FEMA, Obama and the Kentucky Icestorm (Updated)

By Cernig

As was obvious after Hurricane Rita and again last year in Houston, FEMA may have improved a little since Katrina but it is still a very long way from being up to scratch. Now, officials in Kentucky are complaining that FEMA's response to the ice-storm there is a day late and a dollar short.

It's far from clear that FEMA's response is as much of a disaster as the non-action on Katrina, but President Obama - ferrchistsakes - forget about the Superbowl, get on the phone and kick some asses into order! Don't give the David Duke set any excuse to even remotely substantiate headlines like "Obama dozed, Kentucky froze" or " Barack Obama Lied... White Folks Died..."

Please - I'd hate to have to agree with the haters but I won't spare the rod if you f**k this up.

Update: I've got two commenters, one quoting the director of Kentucky's Division of Emergency Management and the other an eyewiness, both saying FEMA are on the spot and doing good. So it looks like the whole story is just wingnuts hoping Obama will copy their dear leader's greatest failure.

And here, via the inimitable Kat, is a news report saying the same thing - FEMA is there and working hard.

With widespread power outages affecting communications capabilities in Kentucky, FEMA’s Mobile Emergency Response Support units – called MERS – have moved from Thomasville, Ga. and Frederick, Md. to Kentucky.

MERS assets include portable radio towers, repeaters and radios; multiple portable KU Band satellite systems and satellite telephones to help officials in areas where cellular towers are inoperative.

FEMA also has deployed its Incident Response Vehicle, technicians, and radio/repeater equipment to construct a radio network capable of providing communications.

“This is an amazing effort and we have worked long hours to move supplies and equipment. Our working partnership with FEMA ensures we are getting excellent help under difficult circumstances for Kentuckians suffering from the winter storm,” said Gen. John W. Heltzel, director of Kentucky’s Division of Emergency Management.

FEMA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are working together to provide industrial-size generators needed to power critical facilities. Teams are assessing needs and installing these generators each day.

FEMA also is fulfilling the commonwealth’s requests for diesel fuel and unleaded gasoline. Delivery of a total 80,000 gallons began Saturday at commonwealth staging areas in Greenville and Paducah.

Other federal agencies are supporting FEMA as necessary.

Comments

[Robert]

Gen. John W. Heltzel, director of Kentucky's Division of Emergency Management has praise for Obama's FEMA effort in Kentucky. What a change from Bush's Katrina failure!

"This is an amazing effort and we have worked long hours to move supplies and equipment. Our working partnership with FEMA ensures we are getting excellent help under difficult circumstances for Kentuckians suffering from the winter storm," said Gen. John W. Heltzel, director of Kentucky's Division of Emergency Management.

[Steve Hynd]

Good to hear. Robert. Thanks!

Do you have a link to the published quote for an update to the post?

Regards, C

[Shaw Kenawe]

The FEMA that is dealing with this disaster is GWB's FEMA.

Barack Obama could hardly change it in two weeks.

[Gwen]

Oh please. Get your story straight. I was one of the lucky few who was only without power for a couple of days. I live about 20 miles from Lexington and some of my neighbors still don't have electricity. But - there are two FEMA teams right here in my county. They have handed out food, water and other supplies and as I write this FEMA team members are still going door to door checking on people.

QUIT LYING.

[Steve Hynd]

Gwen chill. See the update.

[Nancy Stultz]

Can you pass on any information on what the online
community can do to assist in information flow?

[Steve Hynd]

Sorry, Nancy, I'm not a Kentucky local. You could try some of the Kentucky blogs.

Regards, C

[kentucky]

obamas a fucking idiot...he doesnt even care about kentucky

[John]

Barack Obama hates white people!
Sounds a bit like Kanye, doesn't it?
But probably more accurate.

[Owensboro Curmudgeon]

I live in Owensboro, KY and have been in the middle of all this. It appears to me that there has been a big disconnect between the county agencies and the state and federal agencies. Our governor didn't call up most of the national guard until Saturday and was late calling on help from FEMA.

Apparently even after that FEMA was not getting to everywhere they needed to be:

"Perhaps no one in the state was more frustrated than Randell Smith, the emergency management director of Grayson County in western Kentucky, who told the Associated Press Friday that they had yet to receive any aid from either the Federal Emergency Management Agency or the Red Cross. As for the 25 National Guardsman who had arrived in his county, Smith said they did not have any of the equipment needed to clear away fallen trees. "Disgusted" was the word that the mayor of Leitchfield, Ky., William Thomason, used to describe his frustration with state and federal officials."

- Quote from TIME magazine - http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1876304,00.html

Personally, I think the local agencies and the local communities have done a phenomenal job without the help of the state or federal government. Perhaps we've done a better job without all the state and federal bureaucracy getting in the way.

[Murray KY Citizen]

I went without power 6 days, and many more that I know won't have power for weeks.

Although FEMA did seem slow to gather resources, I had more of a problem with Obama not mentioning the ice storm disaster more in the media. We've relied much on our neighboring states to help us out. Obama has so much of the public's attention, if he'd just sent us thoughts or prayers publicly he would have rallied many more people that might be willing to pitch in. But as far as I've seen (granted I was out of the loop for 6 days), he's not done this. But I did see that he had time to chat about the super bowl, say hi to Matt Lauer's son, and off handedly mention a magazine's coverage of Jessica Simpson's weight.

How hard would it be for him to just say that there is a disaster here, and any help is appreciated?

[medjas]

Not pointing the finger at any one entity...., but I live in western Ky., Lyon County, and FEMA showed up Monday, 2/2/09, one week after the storm hit!!! National Guard showed up the day before going door to door with a news release, but no supplies. In my neighborhood four chainsaws, every able bodied resident and a neighbor with a backhoe/loader spent five hours clearing a half mile road to the closest highway so we would be able to drive 50 miles south to the closest civilization. We were lucky to be near enough and have the fuel to make it there. One neighbor was supposed to be hospitalized the day the storm hit,for emergency surgery,and was very ill. On Wednesday, 1/28/09, after the neighborhood banded together to free ourselves his wife took him to seek medical care. We had, and still have, no electricity! We have been told to expect at least a month with no electricity in our neighborhood. Electricity was lost PM 1/26/09. The land line phones went down with the power lines on Tuesday, 1/27/09. Cell phone service was lost at the same time. Our only link to the outside world was a police scanner and a local TV station broadcasting on the radio. Thank God for TV6 in Paducah, KY which operated on emergency power to get the word out! Cell phones finally started working on Friday, 1/29/09. If we had waited for FEMA or any other rescue/relief help there is no doubt lives would have been lost. The lesson....be prepared to help yourself!!!! Now that the National Guard and relief workers are in our area they are performing door to door searches. Many lives have been lost to hypothermia and carbon monoxide poisoning..16 and counting..due to the delays in help for those unable to help themselves. Sad day...........I took my children and elderly mother and evacuated to family in the south. Good luck to all who are left behind!!

[realist]

Obama doesn't hate white people. His own mother is white.

[Carol]

I finally got my FEMA help (personally) about an hour after the lights came back on -- after ten days -- then had to sift through it to throw out the contaminated peanut butter products. I was hopeful that my government now cared about me -- guess not. Western Kentucky. If you don't have good neighbors, you're going to die right where you live.

[l. kenney CERT, Community Emergency Responce Team]

Obama was having cocktails in the White House with his select few celebrating the Superbowl while Kentucky had lights out in an ice storm.

Fema was a "bit" late in getting there when asked and Obama didn't come at all, although this was Kentucky's worst natural disaster.

Is it that the "dangerously, freezing, lfe threatening, no-heat ice storm" is not as important as hurrican? By comparison the GOP canceled the first day of their convention not wanting to be "partying" while others where in harms way. Not as important as a President visiting storm struck people but it was at least a gesture!

Obama did "owe" the Kentucky people who were hit by this storm and all the communitees' and other states'help sent their way.

[jrc]

16 days no power and still counting,havent seen any national guard at my door. Nor have i see any FEMA anywhere in Lyon County KY, Called my US senators office 3 days into storm and they didnt even know about the storm, nor how to spell LYON COUNTY.
Well forget his name next election.No power ,phones(land or cell)no gas, no propane,no grocery stores open , no roads open for 4-5 days. What great leaders.
Now still no power and all assistance (as it was HA!)has pulled out. Where is OBAMA?Word is 2-3 more weeks no power.IN AMERICA ?

[Lynsie Smith]

I live in Paducah, Ky and personally I think Steve Beshear responded rather quickly. This all happened on a Tuesday. My family and I stayed in a hotel room with no power Tuesday and wednesday night. And thursday was the press conference with our governor. The National Guard had to have come into Paducah on thursday because we were kicked out of our hotel room (after we had already paid, and had NO WHERE to go) because the Guard and tree cutters needed it. I was rather pissed, and drove to Marion IL...thank GOD there was a hotel room,my cell worked, food, fuel and HEAT!! But, mind you, that was in Paducah. My heart goes out to the people that were not so fortunate. I don't think people realize how truly devastated our surrounding counties have been and still are. All-in-all, I was very upset about being ejected from our hotel room, but glad the guard showed up so quickly to help. I am not blaming Obama. If anyone is to blame, it would have to be the people Obama dispatched to help us. He cannot control how quickly they show up or what they do once they get here.