More from Mexico

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Everything is back to normal in Merida as I can see on my little north end of town. I have heard from my friend in Veracruz and all is well on that end.

The Diario de Yucatan, http://www.yucatan.com.mx/, reports this morning that there is a preliminary official count of 10 dead across Mexico because of Dean, but that those who passed away prior to, during and after that are attributed to various 'points' as they call them are not considered in the count. A fall from an upper portion of a house, an overturned car, a falling limb during cleanup, an electrocution of a home owner trying to repair a damaged line, a drowning by one who ignored safety personnel, etc. Storm didn't actually cause the deaths.

Article continues on to say that all was not bad news, that at least 12 babies were born in hospitals in Quintana Roo and at least 4 in homes during the storm.

Agriculture was hit hard and evaluations of damage are not quite complete. Impact was minimized by some degree by the fact that many fields were harvested or not yet seeded.

Now, back to the non count of dead not specifically as a result of the hurricane per se.

This has worried by brain all day. I am of two minds of whether or not they should be counted.

One part of me says yes, they were preparing for, running from and/or trying to secure, fix, recover from the deadly storm.

Then the second part kicks in. Friends, the Yucatan and Mexico had plenty of time to get ready for this storm.

The elderly (as reported in the newspaper) gentleman that apparently fell from an upper story of his house while securing his windows, seemingly would have gone through this before and didn't live to be an elder by being careless. He just was this time. Hurricanes are not unusual to this part of the world and I read somewhere that hurricanes strike the Yucatan every 2 point something years. (Whatever article I was reading at the time mentioned that Texas is struck every 3 point something years.)

The flipped car that killed a child had to be going a little fast to flip. Even fleeing from a storm, speed is not safe.

And on and on in my mind.

Mexico is not without a government of safety rules and precautions. They have many, many laws as in the US OSHA rules. These being for businesses of course, but their governmental websites, newscasts, radio casts and billboards do alert citizens of hazards, unsafe actions and preventions of same. Even if citizens themselves do not have TVs, radios or vehicles, they are on buses and corner markets / stores do have the video and audio on for the neighborhoods.

Our US hurricanes in 2005 claimed many lives. If the headcount did not use those that simply were tardy in preparing, stupid during the most dangerous periods or careless in recovery, how many lives were actually claimed by the storms?

Southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana, in particular, are a large population of blue collar, refinery / plant / construction workers who are constantly bombarded with safety rules, classes, meetings and personnel who intently monitor and reinforce these rules. I know because I have worked in this field of blue collar workers for many, many years. Just so happens that I had taken a temporary non construction job in the Yucatan at the time of Hurricane Dean.

The industries mentioned above in the US stress the importance of taking these safety rules home to your family and adhering to them, all for the purpose of being able to COME home to your family each day and to be able to COME to work uninjured to perform your duties to ensure an income for your FAMILY.

Personally I understand why these people (or any other community) evacuates at the last minute. We in southeast Texas do the same. Most wait until the officials tell us to GIT! Some of the reasons for waiting til the last minute: Not sure where to go, for how long, is the storm actually going to strike where we are, the money involved that is not in the budget for an escape or vacation, the home preparation to make sure you may have one when you get back, lack of transportation, your poor pets, and many more seeming valid reasons for delay. Then there was a big one for me in 2005. Panic. A quiet, only inside my heart and head, pure panic.

I am so thankful that Hurricane Dean wasn't as devastating as he could have been. I wish all well, a speedy recovery and wish I was a genius that could determine a way to tame nature. I'm not.

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