FEMA flew in water to Tampa last night, day 4 after Charley hit.

[madfloridian]

This was on the local news last night. Not day 2 or 3, but Tuesday....after the storm hit last Friday.

There appears to be very little gas available.

Our local paper is filled with calls to help those who still need basics. Seniors are running out of medicine. I know, I know, someone could say oh they should have more on hand.....you can't do that if you have drug insurance....they will not let you stock up.

The site is nearly crashing with hits now, but later check out the coverage:
www.theledger.com

[donsu]

1. the water should have been there before the storm hit

everyone on earth knows WATER is the first necessity after hurricane damage.

when I say 'there' I mean to the side of the storm path but near enough to get there quickly.

[Nordic]

2. but hey, the Iraqi soccer team is in Athens!

So all's well in America, no?

:eyes:

[madfloridian]

3. Kick for FEMA sending water 5 days late.

Let's keep this issue going. It will affect other areas of crisis as well.

[PopSixSquish]

4. Anecdote from Southwest Florida

My stepmother works for a company which lost some of its offices in the hurricane area. The company already had trucks with supplies for the employees ready to go and they've been handing stuff out and cleaning up the offices.

Late yesterday afternoon, an extremely frail elderly couple drove up to one of the offices. My stepmother said they were so frail, that she's not even sure how they manage to get around. They were crying from hunger and had not been able to get any help.

The company folks fixed them a meal and loaded their car up with a case of water and MREs. That shook my stepmother to her core. I'm getting choked up just typing this. She got home last night and just sat for a long time, not saying anything.

This is just too heartbreaking for words.

[madfloridian]

5. It is heartbreaking. How much did FEMA fall down on the job?

The national news is just not covering it much now, and no one is talking about FEMA cuts.

[TheCentepedeShoes]

6. Sounds like your stepmother

works for some really smart and kind folks. They got prepared ahead of the storm and are generous to those in need. :)