I get that but in the end it'll be you and yours that suffer for it. As I stated in a previous response my sister had a brand new house built through the GLO from Congressionally appropriated funds. Nothing wrong with taking a government handout if, well let me put it this way...
No disaster response is going to be immediate. We have no power to stand in front of a flood, fire, tsunami, or earthquake and command it to stop. During and after a disaster, people will suffer. There's no way around it. The goal of prevention and preparation is to reduce the chances of that suffering before the hazard manifests. The goal of response is to deal with the hazard creating the disaster as quickly as possible and initiate response and recovery efforts as quickly as the hazard starts to diminish. In the case of Helene, as the waters recede, bridges are put in place, and roads are opened up. There are plans. Folks from all levels of government come together with NGOs and do table-top exercises to prepare for worst-case scenarios and test interagency coordination. Systems are built and put in place to deliver the basics needed for living and long-term assistance. Caches are stocked with the needed supplies. There are people who think about this stuff all the time, who plan for this all the time, who try to anticipate every conceivable twist and uncertainty. The best response--and we are seeing it now--is a combo of local, state, and federal actions supported by informal efforts from everyone else, ranging from local pet shelters to nonprofits to corporations. Government can't do it all and often lacks the local knowledge informal responders can bring. And as always, survivors are key players in the recovery not just for themselves, but for their community. McDonalds is providing free meals. Chef Andre's group is cooking for people. Private helicopters are being used. Charities are helping people meet their basic needs. Volunteer groups of chainsaw wielders are clearing roads and properties. Both the formal government response and the informal assistance are massive. For the record, I'm not a huge fan of FEMA. We either need to call it something else or give it the authority to do what people think it is supposed to do. The Stafford Act needs massive reform. We need to completely rethink much of what we do during disasters (and how we do it), including shelters and evacs. Our current emergency management systems are too confusing on good days and too easily misrepresented by bad actors. There's a lot more and we need help from academics and other serious folks to try and figure some of it out and to prepare for what's coming--cause we know we ain't seen nothing yet. The one constant is that the only entity large enough to deal with many aspects of a major disaster is the federal government and right now, FEMA is a big part of it. That doesn't mean they will move your equipment or stable your horse, but they will plan, coordinate, communicate, supply, and finance much of the response and recovery. In spite of the still needed policy reforms and the political lens Trump and Fox News want us to view this through, I can tell you Helene response is going better than expected and the lessons learned--both good and bad--will certainly be used to instruct and inform future emergency managers and responders. Again, that doesn't mean it is perfect or that suffering has completely ended. Right now, we're still in that purgatory between the disaster and being able to see recovery clearly. This was a major trauma for both individuals and society. It will take time--years--for anyone to even think that recovery is nearing completion. I am worried about Milton. There is not an infinite number of FEMA personnel, search and rescue units, utility workers, volunteers, and such. We need to carefully watch the work and numbers here as things are already overextended for Helene. The emergency management systems in this country are not nearly robust enough for what we have right now, much less for what is coming in future years. In some ways, Florida might be easier as the track is not as long and the topography not as steep, but population centers are larger and there will certainly be suffering and probably death. Like with Helene, it will take responders some time to get to everyone. Disasters are always political, but not in the sense we often use the word--more in the holistic sense of community action. Inserting hyper-partisanship and biases into the equation does nothing but convince survivors they can't get the assistance they are entitled to and makes it more difficult to address future disasters. (And for the record, I was not a first responder. I was one of the people called when the first responders were overwhelmed.)
Don’t get me wrong, sometimes the devil has to be bargained with. But trusting them to handle situations for the majority is something I can’t do. They’re crooks in my experience. If they can help some out, great. I want people to get help. Just don’t stop others from helping when you can’t.
Well said! I’m sorry if I offended you or if it came across that way. I agree with everything you just said.
Responding to a disaster is a multi-level massive effort. They can't prioritize everything visible for political reasons - they have to act in a way that helps saves lives and keeps people alive first and foremost.
Seems to be moving southward. Good for me. Good for Tampa. Hopefully it stays right where its at and doesn't go any further south.
LOL I am further down south (but in the east). Looks like we might be moving into the cone, possibly. Not too worried...yet. I'm all for it taking the path where it does the least damage to people. We have hurricane doors and windows and a 48 kw generator, and the gas tank is full (checked Generac app and Amerigas app). I am just grateful to my gardener still getting his team to our property today to take all the coconuts off the palm trees...we have about 10 of them, and we had the coconuts cut down earlier this year, but they were back already. I know it'll cost me, but these could have become rather dangerous projectiles. This, and paying a guy to help me get rid of the iguanas are problems I never anticipated having in my life, ever . Talking about which, weirdly, I haven't seen any iguanas in recent days. Maybe they have a sixth sense and know what's coming. Our kids are off school the next couple of days at least. So it will be harder to get much work done. One thing I regret is not having gotten Starlink as a backup to our fiber connection. I know fiber is below ground, but I don't know if there is a chance that the whole system breaks down. Gonna order a mobile starlink as a backup for the future. (I had an older version of Starlink in Germany, but never really needed it there.)
Anyway, good luck to everyone out there who might be in the path of this thing. I know we have a few Floridians on here. Also, lol @KingCheetah for being a little tattle teller. MOMMY!
