its clear you have no idea of the magnitude of a natural disaster like Florence or Harvey, and logistically those are the easy ones, we have roads to drive material into. Anyone can stage supplies, getting them out is a different story, You have a finite amount of resources to expend, the crews flying those aircraft and manning those boats, all have to get down time as well otherwise they start making mistakes and that has a cascade effect. It is a numbers game, it is that simple. Do you strip people away from other places to augment, yes, but then you are impacting their ability to continue the other missions. The response to Florence so far has been pretty damn good from what I have seen and the people that I have spoken to at the Command Center that is coordinating response, but again, you will not save everyone. People need to be more responsible about their own choices. If you chose to stay, do not expect a rescue response during the storm, the days of 'You have to go out, you do not have to come back' are long gone.
As for Hurricane Maria, that was a nightmare logistically, its an island, take every challenge you have and multiply it by 10, the ports had to be cleared and made safe, then you have to load things on ships to get them down, which takes time, loading and transit. Its not as if you can stage them somewhere, its a hurricane, they are big and you can not say with certainty where it is going. I have a little more empathy for the people there since they really did not have anywhere to go. But I also think that the media coverage was absurd because I never heard anyone talk about the challenges of dealing with the fact that it is thousands of miles away from the 48 and an island.
Not Florence but video from the typhoon as it passed it over HK and on to China. It's a tweet with a collection of video people uploaded. Worth a watch. This typhoon looks devastating.
https://twitter.com/jenzhuscott/stat...93839224975361
WASHINGTON—An investigation targeting President Trump’s top emergency-management official has been referred to federal prosecutors to determine whether criminal charges should be pursued, according to people familiar with the probe.
Brock Long, the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and two other federal employees may have broken multiple laws while they commuted frequently between Washington and Mr. Long’s home in Hickory, N.C., at taxpayers’ expense said one of the people briefed on the investigation.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/probe-o...ors-1537216393
Winning! So much winning. Thank god they're draining the swamp by hiring corrupt individuals for highly public positions where they can be outed and caught.