Disaster Relief Still Needed

Time to act, FEMA:

With no water or power, no working toilets, no food or phones, public health in Galveston became a growing concern on Sunday. More than 2,000 residents who defied the official evacuation order last week lined up to be taken off the island, and state officials tried to ensure that no one else could return.

“The storm was easy,” said Brenda Shinette, 51, who rode out the hurricane in her home but fled to a shelter on Sunday hoping to be taken away to the mainland. “It’s what came after that was terrible.”

She said the lack of working toilets had become so bad in her neighborhood that she has been avoiding eating so she would not have to use the bathroom.

“We have no showers and the food is spoiled,” she said. “I feel like I want to pass out but I can’t tell if it is from too much heat or too little food.”

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