Don't depend on government to bail you out

[flowerseverywhere]

One interesting thing about the recent disasters is amazing. That is people who ignore evacuation orders then call 911 for help. People who knew a category 5 was coming and less than a week later are out of food and water.
In my area they opened shelters. When the storm took a turn for the worse they opened more schools as shelters. People complained there were no beds. Seriously. The schools had food, water, generators and were safe. Someone complained that pet friendly shelters required pets to be in crates.

In these giant disasters officials do their best but how about personal responsibility? Granted many elderly and disabled need help. Some are poor. Some mentally illl. But reading news reports astonishes me.

[bae]

I think people overestimate the amount of outside help that is available, and underestimate the logistics involved in delivering it.

Perhaps they watch too many disaster movies?

If Something Big Happens, you may well be on your own for weeks. Or longer. When the Cascadia Fault lets go here in the Pacific NW, it's not going to be pretty.

[flowerseverywhere]

Plus FEMA does not replace your house. You might get emergency aid but it is your responsibility to have the right insurance. I think the average assistance to people who lost everything has been under $10,000. There are very strict limits how much help you can get.

[bae]

Plus FEMA does not replace your house.

I also don't think people understand what FEMA really is. The key is in their name: Federal Emergency Management Agency. Their mission is to *coordinate* the response to large-scale events. Not to ride in on white horses with big checkbooks and piles of free stuff. They provide support, not primary response, typically.

They also provide lots of very boring, bland, and needful incident management training to local and regional organizations, so that we can all work together more efficiently in emergencies.

I have participated in real responses with FEMA, plenty of drill responses, and hundreds of hours of mind-numbing training with them. They serve a useful purpose, but they aren't a magic bullet for disasters.

[Williamsmith]

Plus FEMA does not replace your house. You might get emergency aid but it is your responsibility to have the right insurance. I think the average assistance to people who lost everything has been under $10,000. There are very strict limits how much help you can get.

Neither FEMA nor the insurance company representative have found their way to my son's house yet. USAA car insurance did show up in a jiffy and cut him a check for the two destroyed cars. The inventory in Houston is shaky and sparse. They ended up with a Hyundai Accent and a Chevy Equinox with 75,000 miles on it and a timing tick that hopefully doesn't get any worse.

The house is stripped to the six foot mark, has been sprayed with anti bacteria and mold killer and is drying out very slowly. The kitchen is bare from the top cabinets down, the bathroom is gutted, the bedroom the same, the garage the same, the living and dining room ditto. It's all going to be replaced as the money is available...that on top of the mortgage and taxes just like you were living there. Ain't life grand.

Not crossing fingers waiting for Uncle Sam to help. Don't think it is going to happen. Ain't life grand?

https://youtu.be/t7LvVzxYr1U

[flowerseverywhere]

Neither FEMA nor the insurance company representative have found their way to my son's house yet. USAA car insurance did show up in a jiffy and cut him a check for the two destroyed cars. The inventory in Houston is shaky and sparse. They ended up with a Hyundai Accent and a Chevy Equinox with 75,000 miles on it and a timing tick that hopefully doesn't get any worse.

The house is stripped to the six foot mark, has been sprayed with anti bacteria and mold killer and is drying out very slowly. The kitchen is bare from the top cabinets down, the bathroom is gutted, the bedroom the same, the garage the same, the living and dining room ditto. It's all going to be replaced as the money is available...that on top of the mortgage and taxes just like you were living there. Ain't life grand.

Not crossing fingers waiting for Uncle Sam to help. Don't think it is going to happen. Ain't life grand?

https://youtu.be/t7LvVzxYr1U

you know, I think reading your post reminds me of why I think Trump won. I have seen a general attitude that people who work very hard and try to do everything by the book end up feeling abandoned when it is their time to need help. We all hear of so many people on food stamps for instance, or people who are not here legally enrolling their kids in school, and even getting benefits for them. I imagine it breaks your heart to see someone work so hard and be basically ignored by the powers that control the purse strings. Promises to drain the swamp and get rid of non documented people make a lot of sense to some people. Watching people become eligible for expanded Medicare while you watch your own premiums skyrocket while you dutifully pay taxes is another example of the frustration people feel.

I know now many people are going to be disappointed in the bottom line and how much these repairs are going to cost, if you can even get the supplies without someone jacking the price up. Every time I see strong winds lashing the outer banks or he shorelines I wonder why people are given permits to build there. And why are people who refuse to obey mandatory evacuation orders not required to reimburse for their rescue. In Key west they even sent city busses around to pick people up and drive them to safety. And gave out numbers to call if you could not do that well ahead of the storm. Now a huge amount of money is going towards getting supplies and help in. Doesn't make sense when there are limited dollars in the pot to go around.
Somewhere along the line those who issue building permits, or are in charge of zoning need to take a step back and figure out how to avoid these gigantic catastrophes. Certainly building below or at sea level is not the best idea or close to a shifting seashore. And with this new catastrophe everyone's premiums will probably go up and some won't be able to get insurance at any price.

For those that move to find employment what exactly are you supposed to do?

[Williamsmith]

Just got a text from son. The home owners insurance company that the bank assigned when the mortgage went through six weeks ago.....finally sent out a representative. I don't know if he was an actual employee or an independent contractor hired by the company but after a quick look see, he said, "Yeah, we won't be able to help you out much. Good luck."

[dmc]

Just got a text from son. The home owners insurance company that the bank assigned when the mortgage went through six weeks ago.....finally sent out a representative. I don't know if he was an actual employee or an independent contractor hired by the company but after a quick look see, he said, "Yeah, we won't be able to help you out much. Good luck."

i would think that the bank would be involved to make sure the insurance took care of things. They have a vested interest in the property. It sounds like they had flood damage, did they not have flood insurance?

[dmc]

I've been asked to fly supplies to some areas in need. This is being organized by people just wanting to help. Private pilots flew supplies into Texas without the help of government or the Red Cross. They were able to mobilize quicker, and with no red tape. They are working on supply routes and staging.

Just people helping people.

hopefully we can start on Friday or Saturday, I am planning on returning on Thursday, unless Trump is at my home airport.

[dmc]

Just in case anyone wants to help.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/operationairdrop