Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Need FEMA help? Live like a Caveman.
From the New York Times/AP, Caveman' Conditions in Texas Follow Rita:
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."...
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.
"There's always going to be those discombobulations, but the fact is, everyone is doing everything possible to restore power back to this area," [Texas Gov. Rick] Perry said.
