Hi

Please help me to understand the news article given below. My comments are in blue and questions in red. Thank you very much for your help and your time.

The cost of hurricane hype is less than the price of failure (I think the writer here sarcastically calls the Irene "hurricane hype", and in his/her view the damage it caused is not too much)

When it comes to Hurricane Irene, reportedly (as is being reported) the most menacing (dangerous, threatening) storm to hit the East Coast of the United States in years, the overall consensus is the old idiom, “better safe than sorry.” (the idiom says that one should take all the precaution as possible rather than regretting later)




The idea of a massive storm poised to deluge (flood) densely populated metropolitan areas such as Washington, Philadelphia, New York and Boston has instilled in local residents a palpable (which can be felt, perceptible) and not undeserved fear (not deserved, not merited, not justified; I think the writer is of the opinion that the fear is justified because in fact this is true that anything is possible) that anything is possible.

Even as reports at press time (time at which a publication, especially a newspaper, is submitted for printing) indicate that Irene had weakened from a Category 3 storm to Category 1 (category 3 storm is more intense than category 1) in certain states like North Carolina, the people are prepared. Millions — those not among the 2.5 million forced to evacuate, that is — have cabinets (a case or cupboard usually having doors and shelves) full of food and boarded-up windows (windows shielded by boards), with some writing on the wooden boards cheeky (rude in an amusing or an annoying way) messages taunting (reproach, rebuke) and cursing the hurricane's arrival.

The city mandate (order, directive) to evacuate residents living along the Eastern Seaboard, as New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg had done to low-laying areas (areas which lie at less altitude than the adjacent land), only adds to the seriousness. Even the mass transit systems of the regions have halted circulation pending (while awaiting) Irene's arrival for fear of underground flooding. An 11-foot storm surge (storm surge is an offshore rise of water associated with a low pressure weather system, these surges are caused primarily by high winds pushing on the ocean's surface) is expected in North Carolina while New York City is projected to see at least 10 inches of rain.

Understandably, hurricanes are an unfamiliar threat to northern United States, but you know things are grave when your own president announces that “all indications point to this being a historic hurricane.”

After all, the nation, which recently hit its debt ceiling (the maximum amount of money which the government could borrow), cannot afford another Hurricane Katrina. Nor can it appear as if nothing is learned from the deadly Nashville flooding and Alabama storms. Not to mention, from international disasters such as the devastating Japan tsunami on March 11. Truly, we have arrived at a time when Mother Earth is at her most temperamental and erratic, inflicted by this illness known as “global warming” and suffering from severe symptoms of “climate change.” (I would have written something like "at her most temperamental and erratic behavior". what is your opinion?)

Perusing (carefully examining) the comments on news blogs and websites will yield conversations that are simultaneously excited, scared, sarcastic (a way of using words that are the opposite of what you mean in order to be unpleasant to somebody or to make fun of them) and annoyed, but overall unified in addressing an impending disaster. What is startling (frightening or surprising) is the personification of Irene; aside from spawning (giving rise to) jokes from news broadcasters and comedians (who compare her to a “bad date”) (why do they compare her to "bad date"?), the fact that a storm that has not yet arrived can manifest as a target of hate and annoyance, evoking such strong emotions, is an indicator of a people refusing to be vulnerable and taking control under circumstances outside their control. (I couldn't understand the underlined parts. Please help me.)




This spirit is actually one of the most uplifting things about the entire situation. Just as the Japanese exhibited admirable stoicism (the fact of not complaining or showing what you are feeling when you are suffering) in dealing with the aftermath of the tsunami, the Americans have flaunted their trademark outspokenness and can-do attitude (Is the use of use word "flaunted" correct here? "flaunted" has a trace of arrogance in its meaning; in other words it has negative connotations. And what does "outspokenness" of Americans have to do in this context?), a trait that has rallied (to muster for a common purpose) them together, preparing for a war against the forces of nature. Let it not go unsaid that the East Coast is also home to liberal Democrats comfortable harping on (to dwell on or recur to a subject tiresomely or monotonously) the effects of global warming. Of course they will make noise — and a good, rallying (what does "rallying" mean in this context?) cry of noise at that.

What can the typhoon-plagued Taiwan, which has already made great strides (advances, progress) since the havoc wreaked by 2009's Typhoon Morakot, learn from this? We have the national alerts, the evacuation and the prevention methods down ("down" means 'used to indicate thoroughness or completion', am I correct?). What we are missing is the fighting spirit; the idea that we can overcome even the most severe typhoon, and that the typhoon is the enemy and not an annual annoyance we have to put up with, which can effectively decrease our resistance to reports of its severity (what does the underlined part mean?) . Instead, there is fear-mongering ("Fear mongering" is the use of fear to influence the opinions and actions of others towards some specific end) on the news and complaints about insufficient government support aiming to transform a natural disaster into a divisive political talking point (a subject that is talked about or discussed by many people).

So even if Irene proves not to be a “historic hurricane,” there is no need to mock the hype leading up to it. No reason to belittle a region reacting to something we encounter all the time (I find the use of the underlined phrase a little sarcastic, do you also find it that way?). After all, the cost of prevention is still much lower than the price of being sorry.

Source: http://www.chinapost.com.tw/editorial/world-issues/2011/08/29/314808/The-cost.htm