Contrast P.R. Hurricane crisis - with Texas and Fla crisis

[BobRyan]

1. Seems to me that the governors of Fla and Tx where a bit more pro-active prior to the storm hitting and the P.R. Governor was a bit more re-active in making sure rescue resources were pre-positioned to assist in the aftermath. They had at least 5 days to preposition large tanks of fresh water around the Island.

2. The million car exodus that you see from evacuation of FLA and Tx prior to the storm was not possible in P.R. due to the Island logistics.

3. The million truck re-entry of emergency equipment back into FLA and TX immediately after the storm was not possible in P.R. due to the Island logistics.

4. The Cat 5 hit that only decreases to Cat 3 or Cat 4 over P.R. is not what TX and FLA faced once full landfall was achieved -- so much more wind damage would be expected in the P.R. scenario.

5. No mountains in FLA or TX to facilitate mud-slide-destruction of houses and roads.

6. No fully functional and massive ancillary network of cell towers, power grids etc "next to" P.R. affected areas

P.R. needed the "island version" of sheltering and prepositioning resources and equipment. Either underground bunkers slightly inland, caves, with a plan to clear-roads-first then release the armada of emergency vehicles. I doubt they even had such infrastructure.

Everyone else in the mainline could just "drive the trucks out of harms way and come back immediately after the storm". Not an option on the island if you don't create your own version of "Drive away".

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So then we might "expect" a slower recovery where some areas get immediate help and others are lagging. Plenty of room for media to rush to one of the lagging areas and cry wolf. Still I would hope they can air lift massive sized containers of fresh water all across the Island.

 

[Squire Robertsson]

And as noted on another thread, the whole Jones Act kerfluffle.

 

[BobRyan]

And as noted on another thread, the whole Jones Act kerfluffle.

Indeed - there are no news casts of the P.R. Governor or any Puerto Rican showing a cargo ship with emergency aide unnable to unload at dock due to a Jones act that Trump is refusing to suspend no matter the pleas coming from Governor and citizens of P.R. to release the goods.

But maybe certain news reporters would like us to imagine that such a thing happened.

 

[Bro. James]

If we do not get this rolling soon, we will be running out of body bags. There are 3.5 million people on the verge of an epidemic.

We learned lessons at Omaha Beach and Berlin. We need someone who will lead the right way.

This is more serious than Katrina.

Pray without ceasing and give cheerfully.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

Bro. James

 

[Baptist Believer]

1. Seems to me that the governors of Fla and Tx where a bit more pro-active prior to the storm hitting and the P.R. Governor was a bit more re-active in making sure rescue resources were pre-positioned to assist in the aftermath. They had at least 5 days to preposition large tanks of fresh water around the Island.

Hurricane Maria was much stronger than both Harvey and Irma. Moreover, Hurricane Irma hit Florida in the most fortunate way possible that minimized the storm surge to both the Gulf and Atlantic coasts. Moreover, Puerto Rico had ALREADY been hit by Irma previously, which had destroyed much of the infrastructure and already caused the territory to use many of its emergency provisions. They were barely starting to recover from Irma when Maria hit, and because buildings were already weakened or damaged, the soil was already saturated, and Maria was a slow-moving storm, it hit the island quite hard.

2. The million car exodus that you see from evacuation of FLA and Tx prior to the storm was not possible in P.R. due to the Island logistics.

Yes, as the President has informed us, "[Puerto Rico is] An island. Surrounded by water. Big water. Ocean water."

P.R. needed the "island version" of sheltering and prepositioning resources and equipment. Either underground bunkers slightly inland, caves, with a plan to clear-roads-first then release the armada of emergency vehicles. I doubt they even had such infrastructure.

Since it is a US Territory instead of a state, it doesn't get the attention it deserve and has very limited voting representation, so politicians are not terribly concerned about taking care of the citizens and infrastructure.

 

[church mouse guy]

Note also that Puerto Rico was hit by two hurricanes. Nevertheless, Puerto Rico seems well on its way to becoming a political issue. The Democrat Governor has been working closely with the federal government but the Democrat Mayor of San Juan has been parsing texts and Trump has tweeted that she and others have poor leadership abilities because they want everything done for them and cannot get their own workers to work for them in a community effort. Trump says that there are now 10,000 federal workers in Puerto Rico. Trump also tweeted that there are no electric, roads, phones etc. He also denounced CNN and NBC in conjunction with the Dems.

The Democrats intend to make this a political issue just because.

 

[InTheLight]

If we do not get this rolling soon, we will be running out of body bags. There are 3.5 million people on the verge of an epidemic.

We need someone who will lead the right way.

This is more serious than Katrina.

But there were NFL players that were not standing for the national anthem. And rounds of golf to play.

 

[church mouse guy]

Apparently there are ten thousand loaded containers in Puerto Rico awaiting distribution. There are no drivers and the roads and bridges are out in some areas anyway. That was yesterday's news so I assume that the military is trying to delivery emergency supplies by helicopter to devastated areas. It is thought that a million people will flee Puerto Rico, probably forever. One reads 3.4 million people as the current population. The Mayor of San Juan is a partisan Democrat who has expressed dislike of Trump since his election. However, the Governor is working closely with FEMA and has repeatedly expressed gratitude for what is being done.