Puerto Rico, let's converse about SHTF.

Turns out, doing surgery without light is a dangerous thing. Also, doing surgery without anesthesia is apparently bad, too. I know I'm being too much of a chatterbox today, but I suspect this is exactly what we're missing when we try to plan for SHTF. On the ground, Puerto Rico just became a place where children die of appendicitis and other solvable issues. Children aren't going to school, so the entire populace has been set back educationally behind the rest of the world. Soon mosquitoes will become a major problem because getting medicine for malaria is going to be an issue. And all too soon hunger will become an issue. They can fish, but will they be able to support their population with food they can't transport or keep from going bad during transport? How many people are going to feed their kids food that is borderline dangerous because they can't get their hands on anything else to feed them? I just heard the Jones act will keep medicine and aid from going directly to the island. These guys can't buy a break now.

 

Are you saying that the Hospitals don't have generator backup and gasoline to keep them going? And, if so, is that not a duty, a responsibility and requirement of their administration? It certainly isn't mine or my state's, or any of the States or the Federal government responsibility. It's theirs. As far as education, missing a few months of school will not have a serious affect on a child. I am not saying we shouldn't help and I would hope that aid has been prioritizes as we have had quite a few Natural Disasters lately. They get their share and perhaps next time they will be prepared. The bottom line is PR was not prepared and much of their suffering has been caused by themselves and their government. You reap what you sow. Sorry but I have very little sympathy for those who take the easy way and don't help themselves and then whine and cry and expect you, me and others to help them.

 

In no way would I suggest that it is the responsibility of the US to save these guys and I suspect this situation is far worse than you have stated. They are quite socialist and probably have the expectation that the US will come save them. I would follow that up with the fact that they often suggest the US shouldn't go running in to push other countries around and they patently hate our president and conservatives in general. My point is that it isn't about the lights not being on in SHTF, it's about a million tiny things we don't consider that require electricity. As far as responsibility, I have a responsibility as a Christian, but our nation's biggest responsibility is to get out of the way of them helping themselves. I'll admit I was hoping we'd send a carrier. It would just be the fastest way to help get the island back on their feet, but no one has expressed gratitude for US help since WWII. Maybe we can just say we'll match what England gives?

 

I like it when you are a chatterbox. You are important to this discussion because you have spent time in a third world country and know first hand what issues are.

That is why we are prepping and disasters like this help us learn and see where we ourselves are lacking. Puerto Rico is in an overwhelming situation and I am glad we are discussing it here.

 

How were they not prepared? I think the winds were 155 mph. I think at that speed, solar panels would have been damaged plus generators may have been impacted due to flood waters. .If we look at Key West, that place got leveled. I think those people boarded up their windows and prayed their home was there when they go back.

 

MM34 are you telling me that if you lived on that island and were given the warning they were given that you wouldn't be better situated, better off so to speak? Just knowing you from this forum, I would say you would be. For goodness sake, they live on an island in the Caribbean which is renown for horrible storms, hurricanes, typhoons, you name it! Storm shelters, propane, canned and freeze-dried food, the exact same stuff that you store away now and you live in Colorado not PR! would be a life saver for these people. I am not saying they are not in need nor am I saying that we shouldn't help them but they should have been better prepared because the danger is obvious. Look, I live in rural Idaho surrounded by trees. I loved it but it is also extremely dangerous during the summer months, forest/wild fires. Am I prepared? You bet I am, to the best of my ability. But, it is their government that I really hold to fault because there should have be emergency planning put in place years ago for just this type of thing. My guess is the US Navy will have to get heavily involved but don't count out the Air Force. I saw with my own eyes what they can do, a C-5, C-17 or C-130 landing or taking off every 30 minutes, round the clock - friggin amazing!

@Seepalaces I have been doing some reading on this Jones Act...another perfect example of corruption at the highest level in my personal opinion. It also goes to show that not only are the American people taken advantage of at every opportunity with the willful cooperation of the American government (as long as they get their cut) but even people living in our territories. Disgusts me.

 

Yes, I would be prepared but that is me. One thing we need to remember is that most Americans are not preppers. Even those people that live in Florida are not prepared. Preppers or self-reliant people are a minority in today's world. Puerto Rico may have people that weathered the storms fine but they will not be the ones that you see on Geraldo's evening news report. Instead the news is reporting on those that were the ones that rushed out the evening before hurricane landfall and fought over a pack of Double A's. Sadly most always think tomorrow will be the same as it was today. Those people do not believe that something of this magnitude will ever touch their lives.

@Bandit99 we are a minority by being and striving towards self reliance. Sometimes it is good to be a minority.

 

Who knew we had a colony in 2017? It weirds me out.

 

Being prepared is a relative thing. As a native life-long Florida (sixty years old) I consider myself well prepared, considering I am in a nominally "safe" area of Florida. Inland in the north, no flooding dangers. The storms lose a lot of their power by the time they hit us.
But, if I were looking at a Cat Five about to smack us dead on, I would pack and bug out, before the roads got pack with refugees. I simply cannot prep for that level of storm. As much as Irma smashed PR, The Keys and other Caribbean areas, she was down to a petulant Tropical Storm when we got her attention. Barely used my preps, slept through much of it.

 

I am prepared for just about any category hurricane and 90 inch rain event ... by not living a few feet above sea level nor near the coast.

If a hurricane makes it here, well every thing east of the Mississippi is probably a right off.

at 900+ feet ASL, all the glaciers can melt and I'm still not getting wet.

 

Freeze? Nah, it's not like we are up in the Rockies. -20F is about as cold as it gets .. and with 2 fireplace inserts .. I can get the living room up to 90F and have to open the windows and doors to cool down.

 

Most of the buildings in Puerto Rico are concrete, many even have concrete roofs. If life in a bunker isn't safe during a Category Five Storm, HOW DO YOU PREPARE?
Hope they get enough volunteers to drive the truck loads of supplies out of the depot.

 

Truck drivers and get the roads cleared so the trucks can move. It is going to be a total FUBAR for some time to come, too bad those idiots screaming about the US (Trump) not doing anything in a timely fashon aren't put in charge - then we'd really see a mess.

 

A couple Navy flattops and a bunch of helos will get the supplies in. The Carrier has hospital space, and can supply fresh water and electrical power.

 

Just wait until that "Colony" moves into your back yard....


From ZeroHedge

While the urgency of the situation leaves many of Puerto Rico’s 3.4 million population little choice, the Financial Times is reporting that the scramble to flee could worsen the population decline as some of those leaving may opt to permanently resettle. Meanwhile, cities with large Puerto Rican populations are asking for federal assistance as they prepare to absorb as many as 100,000 people fleeing the hurricane.

Mainland US cities with large Puerto Rican populations are warning that they will need federal help to cope with an anticipated influx of island residents fleeing the devastation visited on the US commonwealth by Hurricane Maria.

“If it’s as large-scale as we anticipated, it’s got to be a federal and state-co-ordinated response,” said Buddy Dyer, Orlando’s mayor. “It can’t be city by city.”

Some have said they expect to host the disaster victims for up to six months.

“We are expecting a large influx of evacuees to the state,” said Teresa Jacobs, mayor of Orange County in Florida, which includes Orlando. “We will have a major evacuation population for an extended period of time — three months, six months.”

Some city officials claimed that they’re working with state and federal officials to formulate a coordinated response.

Officials from the Orlando area said on Wednesday that co-ordination with the federal government was in the early stages.

“We are reaching out to federal authorities,” said Ms Jacobs. “We are planning to have a forum next Tuesday with federal authorities as well as state authorities just to get the conversation started about the co-ordination and the logistics of this effort.”

As the FT noted, the severity of the crisis was underscored on Thursday when President Donald Trump waived the Jones Act, allowing more ships to make their way to Puerto Rico. In a series of tweets, Trump lauded the disaster response, saying that navy vessels have delivered millions of dollars of supplies to the island. -----

The population of PR is 3.4 million

1/3 of that island's population is on welfare right now - $2 Billion a year just in food stamps.

OH, yeah, your new neighbors are going to be really wonderful.. OTOH, their welfare dollars will go further in the CONUS than on the island....