Conditions Primitive in Texas After Rita

[cal04]

Five days after Hurricane Rita came ashore, conditions remained primitive in parts of Texas, where some residents were taking baths and brushing their teeth using water from the Neches River and others were sleeping in tents. The plywood sign outside the home in East Texas where eight Beaumont families had sought refuge from Hurricane Rita carried a simple message: "Help Needed. Ice and Water. 43 People." The evacuees had no electricity and little water or food after the storm. As temperatures neared triple-digits, adults used paper towels dampened with bottled water to keep children from overheating. A campfire was built to keep mosquitoes away.

"The only thing we could think of to survive was to put out that sign," said Tiffany Moten, 24, who was staying at the home near Livingston. "Luckily, we were blessed, and we have a lot of friendly people who came up and brought us water and ice and things like that. We are trying to make it."

The Federal Emergency Management Agencydelivered ice, water and packaged meals Wednesday to residents who rode out the storm, but some officials in hard-hit areas criticized the agency's response, with one calling for a commission to examine the emergency response.

Local officials, including Port Arthur Mayor Oscar Ortiz and Jefferson County Judge Carl Griffith, said FEMA's response has been inadequate. Griffith said he has asked Gov. Rick Perry to set up a commission to study the emergency response to Rita. Congress is holding hearings this week on the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050929/ap_on_re_us/rita

[sonias]

1. Rural residents are forgotten after the storm

We have entire small towns and cities wiped off the map and FEMA is closing disaster relief centers leaving these people with no help. It's obvious that Brownie wasn't the only problem. Where the hell is Rick Perry's actual response team! We need the Texas Guard in there helping, not a commission to study the emergency response problem!

And the media has moved on of course. Storms are so last week for them.

Sonia