Text 6876, 69 rader
Skriven 2006-10-21 23:18:00 av JOAN MACDIARMID (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av JIM WELLER
Ärende: Buffalo update
======================
 Hi, Jim,

 JM> I was one of
 JM> the lucky few to have power restored within 2
 JM> days, for which I am profoundly grateful.

 JW> Two days without power and heat is damned miserable if not outright
 JW> dangerous.

 Well, not dangerous for most of us, especially
 in this autumn season. It wasn't that cold, which
 was why this storm could do such damage. Some
 medically restricted folk were endangered, like
 the lady on oxygen who lost her oxygen generator
 and died. The misery for me was the uncertainty
 as to how long it would last and the boredom after
 the light was too low to read much. Also waiting
 to see if the basement would flood! It did, but
 only a few puddles before the power was restored.
 Some people in the area are still waiting as of
 Friday the 20th! Their basements probably did
 flood if they didn't have access to generators to
 run sump pumps occasionally.

 JW> I read that the death toll has risen to 13
 JW> state-wide, that thousands are still without power
 JW> and that FEMA finally arrived to take stock.
 JW> Damned but they're getting faster!

 They say they have been here in evaluation mode
 since the problem became obvious. A news article
 I read interviewed the several representatives
 checking things out for several days. My opinion
 about FEMA is that they don't actually "manage"
 emergencies, but arrange for reimbursements for
 the local forces that do manage things. In the
 meantime, they establish groundrules for what
 should be done and what can be reimbursed. For
 stuff like this, it can be the best approach to
 let local forces deal with conditions they
 understand. Beyond asking for federal help,
 though, we have gotten help from the NY National
 Guard, who rolled in with heavy debris-clearing
 equipment and personnel, which will help a lot
 in getting the roads cleared. The 13 dead are
 various of course, and some are due to human
 stupidity. Traffic deaths like confusion at
 intersections without working lights, and the
 death of a 15yo boy walking in the traffic lanes
 of a rural road without sidewalks at 11:30 PM
 fall into this category. Also the people who run
 generators inside the dwelling without adequate
 ventilation! The guy who was killed by a falling
 branch had already been remonstrated that he
 shouldn't go near that tree, and the drive didn't
 need to be shoveled with a thaw at hand, by his
 wife. As I biked around on Sunday, I witnessed
 a big branch suddenly dropping a bit, then held
 by surviving branches, just before I had to bike
 by it, very carefully! Do Canadians call these
 "about to fall" branches "widowmakers" as we do
 locally?

 Joan MacDiarmid


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