I know this is a bad situation, believe me im in the middle of it everyday. I'm flying missions with the national guard in the mornings and then running around all afternoon trying to find fuel to keep the generators at our telecom sites running so that what phone service is still working stays working. It really pisses me off for all these people to blame the government for not doing enough to help them out right now. Hurricanes dont pop up out of nowhere as Cat 4&5 storms. These people had more than enough notice and were told to leave. I am aware some people simply didnt have any means to leave whether it was no money or no transportation but many people could have and simply didnt. I think the burden of responsibility fell on them to do everything they could to get themselves and their families out of harms way.
There just simply isnt enough assets and logistics to get everyone what they need immediately but everything that can be done is being done. I hope this does open people eyes and they quit underestimating mothernature and learn to take care of themselves and not expect others to do it for them. Most of our local national guard troops and equipment are overseas, between last year and this year FEMA has exhausted most of its resources. The governments capacity is very limited right now to respond to and deal with a catastrophic disaster such as this one. We just have to be patient because help is coming, it just saddens me to know that it is too little to late for some.
On a side note. I just found out that one of our crews came under fire while dropping food and water off in a group of people in New Orleans today. What the hell are these people thinking? Luckily nobody was hurt but i think the helicopter will be down for about a week. This kind of crap doesnt help the situation at all.
Sorry for the long post, just really tired and very frustrated and needed to vent i guess. I hope everyone is managing and my thoughts and prays go out to those severely effected by the storm.