Giving A Hand
Mississippi town feels forgotten in recovery
PEARLINGTON, Mississippi (AP) — For more than a week, Pearlington survived largely on its own.
Then, 10 days after Hurricane Katrina annihilated this tiny hamlet on the Louisiana state line, Jeff McVay and five other members of a state emergency response team from Walton County, Florida, arrived at the request of Hancock County.
McVay, who’s been through many hurricanes, was stunned by what he found — a town that had nothing but a place to get water, ice and military-issued meals. There was no Red Cross. There was no shelter. He called home and asked for six more men.
Walton County is the next county to the east of me, so they’ve experienced the same storms I have and know the drill on recovery.
Notice he called back to Walton County for more people, knowing that he wasn’t going to get support from FEMA, and Hancock County called because they weren’t getting any help from the state.
This is why we are working with local officials and organization in the affected areas: the people in charge of the effort don’t know what they are doing and we are well aware of that after Ivan. The Red Cross is trying to coordinate its efforts with a group that doesn’t actually understand the concept of coordination, even though that is their main function.
Keep this story in mind when you hear the governor of Mississippi, Haley Barbour, talk about how great things are going.
