Please keep in your prayers the 200+ people that are missing from hurricane Ike, and their families, as I'm sure they need them. Here is the link. Phoenix
200 people that the Federal govt has demonstrated as far back as Katrina that it could care less about.
No, those aid workers that came seemed to care and everyone was on the ball if you ask me...good that they were there. I remember when it was coming and we were all hunkering down (and I live more than 60 miles from the coast), the news was all over Galveston. The authorities there told people in no uncertain terms to get off the island...that once it hit, it would be a long time before they could get to them to help them. You could see people standing on the beach just watching the waves building and breaking. The reporter was a bit shocked people would still be there. He interviewed one woman who was there with her family and unfortunate kids, she said she would not evacuate for various stupid reasons, my home etc...etc... They had DAYS and Emergency groups both federal, state and local were making announcements that they should leave, they were giving free rides to free hotel rooms...but people still stayed, I think almost 30,000 people. Then the island got hit and parts were demolished, no house standing, completely in the ocean. Then those people were crying, franticly trying to get people to come and rescue them if they were lucky enough to get a call out. Rightfully, and as they had said long before, they did not respond until it was over and people were dead and then of course those people needed to be rescued by helocopter in bad weather...risking other peoples lives and raking up huge costs on top of the already huge costs... I think its a damn shame that one single person had to die...the city was prepared and had free rides coming and going for at least two days before it hit...MORE than enough warning and time...and they did not sugar coat it, they knew it would hit hard well in advance. There was no reason for anyone to be on that island when it hit, not a single good reason.
Having lived in Texas, and when offered evacuation, I took it. Admittedly I found myself in a dilemma that a lot of people face, we left our cat where we lived. I appreciated that we saved our carcasses from the rising San Jacinto river, but until we got home three days later, all I could think about was my cat. Frankly that was one difference with the recent hurricane evacuations, you were able to take your pets and not face that dilemma of leaving them. All we ended up losing in that flood was a car. Our place did not have power but at least it was in a rare part of the country that did not then flood.
