Emergency management performance-- food/ water distribution

[ccather]

Question: Why did it take 72 hours for the government to set up food and water distribution? Can we do better? (These comments are not directed toward any first responders!)

Risk: This relatively mild storm exposes gaps (failures?) in emergency planning with regards to commodity distribution that could become life threatening in a larger disaster.

Evidence for concern:

Report from WEAR TV: https://weartv.com/news/local/chann...t-food-distribution-delay-for-escambia-county:

Channel 3 asked Emergency Management Director Eric Gilmore why the supplies aren't here yet. He says the food and water were ordered from Tallahassee even as the storm was raging.

But Sally moved east with fierce winds and rain, and the trucks couldn't get out of the state capitol. Parts of I-10 were impassable due to rivers running over the road.

Gilmore explained further, "Those commodities and everything will not roll to our area until it dies down. So yesterday [Thursday] morning was actually day one for recovery -- for us to try to get these assets in."

Thursday, there were more delays from flooding on 1-10 in Sally's aftermath.

"National Guard's ready to go, I had the manpower, I just didn't have commodity," Gilmore continued.
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After reading this, you probably spotted, let us be generous here, a "lack of imagination" in the emergency response plan.

Areas of concern:

• He says the food and water were ordered from Tallahassee even as the storm was raging. Ya think you could have picked up the phone a few hours earlier? Don't even need fast reflexes to recognize a threat as the storm was only moving 2-3 mph. Even if storm changed direction, it was only a three hour return trip back to Tally for the trucks.
• ..trucks couldn't get out of the state capitol. Why are the commodities hoarded in the state capital? That location sure did not work out well this time because:
• Those commodities and everything will not roll to our area until it dies down. Imagine if we had some of them stored nearby? They would not need to "roll in". The trucks could not get here because:
• Thursday, there were more delays from flooding on 1-10 in Sally's aftermath. Flooded roads and closed bridges after a hurricane. Man, I did not see that one coming. Who would have thought?...

I am not an expert in such matters and I am sure there are a bunch of great excuses that explain the above but,
will those excuses feed your family if and when food/water distribution really, really matters?

We can do better.

 

[ccather]

I am thinking about others here as I can go quite awhile without needing resupply.

 

[Jdcujo]

you do realize there are billboards that state the first 72 are on you?
first off the roads being blocked, people going sightseeing the damage and just being in the way hurts thd cause more than helps it.
second, you do realize the guard and all these guys helping to respond are going through the same thing the community is ?

 

[Jdcujo]

Likely there is supplis nearby. guess what else probably got damaged during the storm ?

 

[ccather]

you do realize there are billboards that state the first 72 are on you?
first off the roads being blocked, people going sightseeing the damage and just being in the way hurts thd cause more than helps it.
second, you do realize the guard and all these guys helping to respond are going through the same thing the community is ?

I do. I can go for quite some time. What if your "72" are destroyed?

 

[ccather]

I do. I can go for quite some time. What if your "72" are destroyed?

I do. I can go for quite some time. What if your "72" are destroyed?

The guard has nothing to do with my comments. I am talking about commodities. I specifically said my comments were not directed toward first responders.

 

[ccather]

Likely there is supplis nearby. guess what else probably got damaged during the storm ?

what?

 

[ccather]

you do realize there are billboards that state the first 72 are on you?
first off the roads being blocked, people going sightseeing the damage and just being in the way hurts thd cause more than helps it.
second, you do realize the guard and all these guys helping to respond are going through the same thing the community is ?

I see you have excuses. Will they feed your family when it is really needed?

We can do better.

 

[SAWMAN]

FOOD AND WATER ???
WHAT FOOD AND WATER ??
They were in my neighborhood two days after Ivan. I have yet to see these supplies anywhere. --- SAWMAN

 

[ccather]

To be clear, I strongly believe in personal responsibility and self reliance.

I also expect professionalism from those whose responsibility (and job) it is to plan for emergencies.

 

[FrommerStop]

This sums up what I think

I am a former CERT member. If one is complaining they should at least volunteer of some sort

 

[USAF Sarge]

After Michael, they were blocking non residents from entering Bay County. So a lot of church groups, good samaritans, were initially blocked. But once the flow started we had more than we needed.

There was an individual from Crestview that hauled a big utility trailer with his pickup truck. In it, he had tons of water, and baby wipes. The kicker was a large fuel tank, and he was giving out 10 gallons of gas per family for free. He gave us 20 gallons as my generators were supplying power for 3 households. I tried to give him money and he refused.

Yeah there some delays, but our damage was catastrophic, but within a few days it seemed like the whole world was here helping us. I can't say enough about the Power Companies, First Responders, Church Groups, and Private Individuals, and all the Various Companies that stepped in to help us.

 

[Jhunter]

It’s a good time to prep for the worse if you have been spared from the most recent storm. No way will I live a life relying on my government. That being said if anyone needs anything I’m headed west tomorrow and can bring rations.

 

[ccather]

This sums up what I think
View attachment 92570
I am a former CERT member. If one is complaining they should at least volunteer of some sort

I appreciate you opinion as a former CERT member. Were you involved with planning commodity transportation to disaster stricken areas? What are your suggestions on how to improve what is documented above?

 

[MauserLarry]

Question: Why did it take 72 hours for the government to set up food and water distribution? Can we do better? (These comments are not directed toward any first responders!)

Risk: This relatively mild storm exposes gaps (failures?) in emergency planning with regards to commodity distribution that could become life threatening in a larger disaster.

Evidence for concern:

Report from WEAR TV: https://weartv.com/news/local/chann...t-food-distribution-delay-for-escambia-county:

Channel 3 asked Emergency Management Director Eric Gilmore why the supplies aren't here yet. He says the food and water were ordered from Tallahassee even as the storm was raging.

But Sally moved east with fierce winds and rain, and the trucks couldn't get out of the state capitol. Parts of I-10 were impassable due to rivers running over the road.

Gilmore explained further, "Those commodities and everything will not roll to our area until it dies down. So yesterday [Thursday] morning was actually day one for recovery -- for us to try to get these assets in."

Thursday, there were more delays from flooding on 1-10 in Sally's aftermath.

"National Guard's ready to go, I had the manpower, I just didn't have commodity," Gilmore continued.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After reading this, you probably spotted, let us be generous here, a "lack of imagination" in the emergency response plan.

Areas of concern:

• He says the food and water were ordered from Tallahassee even as the storm was raging. Ya think you could have picked up the phone a few hours earlier? Don't even need fast reflexes to recognize a threat as the storm was only moving 2-3 mph. Even if storm changed direction, it was only a three hour return trip back to Tally for the trucks.
• ..trucks couldn't get out of the state capitol. Why are the commodities hoarded in the state capital? That location sure did not work out well this time because:
• Those commodities and everything will not roll to our area until it dies down. Imagine if we had some of them stored nearby? They would not need to "roll in". The trucks could not get here because:
• Thursday, there were more delays from flooding on 1-10 in Sally's aftermath. Flooded roads and closed bridges after a hurricane. Man, I did not see that one coming. Who would have thought?...

I am not an expert in such matters and I am sure there are a bunch of great excuses that explain the above but,
will those excuses feed your family if and when food/water distribution really, really matters?

We can do better.

I can't speak for the city or county but the federal government is a large organization with a lot of duties assigned to multiple agencies that don't have real good communications with each other. I work for the Corps of Engineers and we get assigned to disasters fairly frequently. Katrina being a well known one. There are certain hoops that have to be jumped through. There has to be a disaster declaration and we have to be requested. If that doesn't happen we can't, by law, make a move. This in itself takes some time. We don't just have equipment loaded up on trucks waiting for something to happen. This time of year it is all out on jobs and would have to be retrieved and hauled to the disaster area, which sometimes ain't easy to get to. When all this gets worked out the federal response is usually massive but even saying that some disasters are so great that no amount of relief is adequate. I see no way to get a federal response to a disaster in less than 72 hours. Everybody that lives in our part of the world should have a minimum of a weeks worth of food and water for each family member and pets. Hurricanes do not come as a surprise, there's warnings.

 

[ccather]

I am an idiot but in my opinion, The Salvation Army did a better job of preparing than our Emergency Management Director, Eric Gilmore. The Army was distributing and serving prepared meals 24 hours before our government could bring in bottles of water and boxes MREs. The Salvation Army brought in kitchens from other states. The guy in the video is my neighbor. He told me they partnered with (I believe) the Baptist Mens organization who helped cook the meals.

Mr. Gilmore may learn something from them.

https://buffalonews.com/news/nation...deo_c13aa098-35dc-5b96-8c52-af791eed1df1.html

 

[MauserLarry]

The Salvation Army is an excellent organization and have people and equipment on standby and can move quickly. They were everywhere during Katrina. They have a local presence in a lot of places which local observers can assess damages and local needs quickly. We should all support them.

 

[Telum Pisces]

Government is slow to respond because of all the hurdles and tape that have to be gone through. Just how it works. 72 hrs after a natural disaster is standard.

Local volunteers and organizations are always going to be able to mobilize before the government. Just the way it works! A lot goes into disaster relief and it takes time!

 

[ccather]

I can't speak for the city or county but the federal government is a large organization with a lot of duties assigned to multiple agencies that don't have real good communications with each other. I work for the Corps of Engineers and we get assigned to disasters fairly frequently. Katrina being a well known one. There are certain hoops that have to be jumped through. There has to be a disaster declaration and we have to be requested. If that doesn't happen we can't, by law, make a move. This in itself takes some time. We don't just have equipment loaded up on trucks waiting for something to happen. This time of year it is all out on jobs and would have to be retrieved and hauled to the disaster area, which sometimes ain't easy to get to. When all this gets worked out the federal response is usually massive but even saying that some disasters are so great that no amount of relief is adequate. I see no way to get a federal response to a disaster in less than 72 hours. Everybody that lives in our part of the world should have a minimum of a weeks worth of food and water for each family member and pets. Hurricanes do not come as a surprise, there's warnings.

I appreciate your insight into how the Federal of the government works. You highlighted some of the problems of Federal response. Based upon what you describe, if quick assistance is needed, the Feds are not an option?

Since hurricanes are not a surprise and the Feds are often asked to come in, do you not think it odd that they do not have a few resources available to deploy quickly??

 

[ccather]

The Salvation Army is an excellent organization and have people and equipment on standby and can move quickly. They were everywhere during Katrina. They have a local presence in a lot of places which local observers can assess damages and local needs quickly. We should all support them.

And our government doesn't ? Seems odd, I wonder why?