This is so stereotypical!!
Posted on 09/27/2005 4:41:12 PM PDT by anymouse
PORT ARTHUR, Texas - Nearly four days after Hurricane Rita hit, many of the storm's sweltering victims along the Texas Gulf Coast were still waiting for electricity, gasoline, water and other relief Tuesday, prompting one top emergency official to complain that people are "living like cavemen."
In the hard-hit refinery towns of Port Arthur and Beaumont, crews struggled to cross debris-clogged streets to deliver generators and water to people stranded by Rita. They predicted it could be a month before power is restored, and said water and sewer systems could not function until more generators arrived.
Red tape was also blamed for the delays.
Port Arthur Mayor Oscar Ortiz, whose own home was destroyed by fire after the hurricane, said "we've had 101 promises" for aid, "but it's all bureaucracy." He and other officials gathered at a hotel-turned-command center, where a dirty American flag found among hurricane debris was hung on the wall.
John Owens, emergency management coordinator and deputy police chief in the town of 57,000, said pleas for state and federal relief were met with requests for paperwork.
"We have been living like cavemen, sleeping in cars, doing bodily functions outside," he said.
Temperatures climbed into the upper 90s, and officials worried that swarms of mosquitoes might spread disease.
In Beaumont, officials briefed President Bush, Texas Gov. Rick Perry at his side, on relief efforts. Perry cautioned against criticism.
"There's always going to be those discombobulations, but the fact is, everyone is doing everything possible to restore power back to this area," Perry said.
About 476,000 people remained without electricity in Texas, in addition to around 285,000 in Louisiana. About 15,000 out-of-state utility workers were being brought to the region to help restore power.
Residents of some hard-hit towns were allowed to check on their homes but were not allowed to stay because of a lack of generators and ice.
About 2,000 Port Arthur residents who stayed through the storm were advised to find other places to live until utilities are restored. Ortiz said it could be two weeks before people are allowed back into Port Arthur.
After seeing a swarm of ravenous mosquitoes around his storm-battered home in Vidor, Harry Smith and his family decided to leave. They hitchhiked 10 miles to an emergency staging area and got on a bus to San Antonio.
"It can't be any worse than here," said Smith, 49, a pipefitter. "This is the worst storm I've seen in the 46 years I've lived here."
In Louisiana, Calcasieu Parish Police Jury President Hal McMillin said residents who come back would be without air conditioning, and risk insect bites and the mosquito-borne West Nile virus. A mandatory evacuation remained in effect for 10 southwestern Louisiana parishes.
"There's a good chance we could have an outbreak or something," McMillin said.
There were some signs of hope. In a Port Arthur neighborhood not far from a grocery store that reeked of rotten food, three Federal Emergency Management Agency semitrailers delivered ice, ready-to-eat meals and water.
"Without these trucks here, I don't think we would have made it," said Lee Smith, 50.
In Orange, people converged in cars and trucks outside a shopping strip for water, food and ice supplied by the private disaster group the Compassion Alliance.
"I know it's going to take some time, but we really appreciate this," Dorothy Landry, 66, said after waiting in the line. "I can't thank them enough."
Excuse me if I'm wrong, but I just didn't hear all this whining coming from Floridians last year. Some went without electricity for months...some in Charlotte county still have their houses half repaired, and some are still living in FEMA trailers.
Why all the whining this season as opposed to last?
I remember learning about Neanderthals in Buicks in high school.
Real Cavemen don't whine.
remember learning about Neanderthals in Buicks in high school.
3 posted on 09/27/2005 4:51:05 PM PDT by pa mom
>>>>>>>>>>>
LOL.
GEICO should be one of the first insurers there if that's the case...
.....and "Cadillac Cro-Magnons"
This is so stereotypical!!
When he got tired of dancing alone, he'd look in the mirror: "Gotta find a woman gotta find a woman gotta find a woman gotta find a woman".
Arent these the same idiots that were claiming 10,000
deaths, & many rapes in the Super Dome, etc.??
My son lived for 10 days in 100 plus degree heat without electricity at the BSA Jamboree and they survived fine. Used porta potties. I am sure that people can use something like a chamber pot for solid waste. People have lived for thousands of years without eletricity. What is with these people?They should get their own generators and spray for mosquitos and used gas stoves to cook on.
Why do they need others to get these items for them. If they can transport by boat or road, they can these items.
Many people do not use AC and live fine.
We had a snow storm not that awful long ago where folks didn't have power for a month in the middle of winter. No whining no reporters either.
So, yup, I understand.
Cave ping!
Cavemen are hot!
Actually..That's how i think of nights, inside,
during long power outages...."CaveLand"...
..Wish i could afford one of those big
Home Standby 25KW generators that are
wired right into the home circut panel,
and are powered by the house gas main, or
an LP tank....But those sucker cost at least
$10,000...and then you have to pay for
installation, and the automatic switchover
wiring.
Ahhh well...maybe i'll just buy myself another
Xantrex unit....Or scrape together for a
portable(hah) 5KW gasoline engine Generator...
Speaking of which...i wonder why these portable
generators all have such small feeder tanks..i
mean really, if you're getting a generator thats
in the 5KW range, you'd think they'd make them
with tanks that would hold enough fuel for
8 to 12 hours..or at least develop a way to add/access
a second feeder tank, so that the person filling
g the unit could get a full nights sleep.
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