FEMA you gotta laugh

[floridaorbust]

Originally Posted by stevep111

Thing is this idea was brought up by Nancy Pelosi at a news conference. The whole idea may have come from her. (Before you go "You stupid Republican" on me) note that anyone who came up with this idea would be as equally laughed at. The fact the she lives in a big house, and is rich insulates her from knowing what ordinary people go through sort of like Bush at the grocery store asking how long have they had the scanners at the check out line.

When you get people who are out of touch with reality you get these kinds of solutions. A high education does not equal intelligent. I used to work with Pilots who flew 20 million dollar Airplanes but could not operate a VCR or a Microwave. It's a wonder they could even tie their own shoes. Politicians are no different. Frankly neither are we because we keep electing these people.

Amen to that They should all be fired and we can start over. And an age limit should be set in the house and senate okay I'm off my soapbox. For now

[floridaorbust]

thanks SYnergy1

[J.R.]

Synergy and Steve - I am with you guys and/but I must add my personal recollections of stupidity.

September 2004: H Frances has just hit St. Lucie straight on! My home in PSL has no electric, my farm in western Ft. Pierce has no electric. My prioritiy is the farm: My brother, his wife, 1 baby, 1 due any day, my 70 y/o dad, 17 horses, 8 cows and my household. My husband and I stayed on the farm in a 30ft RV, (had no electric at home) my dad's house was destroyed, so he was on the farm in his 28 ft RV. In order to care for the animals and babies, Dad and I started out every AM in search of gas and deisel fuel for the generators and tractors, On day 3, we sat in line for one hour, in the heat, with a 2 y/o child, and a pregnant woman due any day. And then as we were leaving the gas station, we were stopped agian because Pres George W had decided to visit us!!! He shut down the north end of our town for 3 hours!!!!!!!!! WE DID NOT NEED THIS!!!!!!!! He was here for a effing photo op and he only screwed up an already bad situation.

Gosh, I guess I just vented!

My bottom line is: Don't wait on your government to help you in a storm. Get prepared and get ready on your own!

Lisa

[floridaorbust]

J.R. and all;

We just moved to Vero. What do we need to do in order for preparation of a hurricane? We have insurance. No not Statefarm or the one's we all have been warned of. We have the hurricane shutters. I'm talking supplies. We have a "safe" room in garage. What degree of hurricane force should we take cover in the shelter It takes up part of garage. We like it and not. But for now, it will stay.

Give us all the info we need to be prepared. Please, no "bashing" of W or the newest of leaders. Sorry J.R. for your troubles. Can't imagine. We have the flashlights, batteries, water. What else? thanks

[Synergy1]

Originally Posted by floridaorbust

J.R. and all;

We just moved to Vero. What do we need to do in order for preparation of a hurricane? We have insurance. No not Statefarm or the one's we all have been warned of. We have the hurricane shutters. I'm talking supplies. We have a "safe" room in garage. What degree of hurricane force should we take cover in the shelter It takes up part of garage. We like it and not. But for now, it will stay.

Give us all the info we need to be prepared. Please, no "bashing" of W or the newest of leaders. Sorry J.R. for your troubles. Can't imagine. We have the flashlights, batteries, water. What else? thanks

So it seems as if you will be staying during the event of a hurricane. Most Publix food stores carry Hurricane information pamphlet. You may want to purchase a crank radio or have lots of batteries. I would ensure that each family member has 2 gals of water each day for 7 days. Canned food with flip tops or a manual opener. ALso dehydrated foods could be extremely handy if problems are prolonged. If you have a pool shock the water prior to the hurricane. Fill up some of your sinks with water in order to wash.

Yeah it is a lot of water but it goes fast when it is hot. We've gone through an hour or more of 140mph winds and just had a few roofing tiles missing while we were in our garage with the door open.....We also endured a storm while in our vacation home in Ocean City MD and the winds of 75 blew me over. So if I had a safe house I would just keep it available and make sure all family members understand its use....Our vehicle has a landline/satellite phone so we will always have contact with someone.

.....

[stevep111]

Depending on yourself is the backbone of what America is about. You have to take personal responsibility for yourself. Plan for the worse. People should only expect help if they really need it. Case in point the long lines for water and ice after Wilma. People should have known that at least 24 hours before a storm you fill your freezer with everything you can that can hold water. Water freezes and makes ice. If you put 3 gallons of water in your freezer you will have ice for days. You can keep moving them into your insulated refrigerator until they are all gone. Most likely by then either the power will be back on or there will be a place where you can go get ice and not have to stand in long lines with paniced people who forgot to plan. More than likely the tap water will be fine after a storm. If you have a Gas stove your golden because you can boil water if you have to.

One trick I learned was to use the coffee maker as normal. Boil your water and pour it directly over the grounds slowly and it will make coffee just fine. You don't need electric. If you don't have gas then have a grill and a couple of bags of charcoal or may be even you have a gas grill. Coffee is about the most important thing you can have directly after a storm. Well that and a gun LOL.

I keep at least 10 gallons of fuel on hand to run my generator and if need be put in my car should I have to go to work. If you execute this plan at least 72 hours before a storm you will not have to get in the long lines that start 12 hours before a storm. Most gas stations (all should be up now) are required by state law to have generators. During the last storms stations had gas but no way to pump it. Now they do.

Stock up on canned goods. If you don't use them there is always food drives around Thanksgiving that you can give them to. Bottom line is that you need at least 3 days of supplies. Do not depend on FEMA or anyone to provide that to you because the frustration will be too great having to stand in all those long food lines.

If the storm has damaged your home beyond repair and you can't stay, use your stored gas to get you out of town. Paint the name of your insurance company on your house along with the address and just get out. Call them when you get to a safe area. I am sure most people have relatives or friends they can go see. Also if your car is damaged but driveable it is far easier to get it repaired somewhere else than in a storm zone.

FEMA is there only to make things easier but for what ever reason they have evolved into a group that wants to take over. That is not their role.

[J.R.]

Floridaorbust,

My best advice is to get a generator!!! Buy one now, don't wait until the stroms start to form - you will not find one anywhere. Make sure you get one that is big enough to run some lights and your well if you are not on a city water system. Also, purchase a large, high quality cooler that will hold ice and water. You also need a lot of gas cans. Standing in line for gas after a storm is really not fun and many stations run out of fuel early every day. Several of my family members drive pick-up trucks so we have purchased 2 "construction vehicle" type fuel tanks that fit in the bed of a truck and hold about 50 gallons.

Also, talk to your neighbors and find out if your area is prone to flooding. If it is and you drive a small vehicle, you may not be able to get down the roads. Also ask your neighbors how long they were without power in past storms, that will give you some idea of how long you will need supplies. After Frances in 2004, my ranch in the middle of nowhere west of Ft. Pierce was without power for 12 days and my house in a fancy neighborhood in PSL was without power for 14 days. Same scenario for Jeanne; 10 and 12 days. By the time Wilma hit in 2005, things were better and the outages were 5 and 7 days.

Welcome to Florida

[floridaorbust]

We are going to purchase a generator. Actually going to Lowe's today. I'm stocking up on water. Can goods too. I went to publix and got the pamphlet on Hurricane's. Its gives a great check list.

Next is batteries for the flashlights. We have 4 coolers. Needed them when we moved here. So we are good on that part. We have a battery operated radio. With weather and all that good stuff.

thanks for the information.