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From: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-5371552,00.html
Does anyone still live with the illusion that can rely on anything else for your safety in a disaster?
Miami: Emergency Supplies Are Dwindling
Wednesday October 26, 2005 6:46 PM
AP Photo FLJC103
By ALLEN BREED
Associated Press Writer
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) - The mayor of Miami-Dade County warned that emergency supplies were dwindling Wednesday, a new blow to victims of Hurricane Wilma who had hoped to avoid another frustrating day of long lines for food and water.
At least one distribution site in Miami-Dade was out of supplies, and the other 10 were running low with material from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Mayor Carlos Alvarez said.
``We are not hoarding supplies anywhere. They have been distributed,'' he said. ``When this inventory runs out at these different distribution centers, we do not know and FEMA cannot tell us when they will be resupplied.''
He said it could be Wednesday night before the stocks are resupplied. ``I cannot give you a timetable because, ladies and gentlemen, quite frankly, we don't control those assets.''
Alvarez called the relief process ``flawed'' and called for more control and oversight.
FEMA spokeswoman Nicol Andrews said she has ``seen the hundreds of trucks prepositioned'' at Homestead and in Jacksonville full of supplies. But she said she would check into the specifics of Alvarez's complaints.
Items Americans usually take for granted - a bag of ice, a fast-food burger, a gallon of gas - have taken hours of patience to get since Hurricane Wilma made its destructive sweep through southern Florida.
Police watched over the few gas stations that were open as a precaution in case motorists' tempers flared while they waited for up to five hours to buy fuel.
``I need gas for my generator so I can go to work and make some money,'' said Hector Vasquez, 36, who repairs windows. ``This shouldn't be this difficult.''
Florida Power & Light, the state's biggest utility, said Wilma affected more of its 4.3 million customers than any other natural disaster in the company's history. By Wednesday, service was restored to about 20 percent of the 3.2 million customers who lost service - but the company warned Floridians that total restoration may take weeks.
The 21st storm in the busiest Atlantic hurricane season on record, Wilma was blamed for at least five deaths in Florida. Before hitting the United States, the hurricane killed at least four people in Mexico, one in Jamaica and 12 in Haiti.
Thousands of haggard tourists battled for airline and bus seats out of Mexico's hurricane-battered Caribbean resorts, but thousands more remained stranded Wednesday. Officials said about 22,000 foreign tourists remained in the area Tuesday, down from a peak of almost 40,000.
There were signs of progress Wednesday in Florida: More streets were cleared of debris, a few restaurants opened and domestic flights resumed at Miami International Airport. Even trash removal returned to some areas.
Many residents, however, shared frustration over what they felt was the slow pace of aid. Trucks carrying the first wave of relief - food, ice and water - either arrived much later than local officials expected Tuesday or didn't show up at all.
At a distribution center at the Orange Bowl near downtown Miami, about 500 people were in line Wednesday to get supplies that were arriving during the morning. Even more people had been at the stadium Tuesday, when supplies arrived late.
``I need the ice and water desperately. I have a diabetic son and I need to keep his insulin cool,'' said Gloria Duzallon, 38, a medical office manager from Hollywood.
Nine hours after she got in line Tuesday at one designated relief-supply location, Fanie Aristil, 23, of North Miami wearily left for home with 28 pounds of ice and six liters of bottled water.
``All that time,'' Aristil said. ``This is all we get?''
Businesses also were having trouble meeting demand. Hundreds of people lined up outside one home-supply store, desperate for cleanup and other supplies. At a handful of fast-food restaurants open in the Miami area burgers were available - to those willing to endure two-hour waits.
FEMA spokeswoman Frances Marine urged Floridians to be patient, and reminded residents that officials had recommended that people have 72 hours of essential supplies on hand ahead of Wilma's arrival.
``People will have their needs met,'' Marine said. ``The bottom line is that there's a plan in place.''
President Bush planned a Thursday visit to assess damage in Florida.
The quantity of debris is daunting: Pieces of roofs, trees, signs, awnings, fences, billboards and pool screens were scattered across several counties, including the state's most populous region - the Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach area. Damage estimates ranged up to $10 billion.
Wilma was the strongest hurricane to strike Lauderdale since 1950. Wind of more than 100 mph blew windows out of high-rises, many built before Florida enacted tougher construction codes following Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
Does anyone still live with the illusion that can rely on anything else for your safety in a disaster?
