When the Red River flooded last March the folks from FEMA were putting huge pressure on the authorities to evacuate Fargo, ND. The mayor of Fargo responded that the people could not be evacuated because they were needed to fight the flood; filling sandbags, making dikes etc. Those volunteers, particularly the thousands of college and high school students made the difference and saved the city. Nobody sat on the curb and waited for the government to come in and save the day. The most effective government in this emergency was the one closest to the disaster, the city. They had a plan in place, implemented the plan and saved Fargo with the help of thousands of volunteers and the North Dakota National Guard. I hope FEMA took good notes.
On August 17th and 18th in 2007 my area of southeast Minnesota received 24 inches of rain in 24 hours. There were horrible flash floods, mudslides and water damage. Entire communities were under water, people lost their homes, and roads, bridges and dams were washed out. A number of people lost their lives.
Early on the morning of Sunday, August 19th you could hear chain saws, tractors and end loaders. The volunteer firemen and neighbors went door to door to check on people. Within hours the mudslides had been pushed off the roads by both the county workers and local citizens. Local volunteers set up several shelters in city buildings and schools to house the displaced. By the time the governor came down to inspect the worst of the ordeal was over.
Real Americans are cooperative, tough, resilient and resourceful. They don't wait for help from the state or from FEMA. And they surely don't sit on their dead kiesters complaining.