February 3, 2009
by Charles Signorile
Power outages, no running water, and gasoline shortages are the least of worries to those who live in rural parts of the United States. The bitter cold and ice has now left a confirmed death toll of 55, with those numbers sure to rise when, or should I say if, emergency workers arrive in Kentucky and other areas currently inaccessible due to icy conditions.
Photo: Overhead wires and signs outside Patti’s 1800s Settlement in Grand Rivers, Ky., dangle in ice. (Stephen Lance Dennee / Paducah Sun, via AP)
At least 55 people have died, including 24 in Kentucky, and conditions are worsening in many places days after an ice storm knocked out power to 1.3 million customers from the Plains to the East Coast. And with no hope that the lights will come back on soon, small communities are frantically struggling to help their residents.
On Friday, one county put it bluntly: It can't.
"We're asking people to pack a suitcase and head south and find a motel if they have the means, because we can't service everybody in our shelter," said Crittenden County Judge-Executive Fred Brown, who oversees about 9,000 people, many of whom are sleeping in the town's elementary school.
Local officials were growing angry with what they said was a lack of help from the state and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In Grayson County, about 80 miles southwest of Louisville, Emergency Management Director Randell Smith said the 25 National Guardsmen who have responded have no chain saws to clear fallen trees.
"We've got people out in some areas we haven't even visited yet," Smith said. "We don't even know that they're alive."
Slow response from FEMA? Improperly equipped rescue workers? It seems we have heard this story once before, during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina when President Bush was accused of not caring about blacks due to the slow response of FEMA in helping out New Orleans, and the predominantly black population affected by Katrina. It seems, the more things change, the more they stay the same:
Smith said FEMA has been a no-show so far.
"I'm not saying we can't handle it; we'll hand it," Smith said. "But it would have made life a lot easier" if FEMA had reached the county sooner, he said.
FEMA spokeswoman Mary Hudak said some FEMA personnel already are in Kentucky working in the state's emergency operations center and that more will be arriving in coming days. Hudak said FEMA also has shipped to 50 to 100 generators to the state to supply electricity to facilities like hospitals, nursing homes, and water treatment plants.
Hudak said travel is still dangerous in some areas and communications are limited.
"We have plenty of folks ready to go, but there are some limitations with roads closed and icy conditions," she said.
Limitations due to icy conditions? The heck you say! This is precisely the reason FEMA was called in, as residents are experiencing the same limitations. Far be it for Americans to expect emergency workers to be well equipped to deal with the crisis at hand, rather than blame that very same crisis for their lack of response.
Generally I refrain from using tragedies as a means for making a political statements, however after months of criticism President Bush received in the aftermath of Katrina, I am curious as to where the criticism is for Barack Obama, now that there is a crisis facing predominantly rural white Americans (you know, those same people who cling to their guns and religion).
http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977583318