Killer Icicles and Floods Trail Ice Storms; National Guard Rescuers Battle Equipment

It is absolutely amazing how many people do not know how to cook from scratch, build a fire in a fireplace, man a campfire, boil an egg, or pile on the blankets. Here in God’s Country—Southern Indiana, our survival skills and patience have been put to the test the last week, but, not as much as our neighbor to the south, Kentucky.

Many of us have no power—try living in an all-electric apartment with no power. Some of us have winter air-conditioning, thanks to rotten trees and falling tree limbs. Some of us are walking with the ancestors, thanks to no heat, distant relatives and neighbors who either didn’t know we were in trouble, or didn’t care.

This was one of the worse winter storms the nation has seen. And many of us are so spoiled, that, instead of making sure we have plenty of blankets, staples and survival skills for the next go around, want to blame utility companies for this mess.

Yes, there is plenty of blame to go around. Thanks to the deployment of our National Guard overseas, not to mention the great sucking sound of our equipment dollars going to the Middle East, many of our National Guard troops are under-equipped when they show up to a disaster.

The Associated Press is reporting that many of the Guard who are now deployed in ice-devastated Kentucky do not have chain saws. How in the world are you going to help people who are trapped by tree-covered roads, with no tools to get rid of the trees and open the roads?

We lack the simple survival skills, equipped personnel and tools to handle this crisis. In some of our cities, city bus systems were shut down—and shelters were way on the other side of town. Local leaders, religious communities and not-for-profit corporations were so busy feuding with each other and “helping their own” that thousands of people had to “battle” each other over the few hotel rooms that were available—provided they had the cash to pay for the lodging.

Now we have idiot Internet feuds over whether this storm was more devastating than Katrina. Get real, people. Mindless comparisons and pissing contests over which disaster is more disastrous misses the point: and the point is, we remain dangerously unprepared for disaster in this country.

A week after the storm hit, and many still have no power, no heat. Tens of thousands remain without power, in the middle of winter, and probably won’t have power next week. Even those whose power has been restored run the risk of being without power again, as the weather warms and thawing trees snap more power lines.

I hear that a man died somewhere, after being speared in the head by a falling icicle.
I don’t know how true that is, but I do know that all of our city parks are closed until the weather warms up and city crews can remove the downed trees and limbs.

I met a Vietnam veteran on a city bus—the day after the buses started running again. He was on the way get a down sleeping bag for camping out in his powerless, house. He said he could take it, having military survival skills, but he did not want to put his wife and children through the experience. They were already at his in-laws, who had power—for the time being, anyway.

Meanwhile, two hi-rise apartments for the elderly were without power. Don’t ask me how those old folk got down 8 flights of steps, because my legs hurt just thinking about it. Across town, and in the suburbs, the fire department was run ragged, as downed power lines and cold citizens caused fires all over the place.

I almost lost a battle with the ice monster, as I was sanding our sidewalk. I flung the sand in one direction and the ice bit back. Luckily I have great reflexes—fat don’t bounce and I’m not about to try to disprove the laws of physics.

I have few relatives in Kentucky who are battling the ice and snow. One 80-something cousin was huddled under a mountain of blankets, 10 feet from his fireplace because he didn’t have cut firewood nearby.

I don’t know where another cousin is; I rang her phone off the hood, with no answer. Not that I expected an answer—she’s in the process of suing a contractor, after her back wall convinced itself that it was a mole and tried to dig to China. No way she and her family are still living in the house.

City bus passengers look at leaning trees fearfully, as buses roll over downed power lines and tree debris. The city looks like a bomb hit it, as snow and ice slithers through tree-crunched roofs and smashed garages.

Snow stopped trains, plains and cars in their tracks, stranding thousands of travelers. Over 700,000 Kentuckians are without power, as rescuers battle impassible roads and mountain lanes. But now, storm-devastated areas face another danger—melting ice and snow and flooding.

CNN and other agencies report that the National Guard is conducting a door-to-door search in the most devastated counties in Kentucky. In one area alone, they’re searching 38,000 households.

The sun and warmer temperatures are clearing the ice and snow, but that in and of itself brings more danger, flooding and falling ice. And that will be another disaster in the making.

Meanwhile, carbon monoxide poisoning and fires have killed several people, including a special needs child I Kentucky, after storm victims reportedly improperly used generators, charcoal grills, candles and heaters inside their homes.

In Arkansas, the Red Cross is warning against improper use of stoves, candles, and heaters. "With Red Cross chapters already responding to more than one fire a day, the improper use of heating sources increases the potential for disasters, including injury to people or property." (http://www.todaysthv.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=79170&catid=2)

Kentucky residents are finding fuel, generators, and saws in short supply—those who can get to the store to look: thousands can’t get out of their snow and tree-blocked driveways. The entire Kentucky National Guard has been called up to deal with this disaster. According to the AP, this is the largest National Guard call out in Kentucky history.

The state’s governor expressed concern about his state’s residents, telling reporters: "We're concerned about the lives and the safety of our people in their own homes," Beshear said, "and we need the manpower in some of the rural areas to go door-to-door . . . and make sure they're okay.” (AP)

What has been a disaster for some, is profit for others. Trees need to be removed from properties, roofs will need repairing. All in all, this storm will put millions of dollars into the pockets of construction companies and utility workers.
Rob Fisher, president of Purofirst Disaster Services, 2251 Stanley Gault Parkway, has had 40 employees, divided into nine crews, working 16- to 18-hour days since the storm began. (Louisville Courier-Journal, 1-29-09)

Fisher told reporters: “We’re rockin’….” “All of the generators we own are out right now. We have people pulling trees off of houses, and boarding up damage.” (Ibid)

There is a lot of money to be made in storm damage cleanup and repair. So much that consumer advocates in Kentucky and Indiana are warning against scam artists.

Meanwhile, the Indiana Department of Homeland Security has released a statement about sending equipment to Kentucky. According to a press release:
The Indiana Department of Homeland Security (IDHS) has coordinated with the Indiana National Guard (INNG) to deliver the humvees to New Albany, Evansville and Camp Atterbury, where they will be picked up by Kentucky National Guard troops. (Press Release)

So far, Indiana says it has fulfilled all requests for assistance within the state and no federal help is required. However, Kentucky and Arkansas, have asked for and received a federal disaster declaration: "President Barack Obama signed requests from Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear and Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe for federal emergency declarations after winter storms crippled those states, causing fallen trees and power outages." (AP)