Hurricane Maria will be forever embossed in our memory, the total devastation experienced by the Puerto Rico's is unprecedented in our history. The trees were all (it appears to be all of them) demolished by the fierce winds and driving rain to be followed by flooding which always adds an entirely new dimension to any disaster. The information coming out of all of the areas is sparse at best.
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| Water Water everywhere and not a drop to spare. |
In the case of Houston and Florida, we are hearing nothing, it's understandable why it's like that, for the most part. More information is coming from Puerto Rico, through any means possible, mostly social media, they need help and are increasingly becoming more and more desperate, understandably so.
In the case of Houston and Florida not releasing any information on the recovery efforts is understandable, however, we must ignore the politics, making my reasoning sound like an excuse which it may very well be. There is so much damage in the Houston area, causing so much cleanup, coordination between City, State, and Federal governments, and FEMA's efforts to offer aid and assistance to the victims. It is very easy for someone (like me) to read an article in the news or online and form a very critical opinion of the actions being taken. I am sure there are a lot of complaints already, they don't need a piling on from people unfamiliar with what's really happening on the ground. As is the usual way of things, the recovery will be well underway once the debris, water, and mud is taken care of. An adequate supply of materials and manpower will be instrumental in the recovery efforts, without them it will be a much longer gloomier outcome. To me it's understandable news is being restricted a bit, I read the
Houston local newspaper to get updates, the blame is just beginning in earnest, it will get more intense as the recovery grinds on. It will take many years for both Florida and Houston to recover fully. The Orange crop in Florida is pretty much destroyed as per the news stations on TV. It makes me wonder how many other crops have been ruined as well, Texas is a large farming and livestock provider for the entire country, it is most likely quicker for livestock to be replaced and brought up to the levels that industry was at prior to the disaster. Cotton, corn and other row crops will not be planted until spring, hindering the farming recovery, not forgetting the Ranchers and Farmers probably are dealing with destroyed homes as well. All of the industries have a long row to hoe, they will eventually bounce back.
Puerto Rico is in a class all alone, the entire island has been destroyed, there are no utilities intact, it will take a long time to restore them. I saw on the TV news that looting was taking place, it is so common in the big cities after any kind of a disturbance that places a huge load on law enforcement. The people are starving, the report showed people breaking the windows of a grocery store the manager was working on to reopen, he was almost ready to open. The place was destroyed inside after it was rebuilt and put back together after the monster plowed through. I thought "well they are stealing food and water most likely," that would add a little logic to the destruction. Actually, alcohol was the first isle emptied, everything else followed, eventually the store was pretty much emptied out of the entire stock. Looting is never OK, however, it always follows events such as this. I hate to use the word "but" in this instance, but they are in dire straights, does the old saying "desperate times demand desperate means," have a place here? What would I do to feed and shelter my family, loot, rob, steal, or cheat? I like to think I would not, many a desperate person has spent years in jail because they thought their actions could be explained. Unfortunately, after the fact, most reasoning loses its foothold when being judged by people who have never been in a situation close to what the Puerto Rican People are facing.
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There will be a lot of infrastructure repairs, the washed out roads are causing
delays in relief. |
Electricity, natural gas, gasoline and diesel fuel take a back seat when a person is fighting for survival lacking the basic needs of humanity, water, food, and shelter. I blogged about how long it may take to rebuild the Electrical system, the water systems may take just as long to repair. 3 million people are in need of supplies, that's 1/2 gallon per person per day just to satisfy their daily needs to stay alive. One case of pint water bottles will supply one person one week, actually six days, if one drinks the recommended 1/2 gallon a day. Sanitation is an entirely different issue, a gallon a day is needed for staying clean at a minimum. Then there is cooking with water, and cleaning the dishes, oh man dish soap, clothes, and the other cleaning supplies, the entire ordeal makes my head spin. I can hardly imagine being the person placed in charge of distributing supply's, I understand placing the military in charge as long as our government doesn't declare "
martial law" or some other equally crazy plan. I liken this challenge to Napoleon Bonaparte in his march across France towards Russia, the supply line had thousands of cargo wagons that stretched 200 miles. Napoleon's army arrived in Russia leaving a large gap between warrior and supplies. The Russians took a "scorched earth" policy and fled to the East and Moscow, the French army was planning on living off the land once they gained Russia. By the time the supply lines made it to where Napoleon was (near Waterloo) the army was in retreat to Denmark, thousands of soldiers died of starvation and disease while on the route. As with the "Emperor of France", the response to Maria in Puerto Rico is a matter of life and death, hopefully, life takes precedence. Apparently, that is where the rescue operation is falling apart and the reason a good solid military officer should coordinate the distribution of the relief supplies. It will have to be planned to a "tee", the deliveries will become the norm in short order after the first delivery is made, a common question asked of the truck driver may very well be "when will you be back?" Luckily the supplies are in the port, however lacking the manpower to drive the equipment to make that final critical connection with the people in need. That is the good point of having the military run the operation, they have the manpower and the equipment to get it done, with a General in charge they also have the horsepower to succeed. That's just the initial delivery of the essentials water, food and maybe a tent, no solid building materials yet, in fact not for a long time yet. Deliveries must continue for many weeks at least, how many trucks does it take to haul 1,500,000 gallons of water per day? Even though it's an estimate of
1/2 gallon per person per day, people need more realistically 5 gallons per day, cooking, drinking, and hygiene. In the case of food, it's almost the same numbers, 8 ounces of "meat", chicken, turkey, beef or pork equals 1,500,000 pounds each day. The numbers become staggering after just a few needs are calculated and penciled out. Shovels, picks, brooms, wheelbarrows, and gloves are another initial need to be supplied, in large numbers, At that point the cleanup can begin, like Houston there will be huge piles of debris stacked for blocks awaiting the army of trucks needed to haul it off, maybe burning it on the spot is a viable solution. I would venture to guess that mold, viruses, and critters are pretty much the immediate villains that must be dealt with as soon as possible, open burning may be quicker and a means of minimizing illnesses. It is estimated that a lot of people will be leaving the island and relocating to the mainland, most likely Florida, the government had better do a good job in responding to this disaster, to be done correctly they will be "heroes", if they botch it up they will be "zero's, I hope success and failure is not attached to a body count, it's sad enough now.
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Puerto Rico will have at least this amount of debris, I wonder if open burning
is an option. |
I can't imagine Houston or Florida much progress in less than a year, it will take much longer to get those two close to where they were, some of their infrastructure is still in place. Not so in Puerto Rico, everything is destroyed and in need of rebuilding, even the trees are gone. It was prior to the twin Hurricanes a very lush green tropical paradise, even the landscaping has to be repaired, It's a disaster of enormous proportions, the hospitals are full, the airports are disaster relief stations and the streets are full of good people struggling to survive, I hope God blesses them. There is one streak of silver in the lining, that is the dam has not failed, yet.
Thanks for reading and sharing. I made my first YouTube video, if you are curious what old Jacques looks and sounds like take a look, I think it's pretty entertaining. I'm not too embarrassed for being an old guy in a young person's world. https://youtu.be/XB4frGzKMF8
jacquesandkate
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