The focus before the onset of a hurricane is to protect lives. Protect them from the hurricane force winds’ destruction. Protect from the heavy rains leading to flooding. Protection that needs to continue on past the first two or three days of weather damage that is done. What is not “done” are the ways in which death creeps in to steal more lives.
Think of dominoes, with the first one knocked down being the winds itself, the rain and storm surge being second and continuing to knock down more dominoes. These other dominoes represent not only homes and buildings lost, but electricity cut off, water being tainted, life-saving equipment being halted, lack of generators or fuel, lack of food, inability to transport.
Imagine the continual fall of the dominoes chain - until flattened.
This could take days, weeks, and even months if no plans or efforts are brought up to deal with the heightened devastation. A major disaster. Many dead. Some may be from natural causes, but many are the results of the storm’s effects.
How then does one know who counts? In Puerto Rico’s 2017 hurricane Maria there were varying reports on the death toll. The devastation went far into isolated regions which could not be reached for weeks. Of course there would be different reports.
An independent study by George Washington University Milken Institute, School of Public Health provided a more recent reported total in August 2018: 2,975. *
Yet our president denies it, saying it is a plot to undermine him. He made this about him. He said some of them were just old people dying of natural causes who were counted.
As if their lives don’t matter? The president can disbelieve it all he wants. But why don’t their deaths matter to him? Why no acknowledgement of the horror, the pain, the difficulties Puerto Ricans went through in trying to survive the effects of this devastating hurricane?
The president said the response to the hurricane was a “success.” Who praises something where lives were lost, regardless of the number agreed or not agreed to?
When does one learn that mistakes do happen? That plans and procedures are just blueprints of ideas that may not match up to “what-if’s” that pop up out of nowhere?
What happened with the lack of continuing response to assist those in need in Puerto Rico is a failure on all levels of government: a failure to acknowledge what went wrong, what could be done better, to act on it, and learn from this. Ignoring the facts won’t teach us anything. And it won’t make anything better.
2,975 lives - give or take 1, 10, 100, or even 1,000.
How many lives does it take for us to wake up to the reality that is right before us: the lies, the denial, the hatred, the gaslighting, the ignorance of truth - is destroying our nation? How many lives want to change that? Puerto Ricans are Americans, but they cannot vote.
Remember this when you vote. Remember for those who are no longer with us. Remember for those who are still here as well.
Lives matter. Votes matter. Theresa M.
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| gianfrancodebei on pixabay.com |
* https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/28/us/puerto-rico-hurricane-maria-deaths.html research by George Washington University Milken Institute, School of Public Health, published August 2018: est deaths PR Hurricane Maria 2,975.
Remember all those who were killed or harmed by devastating hurricanes of past and recent (Katrina, Maria, Michael).
Support aide organizations such as Red Cross.
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