As much as I want to take a neutral side on this subject, I have to say that I don’t agree with scientists diverting hurricanes away from major cities if it dooms rural residents to certain destruction or death. The reason we have hurricane warnings is so people can prepare for it, not so scientists can move it in the direction of a nearby farm. Consider this: when you warn people in a major city about an oncoming hurricane, then you push it away to some rural area with a only a scant amount of people who weren’t warned about it, are you saving lives or taking them? The answer to that question is both because although you may be able to save a lot of lives in the major city that has been spared of the hurricane, you’re still taking the lives of those who weren’t warned about the hurricane being moved to their area. Granted, some people may notice the odd weather system required to make a hurricane happening in their area and try to do something to their house, but once the hurricane actually hits, it’s every family for themselves. Combined with a hurricane warning for the area the hurricane is being moved to, the opinion being stated here might actually turn out a little different, but if you warn only the area the hurricane was originally heading for you usually have many deaths on your hands. Besides the fact that various people in the rural areas will be killed, the scientists may also have to take into account that the city they just saved will be angry because they had a false alarm. It’s human nature that if someone goes to a lot of work to prepare for something, they’ll expect a decent result from it. If the result obtained, however, is worse than expected, the person will believe that they went through a lot of work for nothing. The same goes for moving hurricanes, in a way. When people take the precautions necessary to prepare for a hurricane, they will likely have spent a decent amount of money, and when they find out that the hurricane has been moved to pass over a rural area, they will likely be angry that they took those precautions for nothing because the hurricane was moved. All in all, it’s not a good idea to move a hurricane unless you hav e some idea to what it will pass over and what will happen if you do.
