Where's FEMA When You Need 'em?

In the Sunshine State we often have problems of too much sun and not enough rain. In April we experienced draughts which in turn brought about wild fires. So when it started to rain in Central Florida on Sunday May 17 we breathed a sigh of relief.

We then woke up to rain on Monday and Tuesday never seeing the sun, a rare occurrence in this state. And the heavy rains continued on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. OK, so it rained a lot. No big deal. It was just rain, yes? We’ve lived through hurricanes and tornadoes. So what if it was torrential rain for five, six, seven days? It was still just rain, right?

Rain is a funny thing. When I lived in Vegas the town couldn’t handle if it rained even an eighth of an inch. But elsewhere, too little rain will help to create wild fires but too much rain and you had what we currently have – massive flooding. For eventually all this rain had no where to go. The east coast was especially hard hit with massive floods. People had to evacuate their homes when the floods filled their one-floor homes destroying first their cars in their driveways then their furniture and carpeting and anything else in its way. Schools were closed and evacuation shelters opened. The space shuttle had to land in California instead of here. And all because it rained.

So how much did it rain? I thought you would never ask. Ormond Beach, a town just north of Daytona, had the dubious honor of getting the most rain. Would you believe from Sunday May 17 to Saturday May 23 this town recorded 27.94 inches of rain! Daytona had 20.63 inches of rain and even my town in Central Florida had 13.39 inches. This is more rain then what we had from all three of the 2004 hurricanes combined! And this is just through Saturday. It has rained every day since then, too!

On Sunday our Governor applied to FEMA for federal help. In Daytona Beach alone, an estimated 1,000 homes and businesses were affected by the floods with about $55 million in damages. The paperwork for FEMA help was given to President Obama to sign on Sunday. What’s the delay? And why isn’t the media harassing Obama and FEMA for being slow to respond to this disaster? We need help now! And I do mean “we” as I now have a large wet spot on my ceiling from the torrential rains.

This is the same wet area that occurred due to Tropical Storm Fay last fall. After my insurance company looked at that earlier damage they said they would pay to fix my ceiling, but not my roof, claiming that my roof wasn’t damaged. I asked what if it happens again and was told they would come back out and fix my ceiling again. OK, once the federal government agrees with my Governor that my county is a federal disaster area I’ll call my insurance agent to come back. Then again maybe I’ll just wait. It’s supposed to rain every day this week and then next week we’ll be in hurricane season when the rains really get started! Anybody have an extra umbrella?