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| Residents of Florida Coast Increasingly Desperate for Food and Shelter | Residents of Florida Coast Increasingly Desperate for Food and Shelter |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| SPRINGFIELD, Fla. — In this storm-ravaged town, where homes have been battered and even food and water are in short supply, Martha and Lindsay Brown have been sleeping in their car. | SPRINGFIELD, Fla. — In this storm-ravaged town, where homes have been battered and even food and water are in short supply, Martha and Lindsay Brown have been sleeping in their car. |
| Much of the roof of their two-bedroom rental home failed when it was hit by Hurricane Michael’s 155-mile-per-hour winds, and they had no luck when they contacted the American Red Cross and the Federal Emergency Management Agency looking for help. | Much of the roof of their two-bedroom rental home failed when it was hit by Hurricane Michael’s 155-mile-per-hour winds, and they had no luck when they contacted the American Red Cross and the Federal Emergency Management Agency looking for help. |
| “They referred us to two shelters, but they were already full,” said Ms. Brown, 60, a former government worker. “There’s nowhere to go.” | “They referred us to two shelters, but they were already full,” said Ms. Brown, 60, a former government worker. “There’s nowhere to go.” |
| Hurricane Michael’s death toll increased to at least 16 on Friday, with fatalities reported in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia. And as the remnants of the storm moved off the East Coast and over the Atlantic Ocean, a familiar tension of disasters emerged in the Florida Panhandle: People grew increasingly desperate for food, water and shelter, but the sprawling relief operation confronted challenging conditions that delayed the delivery of help. | |
| Emergency workers said they were struggling, two days after the storm made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane, to create paths into the hardest-hit communities, limiting their ability to deliver millions of pounds of supplies that were stockpiled ahead of the destruction. | Emergency workers said they were struggling, two days after the storm made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane, to create paths into the hardest-hit communities, limiting their ability to deliver millions of pounds of supplies that were stockpiled ahead of the destruction. |
| Beyond the formerly picturesque coastline, the Panhandle is a densely wooded region, and many roads are still blocked with debris. The Red Cross said that it had loaded some of its supplies onto National Guard trucks because the terrain was too difficult for some of the nonprofit’s own vehicles. | Beyond the formerly picturesque coastline, the Panhandle is a densely wooded region, and many roads are still blocked with debris. The Red Cross said that it had loaded some of its supplies onto National Guard trucks because the terrain was too difficult for some of the nonprofit’s own vehicles. |
| “This is what disasters look like,” said W. Craig Fugate, a former FEMA chief. “Sit tight, help’s coming, but it’s not going to be there 12 hours after the storm passes.” | “This is what disasters look like,” said W. Craig Fugate, a former FEMA chief. “Sit tight, help’s coming, but it’s not going to be there 12 hours after the storm passes.” |
| FEMA said in April that residents of Puerto Rico should keep 10 days of supplies on hand, but for people in the continental United States, the government recommends a far smaller amount: enough food and water for three days or more. And as the weekend neared, it was becoming increasingly clear that many Panhandle residents were not only left without a habitable home but also without adequate stockpiles of food in the aftermath of the devastating storm. | |
| [Follow live updates on Hurricane Michael’s aftermath] | [Follow live updates on Hurricane Michael’s aftermath] |
| At a badly damaged Dollar General store on Thursday, residents trickled in through an open door whose glass had been shattered. Some took things they wanted, but most took things they needed — drinks and food. | At a badly damaged Dollar General store on Thursday, residents trickled in through an open door whose glass had been shattered. Some took things they wanted, but most took things they needed — drinks and food. |
| “Where’s the water?” one man asked. Another asked where he could find batteries. He said he had two small children and when night fell, they were living in total darkness. A pair of men went in stealthily and came out with two large boxes of Gain laundry detergent. | “Where’s the water?” one man asked. Another asked where he could find batteries. He said he had two small children and when night fell, they were living in total darkness. A pair of men went in stealthily and came out with two large boxes of Gain laundry detergent. |
| Across the street from the Browns, 11 people said they had crammed into a tiny duplex to spend the night, their own homes battered and open to the elements. Carl Jones, 43, said that they had seen no hint of government response as of Thursday night — “only thing is the police came and said you’ve got to be inside” at nightfall, he said. | Across the street from the Browns, 11 people said they had crammed into a tiny duplex to spend the night, their own homes battered and open to the elements. Carl Jones, 43, said that they had seen no hint of government response as of Thursday night — “only thing is the police came and said you’ve got to be inside” at nightfall, he said. |
| Many residents said their food and water were running out. They were worried about the small children among them. One man said he had been driving over to the nearby bay and filling buckets with water to flush the toilets. | Many residents said their food and water were running out. They were worried about the small children among them. One man said he had been driving over to the nearby bay and filling buckets with water to flush the toilets. |
| “When is anybody coming to do something?” said Trenisa Smith, 48, a school bus driver who had been giving herself insulin treatments in the back of her car. “I’m worried every day. We’re worried.” | “When is anybody coming to do something?” said Trenisa Smith, 48, a school bus driver who had been giving herself insulin treatments in the back of her car. “I’m worried every day. We’re worried.” |
| In and around the nearby town of Panama City, there were reports of stores opening in some areas, but many neighborhoods remained without running water or electricity, and could stay that way for days. | In and around the nearby town of Panama City, there were reports of stores opening in some areas, but many neighborhoods remained without running water or electricity, and could stay that way for days. |
| On Friday morning, people gathered outside the Mr. Mart neighborhood store. Rumors had raced through the Panama City area that the corner store was open. And so they arrived, some barefoot, some in storm-battered cars. They came for room-temperature water and beer, charcoal and candy — and critical information. | |
| “This is the working-class part of town. We didn’t have much before and now we have even less,” said Kevin Deeth, who lives four blocks away in a small trailer park. “Now we need answers so we can try to start over.” | |
| Mr. Deeth, 48, who works as a clerk at the store, said like other communities, his pocket of the Panhandle was in limbo without information and many lacked the resources to get assistance in other towns. To illustrate, he shouted questions at the people standing in a line growing outside. | |
| “Has anybody heard from anybody about help?” | |
| “No. We don’t have any information about FEMA,” one man in line replied. | |
| “I haven’t seen anybody and I don’t have the money to leave,” admitted another shopper. | |
| Appearing Friday afternoon in Marianna, an inland community, Gov. Rick Scott of Florida said that state officials were “constantly reaching out to see what we can do to be helpful.” | |
| “We have put out fuel, water, food in all of the impacted areas,” the governor said. “Where we can get there by truck, we’re getting there by truck.” | |
| By day’s end, the governor’s office said, the National Guard would be staffing 21 distribution points, and others, including the Red Cross, were racing to set up feeding stations. Though 3,000 people are already formally staying in shelters in the state, school officials in Bay County, along the coast, were contemplating opening up even more space, because so many people had been left with homes that were uninhabitable or destroyed. | By day’s end, the governor’s office said, the National Guard would be staffing 21 distribution points, and others, including the Red Cross, were racing to set up feeding stations. Though 3,000 people are already formally staying in shelters in the state, school officials in Bay County, along the coast, were contemplating opening up even more space, because so many people had been left with homes that were uninhabitable or destroyed. |
| But many residents continued to wait. | |
| “I just keep looking for steeples and long lines, but I haven’t found much so far,” said Lynette Cordeno, 54, a retired Army sergeant who came to Mr. Mart to buy soda. “We are walking around with no internet, no cell service, no way to even ask for help.” | |
| Although the storm suddenly surged in intensity as it approached Mexico Beach, where it made landfall on Wednesday, emergency management experts said the rapid meteorological changes likely had no substantial effect on the response effort. Preparations, they said, are mostly driven by the population of a threatened region, not the precise dimensions of a storm. | Although the storm suddenly surged in intensity as it approached Mexico Beach, where it made landfall on Wednesday, emergency management experts said the rapid meteorological changes likely had no substantial effect on the response effort. Preparations, they said, are mostly driven by the population of a threatened region, not the precise dimensions of a storm. |
| “Once you get to a certain point in this part of the coast, it’s just going to be bad,” said Mr. Fugate, who, before becoming the head of FEMA, directed the Florida Division of Emergency Management for about eight years. “You’re responding against a population, not the storm category.” | “Once you get to a certain point in this part of the coast, it’s just going to be bad,” said Mr. Fugate, who, before becoming the head of FEMA, directed the Florida Division of Emergency Management for about eight years. “You’re responding against a population, not the storm category.” |
| Although officials pledged to bring supplies into the region as quickly as possible, they remained broadly focused on search-and-rescue efforts on Friday, knowing that the time to find survivors was dwindling with each passing day. And they cautioned residents who had found safe refuges, especially beyond devastated communities, that it could be a while before they would be able to return to their homes. | Although officials pledged to bring supplies into the region as quickly as possible, they remained broadly focused on search-and-rescue efforts on Friday, knowing that the time to find survivors was dwindling with each passing day. And they cautioned residents who had found safe refuges, especially beyond devastated communities, that it could be a while before they would be able to return to their homes. |
| “Bottom line, it was one of the most powerful storms the country has seen since 1851,” Brock Long, the FEMA administrator, said at a briefing in Washington on Friday morning. “It’s going to be a long time before they can get back.” | “Bottom line, it was one of the most powerful storms the country has seen since 1851,” Brock Long, the FEMA administrator, said at a briefing in Washington on Friday morning. “It’s going to be a long time before they can get back.” |
| He said workers were trying to clear roads and safely remove downed power lines and ruptured gas lines to help make it safe for residents to return to their homes. | He said workers were trying to clear roads and safely remove downed power lines and ruptured gas lines to help make it safe for residents to return to their homes. |
| “There is no infrastructure there to support you,” he warned. “Doing so, you are putting your life in danger.” | “There is no infrastructure there to support you,” he warned. “Doing so, you are putting your life in danger.” |
| Mr. Brown, who is 57, said he and his wife would have avoided sleeping in the car and headed further north to find a hotel, but felt they needed to remain close to their home. Already, there have been reports of looting at stores up the street. | Mr. Brown, who is 57, said he and his wife would have avoided sleeping in the car and headed further north to find a hotel, but felt they needed to remain close to their home. Already, there have been reports of looting at stores up the street. |
| He expected it to grow worse at nightfall. | He expected it to grow worse at nightfall. |
| “As soon as that sun goes down,” he said, “oh boy.” | “As soon as that sun goes down,” he said, “oh boy.” |