Americans (some Americans) are idiots, but the truth is that I have never heard of anyone else in the world ever refusing to be evacuated for their own safety.