That statement is not meant to be humorous. There are some very old cities in these areas. The populations are stable and frequently the Middle Class or impoverished. This devastation is more than a matter of rebuilding to them. This is a return to LOSS.
When people have little in life, there is that much more loss realized when all comforts are gone.
Some of what occurred in these communities was due to the age of the towns and buildings themselves.
But, rationalizing the loss isn't comforting. There is nothing the government can do to bring back what was and make the tragedy go away. Community after community need their local leaders to be strong and examples of what is possible. They need to lead. The President nor the Governor can make visits to every doorstep to bring help. This is the role of the local leadership.
Everyone in these circumstances are facing devastating events in their lives, but, they have to be motivated to move away from their loss. There are shelters everywhere. There is no reason for exposure to contaminated water and air with burgeoning health problems.
It will not be long before molds and fungus will begin to build in these areas. That will cause hideous disease requiring medical treatment almost as bad as the disease itself.
It is not realistic for citizens to remain in their homes. No matter how difficult it is to leave there are many, many reasons to do so.
People have to understand they have to return to their lives as they exist now while in a zone of safety provided for them by their government in recognition of the importance of their lives. The devotion of the state, federal and local governments in this disaster has been more than remarkable. They acted in protection of their citizens and to defeat that now is a matter of denial of reality as it exists at this moment.
There are shelters where space, food, warmth and other community members are to find their lives moving into the future. There is support at the shelters.
None of this is easy, but, families are not about suffering so much as coping, growing, loving each other through such tragedy and looking forward to a future.
A remarkable number of people are alive. Let's keep it that way.
Superstorm Sandy: The north-east begins long struggle to recovery (click here)
Death toll at 58 and millions still without power as recovery begins from devastating storm that cost billions of damage
Paul Harris, Karen McVeigh and Gizelle Lugo in New York
Thursday, November 1, 2012
When people have little in life, there is that much more loss realized when all comforts are gone.
Some of what occurred in these communities was due to the age of the towns and buildings themselves.
But, rationalizing the loss isn't comforting. There is nothing the government can do to bring back what was and make the tragedy go away. Community after community need their local leaders to be strong and examples of what is possible. They need to lead. The President nor the Governor can make visits to every doorstep to bring help. This is the role of the local leadership.
Everyone in these circumstances are facing devastating events in their lives, but, they have to be motivated to move away from their loss. There are shelters everywhere. There is no reason for exposure to contaminated water and air with burgeoning health problems.
It will not be long before molds and fungus will begin to build in these areas. That will cause hideous disease requiring medical treatment almost as bad as the disease itself.
It is not realistic for citizens to remain in their homes. No matter how difficult it is to leave there are many, many reasons to do so.
People have to understand they have to return to their lives as they exist now while in a zone of safety provided for them by their government in recognition of the importance of their lives. The devotion of the state, federal and local governments in this disaster has been more than remarkable. They acted in protection of their citizens and to defeat that now is a matter of denial of reality as it exists at this moment.
There are shelters where space, food, warmth and other community members are to find their lives moving into the future. There is support at the shelters.
None of this is easy, but, families are not about suffering so much as coping, growing, loving each other through such tragedy and looking forward to a future.
A remarkable number of people are alive. Let's keep it that way.
Superstorm Sandy: The north-east begins long struggle to recovery (click here)
Death toll at 58 and millions still without power as recovery begins from devastating storm that cost billions of damage
Paul Harris, Karen McVeigh and Gizelle Lugo in New York
Thursday, November 1, 2012
America's devastated north-east began to struggle to life in the wake of superstorm Sandy even as millions of people remained without power and the US military continued to launch rescue missions to people trapped by floodwaters.
The historic storm killed at least 58 people in the US and has left more than 8 million people without power. New Jersey bore the brunt of the storm and in the city of Hoboken – just across the Hudson river from New York – the US National Guard arrived to help evacuate up to 20,000 people stuck in their homes.
Sandy is now thought to have caused tens of billions of dollars of damage with a unique combination of high winds, a massive flood surge and even a blizzard in mountainous areas. Its cone of impact stretched from North Carolina to Canada and it has been described by many as the worst ever to hit the region....
Look, if people insist on being exposed to petroleum tainted water there will be....THAT WAS WILL BE....an increase in cancers in 20 years and less. The people have to be moved to safety until it is safe to return.
