# Hurricane Irma \[and Maria\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 4, 2017, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurricane-irma-and-maria/795446 "2017-09-04T01:56:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 22
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurricane-irma-and-maria/795446/421 "2017-09-28T02:54:52Z")
In a situation like this donating money gives organizations the flexibility to spend it on what will actually help. Donations in kind might be too much of one thing and not enough of another. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurricane-irma-and-maria/795446/422 "2017-09-28T11:56:29Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > In a situation like this donating money gives organizations the flexibility to spend it on what will actually help. Donations in kind might be too much of one thing and not enough of another. And they may just pile up on the dockside until the shipping and distribution mess is unraveled. We have to ask people wanting to send donation flights/barges if they have already lined up a place to put it and they react as obviously having never thought of that. Another point: to political, religious or media entities who want to send a relief mission – for God’s sake DON’T expect the overtaxed local agencies to then assign internal transport and escort for you at our expense… or to just whip out a bunch of all-access IDs for every spear carrier in your cortege! ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurricane-irma-and-maria/795446/423 "2017-09-28T12:03:01Z")
There was a CBS News report last night showing a lot filled with relief supplies enough for half a million people just sitting there because the truck drivers can’t be found and the roads are impassable. ---
**Author:** ![Tapiotar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3be4f8/32.png) [@Tapiotar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapiotar)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurricane-irma-and-maria/795446/424 "2017-09-28T12:15:00Z")
> [@Mighty\_Girl](#): > > This is heartbreaking, JR, I feel the desperation, and everything seems to be happening in slow motion. I feel like donating money is, like my mom used to say, the lazy person’s generosity. I feel like I should be doing something else, but don’t know what. Many news articles on how to help Puerto Rico stress that money is the most useful right now, since it can go directly where it needs to go. If you go to NPR or NYTimes websites, you can find lists of reputable organizations where the money will go to PR or to USVI, and your donation will do good, and help people get what they need. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurricane-irma-and-maria/795446/425 "2017-09-28T13:35:08Z")
> [@Tapiotar](#): > > Many news articles on how to help Puerto Rico stress that money is the most useful right now, since it can go directly where it needs to go. If you go to NPR or NYTimes websites, you can find lists of reputable organizations where the money will go to PR or to USVI, and your donation will do good, and help people get what they need. I know this. I always donate money, I worked in logistics for years, my best friend in relief agencies. Donating shit is more trouble than it’s worth. But I still feel like I am taking the easy way out. My mom was a proponent of boots on the field generosity, and looked down on people who calmed their conscience by throwing money on the collection plate. Logically though, I am actually a liability, as I don’t have any useful skills at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurricane-irma-and-maria/795446/426 "2017-09-28T17:54:53Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > There was a CBS News report last night showing a lot filled with relief supplies enough for half a million people just sitting there because the truck drivers can’t be found and the roads are impassable. A good friend of mine from college is a Puerto Rican who works in disaster relief training for the Red Cross in NYC. He has been posting calls for people with commercial driver’s licenses to get themselves to the Port of San Juan so supplies can be distributed. No idea to what extent roads have been cleared yet, but I imagine that’s a huge issue, too. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurricane-irma-and-maria/795446/427 "2017-09-28T20:03:29Z")
The Jones act has been [waived](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/28/us/jones-act-waived.html?mcubz=0), initially for 10 days. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurricane-irma-and-maria/795446/428 "2017-09-28T20:18:09Z")
> [@Doctor\_Jackson](#): > > The Jones act has been [waived](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/28/us/jones-act-waived.html?mcubz=0), initially for 10 days. Speak of good and bad news. Ten days? I would think that aid in non-American bottoms hasn’t left port yet. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurricane-irma-and-maria/795446/429 "2017-09-28T20:40:45Z")
I saw [this](http://nypost.com/2017/09/27/puerto-ricos-stray-dog-packs-all-killed-by-hurricane/) and I can’t even wrap my head around. It sounds like aid is there or on its way but it can’t get to where it’s needed. Can we not start doing helicopter drops? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurricane-irma-and-maria/795446/430 "2017-09-28T21:22:58Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > I saw [this](http://nypost.com/2017/09/27/puerto-ricos-stray-dog-packs-all-killed-by-hurricane/) and I can’t even wrap my head around. Kind of tempting fate with that name. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurricane-irma-and-maria/795446/431 "2017-09-28T22:03:23Z")
We should send a hospital ship, a tanker and a helicopter carrier to bring people out to the hospital ship and carry fuel and MREs to the island. Ships small enough to get to the beach could generate electricity. ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurricane-irma-and-maria/795446/432 "2017-09-29T00:23:13Z")
Saw the mayor of San Juan on television. She is fed up with the bureaucracy. Supplies are sitting there while FEMA holds meetings and writes memos. Meanwhile, people are dying in the hospitals because they don’t have fuel for the generators. She said she personally delivered generators to a children’s cancer hospital without power. Are the FEMA people not trained in prioritizing help in an emergency? Why do they not anticipate that in an emergency communications and roads may be out? And thanks Trump for finally authorizing a naval hospital ship several days after Hillary Clinton suggested it. I guess there won’t be that many additional deaths in the 5 days it will take to get there. But hey, you have to respect the president’s priorities. After all, there are football players actually kneeling during the national anthem. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurricane-irma-and-maria/795446/433 "2017-09-29T16:04:57Z")
And then again some truckers showed up the other day and offered their services for ten times normal rate, cash up front. Were told to go hang themselves. Military helo lifts ARE now happening to the hill towns, and regional distribution centers are opened. But again just looking at $$$ and tons delivered is not a sign of people getting their needs met. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurricane-irma-and-maria/795446/434 "2017-09-29T21:15:12Z")
So why can’t truck drivers be found? You would expect most of the economy to be basically dead, for example manufacturers. So what are the drivers who used to deliver intermediate goods and finshed products for manufacturers doing now? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2017, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurricane-irma-and-maria/795446/435 "2017-09-30T03:59:23Z")
Let’s consider some possibilities: Trapped in villages where there are still trees and debris blocking the roads. Scavenging for water and food to take care of their families. Looking for a flight to the mainland where there aren’t any hurricanes. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2017, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurricane-irma-and-maria/795446/436 "2017-09-30T13:24:24Z")
To be fair many drivers, especially the driver-operators with their own rigs, do not live in the urban centers. Our nominal 100x35 mile extension masks that it is quite hilly and there are access chokepoints where one landslide or washed out bridge can take out multiple routes. Also the contingency plans evidently relied on that there would be communications up, in order to organize the relief movements. With both overhead landlines and repeater towers down, THAT part of the planning failed. Also I’ve said this before, part of the problem is everything is needed everywhere, and all of it right now. The fleet on the ground before the disaster already could not have delivered everything to everywhere on short notice on good clear roads. Take out many of the roads and a significant fraction of the fleet and you’re screwed. ---
**Author:** ![Buttercup\_Smith](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buttercup_smith/32/473_2.png) [@Buttercup\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buttercup_Smith)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2017, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurricane-irma-and-maria/795446/437 "2017-09-30T13:34:28Z")
This is unbelievable to read. Shame on the USA and our so-called President. Hang on Puerto Rico and the USVI. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2017, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurricane-irma-and-maria/795446/438 "2017-09-30T14:26:59Z")
Trump’s attacks on the San Juan mayor for not toeing the line on how great the Federal response is make me want to throw up. In the Cheeto-in-Chief’s mind maintaining his brand is more important than the suffering of 3.5 million fellow citizens. It’s appalling. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2017, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurricane-irma-and-maria/795446/439 "2017-09-30T15:14:15Z")
I think the USN should have something like the helicopter carrier USS Essex off shore and move fuel, food and water about the island by helicopter. ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2017, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurricane-irma-and-maria/795446/440 "2017-09-30T15:15:52Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Trump’s attacks on the San Juan mayor for not toeing the line on how great the Federal response is make me want to throw up. In the Cheeto-in-Chief’s mind maintaining his brand is more important than the suffering of 3.5 million fellow citizens. It’s appalling. and his supporters will either believe him or pretend to - I would guess they don’t even care if it’s true - if libruls are for it, they are agin it and vice versa. meanwhile, people die. :mad: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurricane-irma-and-maria/795446.md?page=21) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurricane-irma-and-maria/795446.md?page=23)