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LuckyLib

(6,814 posts)
Tue Sep 26, 2017, 03:03 PM Sep 2017

Our allies need to start relief flights into Puerto Rico on a large scale.

Cargo planes with heavy equipment, generators, electrical supplies, building supplies, medical staff and equipment, water, food, furniture, and the personnel to help with rescue and rebuilding.

Wouldn't it be something to see Great Britain, France, Germany, Sweden, flying into PR in order to help and as a gesture of solidarity with struggling folks in the island areas so hard hit by hurricanes? And a not-so-subtle nod to the Dumpster in Chief who denies climate change?

11 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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DK504

(3,847 posts)
1. Remember the days when we used to be the 1st ones on scene?
Tue Sep 26, 2017, 03:05 PM
Sep 2017

Yeah, I'm having a hard time remembering that too.

Warpy

(110,913 posts)
2. Don't forget that a lot of the help would have come from Texas and Florida
Tue Sep 26, 2017, 03:21 PM
Sep 2017

and neither of those states is in a position to be much of a staging area right now.

Today is day 6. Yes, help is getting in, but when an area is this devastated, it's never enough and it never comes quickly enough.

Some heavy equipment has been brought in to clear roads of debris and repair the ones that are gone so that water, food and medicine can be delivered. As the roads are repaired, so will the power be repaired once crews can get to the damage.

Wounded Bear

(58,440 posts)
4. Well, once they get the airports open and running...
Tue Sep 26, 2017, 03:49 PM
Sep 2017

without power, radar and other tower related services are unavailable in most places.

I'm sure that assistance from other countries will come, but our engineers are just getting in clearing rubble from runways and things, opening roads and such.

FLPanhandle

(7,107 posts)
5. Ships not planes are key and they require operational ports.
Tue Sep 26, 2017, 03:52 PM
Sep 2017

Per the Coast Guard Admiral:

Federal officials say the reopening of ports is key to disaster recovery because ships can carry far more cargo than aircraft. Brown said air relief often has a more dramatic appearance, but ships are necessary for a humanitarian crisis of this scale.

“An island like Puerto Rico or St. Thomas is fed and supplied by the sea. Ultimately the mass of response is going to come by sea, and getting the ports open is the single best thing the Coast Guard can do to get Puerto Rico back on its feet,” said Brown, who as 7th District commander oversees operations in the islands.


Blue_Adept

(6,384 posts)
7. So many armchair directors of emergency response around these parts lately
Tue Sep 26, 2017, 03:55 PM
Sep 2017

Puerto Rico is somewhat unique in what needs to be done as what we do in Florida and Texas isn't the same. And resources are already hugely stretched because of those two efforts. Saying we need to do this and that, like it hasn't been thought of, says a lot. There are professionals that know what has to happen and how and there are limits and reasons why a lot of things don't happen "like they do in the movies."

FLPanhandle

(7,107 posts)
8. It's probably the same "evacuation experts" that were posting before the storms hit.
Tue Sep 26, 2017, 04:00 PM
Sep 2017

Of course, none of these armchair QB's has ever been through a major hurricane and it's aftermath.

I don't trust Trump, but I do respect the opinion of the Coast Guard and Emergency Response folks on the ground. They know this is a huge issue that can't be solved quickly.

Blue_Adept

(6,384 posts)
11. Exactly
Tue Sep 26, 2017, 04:13 PM
Sep 2017

"Just do A and B. How hard could it be?!"

Not realizing that the world is actually pretty complex and there are a lot of things that impact situations like this.

I'm on the same page, I don't trust Trump but the folks operating these things are ones that have been doing it for years and know what's involved. I even imagine the more problematic cabinet folks are just staying out of the way rather than getting involved and potentially taking blame for anything.

FLPanhandle

(7,107 posts)
10. Our allies have their own issues in the Caribbean.
Tue Sep 26, 2017, 04:03 PM
Sep 2017

St. Martin, British Virgin Islands, and many more.

Those places are also in bad shape.

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