I agree.
I too have been thinking about an electrical generator. But what
is of greater concern is water. What if the system fails, for
whatever reason? Missouri river
is handy, but I won't drink from it if my life depended on it
:-).
Yours truly,
The Mooravatar
At 2:08 PM -0700 9/6/05, Dilip/Dil Deka wrote:
Dear Moore Avatar,
I am in agreement with you that there is a huge gap in "national preparedness" for disaster.
A lot of money has been spent in the name of terrorism prevention. Have we achieved the desired results? Suppose it was not "Katrina" but "terrorists" blasting a hole in one of the huge dams or dropping a bomb in the refinery/chemical plant row on highway 225 near Houston. Is the combination of local, state and federal governments ready to handle the aftermath?
The experts are so pre-occupied with planning prevention that they have forgotten about cure.
It bothers me that I don't know myself where I have to vacate to, if and when there is a disaster that engulfs all of Metro Houston. There is an "Emergency Notification" system over radio, in which several stations participate. What happens if electrical power is also gone as it happened in New Orleans? Think about it.
Some journalist pointed out that FEMA was already a slow organization and it has been made slower by inclusion into the Dept. of Homeland Security. Probably FEMA is now tuned to "terrorism" in stead of "natural disaster". :-)
Chan Mahanta <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
I will wait till all the skeletons are out of the closets :-), before making the judgement.But one thing is for sure: All that talk of Homeland Security, all that money spent, all that big talk of CAN DO, vanished for four days after Katrina struck.Even if all of the local and state govts. were doing nothing at all, where were the Feds? What is coming out is that they were not sure whose responsibility it was to help all those thousands of people slowly dying, while the tax-cutting, govt.-slashing Neros fiddled and the President went about comparing Iraq to WWII at San Diego.One hardly needs more to see how the powers that be viewed a national disaster many times greater than 9/11.At 12:33 PM -0700 9/6/05, Dilip/Dil Deka wrote:
"....Bush Admin's responsibilities and accountability has been wiped clean off the slate :-)." ---- When do you think federal government should take over? When the local and state governments can't handle it and request federal help? Or in anticipation of non-performance of the local government, from day 1?
Was federal govt. late by a day or by a week?
It is a little tricky. Isn't it? Isn't it the state governor who controls the national guard of the state? Did governor Blanco forget that? We need to put the blame where it should really fall.
Chan Mahanta <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
At 11:21 AM -0700 9/6/05, Dilip/Dil Deka wrote:
It is unfortunate that we have Michael Moores in our country who can only take pot shots and blame others,
AAAh, the power of language!
With one well aimed word, pot-shot, Bush Admin's responsibilities and accountability has been wiped clean off the slate :-).
and we are fortunate that we have people like Ashok Shelat who is volunteering and Mayor Wallace of Sugar land who has designated his staff to coordinate the rehabilitation of evacuees.
Funny thing is that it is not a zero sum game, where inaction and failure of the responsible balances out the hard-work and volunteer efforts of others, particularly after the fact, after the horses have left the barn.
The Louisianans do not need Michael Moores at this time but they do need Shelats and Wallaces. Read below.
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-----Original Message-----
From: Shelat, Ashok
FYI: I am now a Volunteer Coordinator for the Ft Bend Hurricane Resource Center that is located at 10405 Corporate Drive, the Old Sugar Land City Hall. I have a meeting tomorrow at 11:00 with Mayor David Wallace, and others to get this up and running asap. I need help. I have an immediate need for at least 10 people who can be at the old City Hall tomorrow, Tuesday Sept. 6, at 12:00 noon. Those volunteers will be trained in how to do intake assessments . The training should last about one hour and if you can stay longer to help that would be appreciated. If you can do this, please contact me immediately via e-mail or phone. Read the letter that follows from Mayor Wallace so you can see what this resource center is all about..
Please forward this to all you can.
Thank you,
Hillary Goldstein
281 240 6684
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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My Dear Friends:
Thank you for your continued efforts in bringing relief to evacuees of Hurricane Katrina. The response from the community has been absolutely overwhelming. It is because of your sustained efforts that we are able to continue to provide help to those that are in need.
Although this is an ever changing situation, it appears that the current need for shelters in our community has been addressed for the time being. The community's generous donations of non- perishable items and clothing has also helped feed and clothe those staying in the shelters. In order to sustain long term needs, we will continue to maintain and operate a drop off site for donations.
In working with various community organizations and meeting with regional agencies over the weekend, we have identified that the next level of care our community can support is to establish a Fort Bend Hurricane Resource Center. It is our desire to transform the current level of triage, shelter and food service into the next level of service so that their lives can get back to a sense of normalcy.
The Fort Bend Hurricane Resource Center will be located at the City of Sugar Land's former City Hall, 10405 Corporate Drive. This center will be a community wide outreach center network for evacuees, and there are several agencies and services that will be provided at this location. The hours of operation will be Sunday - Friday 1 p.m. until 8 p.m., and Saturday 10 a.m.- 8 p.m.
In short, we have created a "one stop shop" capability to provide a important basic services to our new found citizens of Fort Bend County. The list of services is as follows:
1. Medical Services - Over the last week Methodist Sugar Land Hospital has seen a number of evacuees in their emergency room. Many of the patients conditions were not of an emergency nature, but needs did include medications for diabetes, hypertension, etc. In order to alleviate the number of non-emergency walk in patients, Methodist Hospital has set up a day clinic to administer medications, tetanus shots, dental, and counseling and assist those with minor medical needs. A number of doctors and nurses are volunteering their time to assist the patients and there is no charge for this service. Karen Chitty-Boe is leading this endeavor for our community.
2. Education - As you are aware, many of the the area schools have agreed to accept school age children from Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Nancy Porter with FBISD will be contacting various schools in the community about this facilitating endeavor and will have information and related forms immediately available to those visiting the Resource Center.
3. Employment - Bob Dunham currently operates an employment resource center that assists employment needs of both the empoyee and employer. Bob will spearhead a group of volunteers to research and establish employment opportunities in the community.
4. Donations - Don Waybright, Pastor of Missions/Membership Care at Sugar Creek Baptist Church will continue his role in supporting the community food, cash, and clothing drive. Don and the members of Sugar Creek Baptist Church have helped tremendously in this endeavor and will continue to serve in this role at the Resource Center.
5. Transportation - In addition to donations, Don will lead a group that will assist in identifying and providing transportation services for the evacuees. Don will coordinate with Fort Bend County which has offered transportation services.
6. Information/ Senior Care/ Day Care - We have received numerous requests from local businesses, service providers, day care facilities, etc. to offer services on a discounted or free of charge basis. Karyn Dean has agreed to assist in coordinating these efforts. Karyn works daily with senior groups and will help identify these special needs.7. Internet/Telecommunications/Work Stations - It has become apparent that many evacuees are still searching for friends, family and loved ones. The internet and phone service is a vital tool to accomplish this task. Ed Boe will assist all the organizations housed in the Resource Center with their electronic needs. Gateway computers has graciously donated 30 computers and our city employees are working to bring in phone lines and data lines. Further, in connection with employment opportunities, the computers will be used for resume creation and job search capabilities.
9. Financial Vouchers/Food Stamps/ Medicare - We are trying to create an environment where the evacuees can come to one location to speak with State or Federal FEMA/Health and Human Services, etc. representatives. These agencies are currently being coordinated such that these services can be offered at the Resource Center.
10. Permanent Housing - In connection with creating a sense of normalcy and maintaining dignity, one of the first requirements will be to secure long term housing. We are coordinating with representatives of HUD to ensure that the evacuees can secure housing vouchers or other information/direction at the Resource Center on how to best secure such housing.
Finally, let me say that this difficult situation has brought out the best in our citizens. The outpouring of support, compassion, and love has been overwhelming. It has been a level of volunteerism and community support like I have never seen.
As you can imagine, we will have volunteer needs for all of these service areas. If there is a service need that you or any member of your congregation/membership wishes to support, please contact the respective name outline herein.
Thank you for your commitment and support to our fellow man.
David
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