Following Andrew, FEMA was on the scene within 2 days. Then, (under Bush, I have to add) FEMA was moved to Homeland Security and a man who had spent his career planning for Horses took over. Suddenly FEMA had no power, and no leadership. Moving FEMA under Homeland Security was by far one of the most idiotic moves ever. The order to help couldn’t just come from FEMA, it had to be channeled through Homeland Security. Natural disasters are NOT Homeland Security’s jurisdiction, so they were unprepared. They were prepared for bombings or chemical warfare. IMHO someone is finally NOT waiting for someone above their heads to give approval and making real plans to really help people. That’s a good thing.
As far as being prepared? You can store everything you want. We are told to have enough for 3 days. You CANNOT plan for lift stations to be down- (our sewage backed up for a month) gas stations to be closed- perishables to be unavailable after several days. Babies need formula, people need ice, etc. FEMA used to be the ones that came in with the trucks and supplies that you couldn’t stock up on.
They sent the Army Corp of Engineers to put tarps on homes that owners were unable to do themselves. They brought in trailers for people who’s homes were condemned and insurance only pays for 30 days loss of use.
Of course, that was Andrew. During Frances, Jeanne, and Wilma, ice was in short supply, trailers never arrived, tarps took months to find their way to S Fla. But we had an offer for TONS of gas masks. LOL.
Hopefully this is a sign that when we have the next catastrophe, someone won’t say “Having dinner, leave a message.”
Just a thought Cal Girl, perhaps the Fed is spending more for the St Louis area because they have done virtually no planning in the past?? Whereas Cal has some level of planning already in place for both NoCal and SoCal??
The New Madrid EQ zone is talked about but I don’t believe anyone in Gov’t has taken a major event seriously….
Are the states prepared for a disaster?? Why is it the fed’s responsibility? The states should be prepared to deal with the risks in their area. I can understand the feds helping with low interest loans for recovery and the like, but the states should have plans and be prepared to deal with disasters. I know this may sound harsh to some, and I hate to go back to Katrina, but unlike FL, who seems to be prepared for hurricanes, the NO and LA governments were totally unprepared and just stood there with their hands out expecting the feds to handle everything, and the fed’s were unfairly blamed.
I recall when I was much younger and there was severe flooding in my area that the state and local government handled the disaster relief. All the feds did was declare the area a disaster area, which qualified us for low interest loans to clean up and rebuild. People accepted more responsibility back then, unlike now when they believe they are entitled to more.
The 10th Amendment to the Constitution reads: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.”
There is no federal authority for handing out money to the states (“disaster areas”), or to individuals (food stamps, welfare, subsidized housing, etc). But don’t expect the Constitution to get in the way of do-gooders out to buy votes.
Chilly, there’s no constitutional authority for most of what we ask the Feds to do; why stop now. And this is something that actually helps. If the states aren’t doing it, at least the feds will have something in place. Hopefully these plans will be good, help keep peoples’ lives from being completely destroyed and keep costs down.
Maybe FEMA can charge a portion of the work back to the states. Would that make you feel better?
They already charge the states. It’s called taxes. So long as the feds do what the states should be doing, the states will let them since it doesn’t appear on the states’ budgets. Three-card Monty, anyone?
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It’s there about 7 back behind Duke
and by the way-we may have an ice or snow storm and lose power for a number of hours or days IN THE NEXT 6 MONTHS AND I’m preparing now !
That So. Cal did not get any funding, but will in the future.
Following Andrew, FEMA was on the scene within 2 days. Then, (under Bush, I have to add) FEMA was moved to Homeland Security and a man who had spent his career planning for Horses took over. Suddenly FEMA had no power, and no leadership. Moving FEMA under Homeland Security was by far one of the most idiotic moves ever. The order to help couldn’t just come from FEMA, it had to be channeled through Homeland Security. Natural disasters are NOT Homeland Security’s jurisdiction, so they were unprepared. They were prepared for bombings or chemical warfare. IMHO someone is finally NOT waiting for someone above their heads to give approval and making real plans to really help people. That’s a good thing.
As far as being prepared? You can store everything you want. We are told to have enough for 3 days. You CANNOT plan for lift stations to be down- (our sewage backed up for a month) gas stations to be closed- perishables to be unavailable after several days. Babies need formula, people need ice, etc. FEMA used to be the ones that came in with the trucks and supplies that you couldn’t stock up on.
They sent the Army Corp of Engineers to put tarps on homes that owners were unable to do themselves. They brought in trailers for people who’s homes were condemned and insurance only pays for 30 days loss of use.
Of course, that was Andrew. During Frances, Jeanne, and Wilma, ice was in short supply, trailers never arrived, tarps took months to find their way to S Fla. But we had an offer for TONS of gas masks. LOL.
Hopefully this is a sign that when we have the next catastrophe, someone won’t say “Having dinner, leave a message.”
Just a thought Cal Girl, perhaps the Fed is spending more for the St Louis area because they have done virtually no planning in the past?? Whereas Cal has some level of planning already in place for both NoCal and SoCal??
The New Madrid EQ zone is talked about but I don’t believe anyone in Gov’t has taken a major event seriously….
Are the states prepared for a disaster?? Why is it the fed’s responsibility? The states should be prepared to deal with the risks in their area. I can understand the feds helping with low interest loans for recovery and the like, but the states should have plans and be prepared to deal with disasters. I know this may sound harsh to some, and I hate to go back to Katrina, but unlike FL, who seems to be prepared for hurricanes, the NO and LA governments were totally unprepared and just stood there with their hands out expecting the feds to handle everything, and the fed’s were unfairly blamed.
I recall when I was much younger and there was severe flooding in my area that the state and local government handled the disaster relief. All the feds did was declare the area a disaster area, which qualified us for low interest loans to clean up and rebuild. People accepted more responsibility back then, unlike now when they believe they are entitled to more.
The 10th Amendment to the Constitution reads: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.”
There is no federal authority for handing out money to the states (“disaster areas”), or to individuals (food stamps, welfare, subsidized housing, etc). But don’t expect the Constitution to get in the way of do-gooders out to buy votes.
Chilly, there’s no constitutional authority for most of what we ask the Feds to do; why stop now. And this is something that actually helps. If the states aren’t doing it, at least the feds will have something in place. Hopefully these plans will be good, help keep peoples’ lives from being completely destroyed and keep costs down.
Maybe FEMA can charge a portion of the work back to the states. Would that make you feel better?
They already charge the states. It’s called taxes. So long as the feds do what the states should be doing, the states will let them since it doesn’t appear on the states’ budgets. Three-card Monty, anyone?