On Monday October 24, 2006 South Florida was hit by a hurricane. Hurricane Wilma hit with all the force of her fictional son-in law Bam Bam.
To the residents of South Florida, hurricane preparedness is "old hat". Or is it?
As usual, we were warned by the local metereologists to be prepared with the basics of at least 3 days of water, batteries, nonperishable food and of course a manual can opener.
While hurricanes are not new to the residents of South Florida, the timing of this one was definitely different. Hurricanes usually occur for us in August or September.
Could this difference be the reason why so many residents were caught unawares?
However, this different timing was a blessing in disguise. The weather was much less humid and much cooler right after Wilma's landing. Temperatures ranging from 50s to 70s were well appreciated by South Floridians since according to Florida Power & Light, well over 90% of their customers (Palm Beach South to Dade County) lost power.
The Florida Keys, since they have their own utilities were not included in this count, but the numbers were high there...plus they had to deal with floods.
Wilma departed from the dance at approximately 1 pm. Before one could say Bam Bam [yes...more Flintstone references], the citizens of S. Fla were clamoring for ice, water & MREs [meals ready to eat...ah the education that I received this year has been incredible!]. Not to mention gasoline.
Now, let's do the math on this. We were all warned to get supplies ready for at least 3 days of survival. From the descriptions that I heard on the radio, & pictures that I saw via the newspapers as well as with my own eyes when I ventured out, these were NOT handicapped, or destitute folks.
These were able bodied folks driving vehicles ranging from Toyotas, Lexus, Hondas, Fords, etc etc.
These same folks were clamoring for the heads of FEMA to roll. Now, anyone that has ever dealt with the government knows that there is always a heck of a lot of red tape with anything. Not to mention the logistics of storing all those trucks before Wilma arrived and then moving them into place.
I am in no way removing blame from FEMA...yes..they do need to have a better system. What should it be? I don't know...I don't get paid the big bucks to figure that out.
HOWEVER, as an able bodied person, I do know that I have to deal with my personal responsibility. Ah yes.... we do have to be somewhat responsible for our own well being. No...the government cannot possibly account for the well being of all of its citizens...not in a timely manner.
In my way of thinking [and some may disagree], those who can...should be responsible. No, its not going to be the most comfortable way to be. I like electricity and warm meals like everyone else. Don't even get me started on ice cold water...ah the nectar of the Gods!
So bottom line? Yes, FEMA was not perfect. But neither were the citizens of S. Fla.
Why the hardline? There were citizens that could not take care of their basic needs and they were shafted out of the assistance [at least initially] because of all of the traffic on the road of folks hunting down gasoline, ice, water and batteries.
The trucks [both FEMA & local] when they were finally situated were bombarded with able bodied folks demanding assistance less than 24 hours after Wilma left the dance.
I'm hoping that the next storm [and yes, we in S. FLA know there will be others], will come and see us [this includes FEMA] better prepared.
