I'm sitting here listening to the radio or catching snippets of video reports of political leaders from the President to the Governors of New York and New Jersey and the Mayor of NYC. There's a lot of self patting on the back. There's a lot of bold and stern announcements to get the food and clothing reliefs as well as fuel distributed. Yet, the fighting at gas stations, the ever growing gas lines, and the cries of despair and anger from people in the worst ravaged areas - continue to grow. If help for food is being slowed down like the distribution of fuel...then I can understand the anger and frustration. Once again I am one of the "lucky" ones.
But here is how that is playing out for the lucky ones.
A local gas station hints to a handful of local residents that he was opening at 6:30am, and to get there before the mob jumps in. So my wife wakes up at 5:30am and drops me off at work an hour early (6am). We pass two gas stations that both have lines at least four blocks long apiece. My wife then jets over to the smaller station and is 20th in line only to be told that the gas station was now being taken over for emergency vehicles only and that she and the others would have to go elsewhere. Okay, no problem.
She goes back to one of the other two stations and after nearly a half hour finds out that they've now set up a "walk up for gas" line. She parks and then proceeds to wait another 2 1/2 hrs...for a mere 5 gallons of gasoline alongside people who have driven from as far as ten miles away. 10 miles away for a couple of buckets of gasoline? There's something wrong there.
There have been constant announcements of fuel arriving to Long Island on the radio by our political leaders. Does that sound like fuel has arrived?
Back in Manhattan, before power was restored yesterday evening, my sister told me that the FEMA truck parked just a half a block away was surrounded by a constant number of about 500 to 600 people all day. People waiting in line...for hours...after being without power for nearly 5 days - and they were only getting enough to sustain them for a day or so. Does that seem right when it was possible that power might have been out for several more days?
On Facebook and radio interviews people who live in Staten Island, The Rockaways, Long Beach - areas most hardest hit - are crying for more help. Their cries and anger is identical to those we heard during the Katrina hurricane tragedy down in Louisiana.
I'm not one to jump up and point fingers. There's no need for me to criticize any current politician at the moment because in all honesty ALL Emergency Procedure plans are suppose to be in place year after year - regardless of who is in a particular leadership position. It shouldn't really matter much who is in "charge".
When you were a kid and you had fire drills did it matter year to year who your teacher was in order for you to clear your behind from that smoking building? Your teacher changed. Your stairwell changed. And even your class monitor changed. But you got the heck out, right?
It just seems to me that these either these major evacuation plans are faulty from the start, or they are pure fantasies to fool us to thinking everyone is going to survive as the plan hits snag after snag.
I just don't know IF there are ANY BACKUPS to the "regular" emergency procedure plans. Back during the Katrina disaster, I'm sure it seemed like a great idea to escort thousands of people to shelter in the long standing (and super strong) Super Dome. What no one factored in was: "What if all roads to the Dome become unnavigable due to flooding to restock food resources to the people in there?" and "What happens if the Dome itself starts to fall apart (due to hurricane winds ripping it apart). Or "What if it loses it's electrical and plumbing systems due to the occurring disaster?"
That would make all the recipe for the disaster that indeed did occur.
This is all introspective food for thought. The best remedy is for everyone to simply better prepare ourselves for any similar future occurrences. You need a backup plan to whatever first plan you have. And that future that you must prepare for...is now.
As for my fellow Long Islanders...it's time we realize the realities of living on Long Island, the New Jersey Shore and Staten Island. We were warned several obvious times in the past ten years and numerous smaller times over the last 20 years with all of those Nor'Easters. No one has ever stepped up to orchestrate or publicly illustrate a "how to" plan to get supplies in...or survivors out. If anyone has known of such a plan, please do share it.
What politician or infrastructure manager can we blame for that?
But here is how that is playing out for the lucky ones.
A local gas station hints to a handful of local residents that he was opening at 6:30am, and to get there before the mob jumps in. So my wife wakes up at 5:30am and drops me off at work an hour early (6am). We pass two gas stations that both have lines at least four blocks long apiece. My wife then jets over to the smaller station and is 20th in line only to be told that the gas station was now being taken over for emergency vehicles only and that she and the others would have to go elsewhere. Okay, no problem.
She goes back to one of the other two stations and after nearly a half hour finds out that they've now set up a "walk up for gas" line. She parks and then proceeds to wait another 2 1/2 hrs...for a mere 5 gallons of gasoline alongside people who have driven from as far as ten miles away. 10 miles away for a couple of buckets of gasoline? There's something wrong there.
There have been constant announcements of fuel arriving to Long Island on the radio by our political leaders. Does that sound like fuel has arrived?
Back in Manhattan, before power was restored yesterday evening, my sister told me that the FEMA truck parked just a half a block away was surrounded by a constant number of about 500 to 600 people all day. People waiting in line...for hours...after being without power for nearly 5 days - and they were only getting enough to sustain them for a day or so. Does that seem right when it was possible that power might have been out for several more days?
On Facebook and radio interviews people who live in Staten Island, The Rockaways, Long Beach - areas most hardest hit - are crying for more help. Their cries and anger is identical to those we heard during the Katrina hurricane tragedy down in Louisiana.
I'm not one to jump up and point fingers. There's no need for me to criticize any current politician at the moment because in all honesty ALL Emergency Procedure plans are suppose to be in place year after year - regardless of who is in a particular leadership position. It shouldn't really matter much who is in "charge".
When you were a kid and you had fire drills did it matter year to year who your teacher was in order for you to clear your behind from that smoking building? Your teacher changed. Your stairwell changed. And even your class monitor changed. But you got the heck out, right?
It just seems to me that these either these major evacuation plans are faulty from the start, or they are pure fantasies to fool us to thinking everyone is going to survive as the plan hits snag after snag.
I just don't know IF there are ANY BACKUPS to the "regular" emergency procedure plans. Back during the Katrina disaster, I'm sure it seemed like a great idea to escort thousands of people to shelter in the long standing (and super strong) Super Dome. What no one factored in was: "What if all roads to the Dome become unnavigable due to flooding to restock food resources to the people in there?" and "What happens if the Dome itself starts to fall apart (due to hurricane winds ripping it apart). Or "What if it loses it's electrical and plumbing systems due to the occurring disaster?"
That would make all the recipe for the disaster that indeed did occur.
This is all introspective food for thought. The best remedy is for everyone to simply better prepare ourselves for any similar future occurrences. You need a backup plan to whatever first plan you have. And that future that you must prepare for...is now.
As for my fellow Long Islanders...it's time we realize the realities of living on Long Island, the New Jersey Shore and Staten Island. We were warned several obvious times in the past ten years and numerous smaller times over the last 20 years with all of those Nor'Easters. No one has ever stepped up to orchestrate or publicly illustrate a "how to" plan to get supplies in...or survivors out. If anyone has known of such a plan, please do share it.
What politician or infrastructure manager can we blame for that?
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