GOP govs: Don't expect federal govt. for 72 hours following disaster

WASHINGTON - Communities should be ready to fend for themselves without federal help for up to three days after a disaster hits, two former governors said Tuesday in calling for new plans to prepare states and cities for emergencies.

The push for new national disaster plans, by former Republican Govs. James Gilmore of Virginia and Jim Geringer of Wyoming, comes days after a federal analysis concluded that states and cities are widely unprepared to respond to catastrophes.

"We can get prepared," said Gilmore, who chaired a congressionally appointed counterterrorism panel between 1999 and 2004. "There is, I think, a consensus at this point that we are not prepared."

Gilmore declined to blame Congress or the Homeland Security Department for the security gaps. But he mildly criticized a national response plan, issued by Homeland Security in 2004, as too vague to help communities in the first 72 hours following disasters....

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060620/ap_on_re_us/disaster_plans

your Governor

back on. Across the street where there is a diabetic old man that relies on communication, had it up in less than 24 hours.

pre-positioned water and ice before the lasts storm hit Florida?

low income public areas.

They must have made some real changes....that is lots quickier than their response to NO.

Boy Scouts and Camp Fire Girls could have done a better job in Miss and LA, especially if they had had a retired Navy Master Chief as their leader. The Navy knows about damage control and rescue. Lawyers do not.

The govt you CAN'T count on is our bunch of worthless wastrels.

Is that what it would take for you to reconsider your belief that you'll always be able to depend on yourself???

ambulance service, there are thousands of things that can happen and cause me to die. My expectation of help has nothing to do with them.

I do not know why you took my saying I do not expect help to mean I beleive "that you'll always be able to depend on yourself"? Did you just make that up yourself?

Start preparing your own household to survive for 72 hours. Stockpile food and water enough to sustain you for three days. Get a flashlight and keep fresh batteries in it. Buy one of those hand crank emergency radios that doesn't need a battery. Toss in a good sized crescent wrench so you can shut off the gas line. Set aside a valise or a satchel with three days' worth of underwear and other clothes, as well as toiletries and personal items. Carry one in your car, since a disaster might not be considerate enough to strike when you're at home.

You don't need to do it all at once, but you can put together a basic emergency preparedness kit for about $20. You can get more durable stuff little by little as the months go by.

And that applies for Canadians, too, frankly.

I forget which two states, but they applied for federal disaster assistance after tornadoes went through and were turned down. There's a paltry number of firefighters on the lines this year too. We're on our own for a lot longer than 72 hours.

eom

Didn't they just find the body of a man in his home in NO this past week? I don't trust this government.