freedombecki
Let's go swimmin'!
Sounds like FEMA is putting on quite a horror show there in a disaster situation.If this is government helping I'll pass and rely on myself and the charity of strangers. Note the bolded.
Bitter cold inside a disaster shelter | The Asbury Park Press NJ | app.comSitting there last night you could see your breath, said Sotelo. At (Pine Belt) the Red Cross made an announcement that they were sending us to permanent structures up here that had just been redone, that had washing machines and hot showers and steady electric, and they sent us to tent city. We got (expletive).
The elections are over and here we are. There were Blackhawk helicopters flying over all day and night. They have heavy equipment moving past the tents all night.
Welcome to the part of the disaster where people start falling through the cracks.
No media is allowed inside the fenced complex, which houses operations for JCP&Ls army of workers from out of the area. The FEMA website indicated on Monday that there had been a shelter for first responders, utility and construction workers to take a break, although the compound now contains a full-time shelter operated by the state Department of Human Services.
Sotelo scrolls through the photos he took inside the facility as his wife, Renee, huddles for warmth inside a late-model Toyota Corolla stuffed with possessions, having to drive out through the snow and slush to tell their story. The images on the small screen include lines of outdoor portable toilets, of snow and ice breaching the bottom of the tent and an elderly woman sitting up, huddled in blankets.
All the while, a black car with tinted windows crests the hill and cruises by, as if to check on the proceedings.
As Sotelo tells it, when it became clear that the residents were less than enamored with their new accommodations Wednesday night and were letting the outside world know about it, officials tried to stop them from taking pictures, turned off the WiFi and said they couldnt charge their smart phones because there wasnt enough power.
My 6-year-old daughter Angie was a premie and has a problem regulating her body temperature, Sotelo noted. Until 11 (Wednesday) night they had no medical personnel at all here, not even a nurse. After everyone started complaining and they found out we were contacting the press, they brought people in. Every time we plugged in an iPhone or something, the cops would come and unplug them. Yet when they moved us in they laid out cable on the table and the electricians told us they were setting up charging stations. But suddenly there wasnt enough power.
All of this is merely the last straw for a 46-year-old on disability, with two rods and 22 staples in his back.
The staff at the micro-city are providing for the needs of all the evacuees, said Nicole Brossoie, spokeswoman for the Department of Human Services. Each day there is transportation to the pharmacy for prescription medications, if needed. There are ADA (handicapped-accessible) toilets and showers on site.
There were concerns with the heat when evacuees first arrived. Those issues were resolved within a couple of hours by adding more heaters.
Sotelos seen the home he rents on Kearney Avenue even though residents have yet to be allowed back, having been enlisted as a driver for the Red Cross.
He was on the barrier islands the day after the storm, as a matter of fact. There had been a foot of water in his place. Thats it. And now hes left to wonder why hes still not allowed back.
Even without gas or electric, he figures it has to be better than this place.
Everybody is angry over here. Its like being prison, said Sotelo, who grew up in Wayne. Ive been working since I was 10. Ive been on my own since I was 16. And for things to be so bad that its pissing me off, that tells you something.