I thought you might appreciate the point of view of someone who is actually involved in the hurricane situation. We live in southwestern Alabama. We have had an incredible amount of damage here, too, although not on the massive scale you're seeing on television.
Every year, on June 1st or thereabouts, we get the checklist of things to get together for hurricane season. It's in the paper, it's on TV. Every year, over and over, and over. It's not like these things just sneak up on us. We're reminded EVERY Year what to do, how to prepare. Plywood, masking tape, etc. Bottled water, batteries, flashlights, medicine, non perishable food, diapers, formula, etc . The list goes on and on. When it looks like a hurricane is heading this way, we're reminded again. We go out and get all this stuff and hope for the best. Sometimes we need it, more often not. We have been affected by Ivan, Arlene, Cindy, Dennis, and Katrina just since last September. I mean right here in Alabama, not florida and not mississippi, although they were also hit hard, especially the florida panhandle. Each time, we gather the supplies, board up the windows, and in some cases, we evacuate. Not everyone can afford to do that. Thousands of people go to shelters, and they are told to bring food, water, diapers, formula, medicine, and enough supplies for each person in their group to last at least 5 days.
After the storm passes, the cleanup begins. Please, please understand that it's not possible to reach people, sometimes for days. And I mean under "normal" post hurricane conditions. There are trees on houses, across driveways, we get blocked in our homes, live power lines cross roads, houses, cars. There are no phones, no power, no supplies, no gasoline. Think about it. An average hurricane is devastating enough. What has just happened is so overwhelming that you cannot begin to fathom it as you sit and watch it on your television.
Relief efforts are coming.In some cases they are already on the ground. But you have to understand that they cannot get to us. It is not humanly possible. It's not physically possible. We are eating out of cans--the supplies we were TOLD to stock up on, which we did. We are using our coleman stoves and our grills or in some cases, eating dry cereal out of the box. New orleans has been warned for 40 years what would happen if a cat 4 or 5 hurricane hit. No one could prepare for a disaster on this scale. We have spent days clearing debris from our homes and yards, off our houses. It is a long, slow, drawn out process even in the best of circumstances. But People have to take a little responsibility for sustaining themselves for the first few days.
