This article is definitely out of the ordinary for me because it’s not about cats and dogs being rescued. Except it actually IS about cats and dogs (and other pets) being rescued. The fact is, Houston residents actually had some warning about the historic storm and it came in the form of the Facebook post below.
Rebecca’s post was dismissed as ‘fake news.” Houston mayor Sylvester Turner issued a statement saying:
“False forecasts and irresponsible rumors on social media are interfering with efforts by the city of Houston, and its government and news media partners, to provide accurate information to the public about the expected effects of Tropical Storm/Hurricane Harvey.
All residents of Houston and surrounding areas should rely solely on proven information sources, including the National Weather Service and the city Office of Emergency Management, to decide how to prepare for the heavy rainfall expected here.
No evacuation orders have been issued for the city and none is being considered.
Please continue to monitor mainstream news sources for updates on the weather and act accordingly as an informed resident. Rumors are nothing new, but the widespread use of social media has needlessly frightened many people today.
You cannot put, in the city of Houston, 2.3 million people on the road. That is dangerous. When you combine Houston and Harris County, you literally cannot put 6.5 million people on the road.”
From what I’ve read on posts saying Rebecca was spot on and the mayor was tragically wrong, Rebecca was in some way forced to apologize for her post (I’m not sure exactly where I read that). Just seeing her own name across Twitter was demeaning. I wonder whether she can sue for defamation of character?
She’s taken down her Facebook page and people are begging her to reinstate it so she can be thanked for the many lives she saved.
Michael posted the tragic story of a young man who died trying to save his sister’s purebred Maine Coon cat (this story is a must-read if you have metal parts in your body). Would he still be alive if the sister had seen Rebecca’s post and left the Houston area before the storm made impact?
Which brings us to the point of whether Facebook posts should be taken seriously in a time of extreme crisis. Would those of you reading this article leave your area if you viewed a similar post?
What I’d also like to know is did anyone evacuate with their pets due to Rebecca’s post? She needs a proper ‘thank you’ by anyone who left the area because she was brave enough to put such a controversial post on her Facebook wall.
Your comments on any of this are welcome. To find more articles on Rebecca and this topic simply Google her name.
Elisa
I don’t believe it was ever fake news. Attorneys are usually friends with politicians and I believe her when she said one of the attorneys she works for got the news and she sincerely wanted to warn her friends in the Houston area and made the post knowing it would be shared on social media.
Mayor Turner needs impeached and hung at the ole hanging tree. I heard he deliberately did not evacuate as to make a more difficult situation for Trump to deal with , it was mentioned one of the news networks, he denied of course , knowing they are sitting on 20 SUPERFUND SITES , knowing 2 dams / levees built in the 40’s were 2 of the top 6 classified as the worst in the nation were ready to breach before a hurricane, knowing when they lost power { hurricanes always create loss of power} , the tremendous amount of toxic chemical companies residing in Houston and surrounding coastal towns will release catastrophic amounts of deadly toxic releases both air and water, knowing the clay soil would not allow drainage causing catastrophic flooding , knowing good and well there was plenty of time to evacuate, we do it here in fl all the time, evacuate the islands first then lg cities after and traffic flows fine.It seems Turner took it upon himself to enact his version of population control. Turner has blood on his hands.Impeach and prosecute Mayor Turner ASAP.
Interesting story. A example of fake news created with supposedly good intentions but which might and probably did backfire. To deliberately understate the dangers is to endanger the lives of people and their pets.
I would always tell the truth. Give a full unvarnished warning and tell people how to deal with it and trust people to be sensible. That is the only way for me.
BTW, God bless you, Rebecca, for your courage to post the warning. I would really be surprised if there aren’t a lot of lawsuits against the city of Houston.