John,

I do sympathize with your initiative, but what do you think of this suggestion:

Supplies must come from all over the country and from other countries as well. However, the hard work must be done by the inhabitants themselves. There are more than enough inhabitants who are capable enough, who at least temporarilly lost their job and are all too willing to start working in the streets that they also know far better than any outsider. Moreover, it is better for their selfesteem.


>You're on the money. I had several people send me the following email that was sent out by TEMA, which is the Tennessee arm of FEMA. I told them we are the volunteer state and that's exactly what my group is doing, so we don't have to deal with their red tape.
>
>Here's the email:
>
>The official State policy on the deployment from Tennessee, to the Hurricane Disaster area, was forwarded to Mr. Charlie Bryant of TEMA. This policy will answer many questions and concerns that have been raised by Memphis Police personnel. The policy states as follows:
>
>
>
>All deployment of any response units to the Hurricane area, must be sent only through official Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) request from one state to another. That is the only way that the responders will be compensated or covered for liability issues. TEMA will compile a list of all resources and personnel who may wish to place themselves on a possible roster for use, sometime in the future. At this time, the Federal Government and all local officials in the disaster area, have informed TEMA (officially), that they do not have the fuel or resources to accept outside responders; no matter how well equipped, trained or prepared they might be. At this time, only State Dept. of Military and State Agency personnel can be considered for EMAC deployment (as stated in the EMAC law). No local Government personnel or resources can be deployed until legal issues can be worked out, among the Compact States. Those issues may take might take a while to work out, if they can
> be worked out, at all. TEMA has been informed by FEMA (Regulation IV), that all response personnel who respond to the disaster area without direct approval by State Emergency Management Agencies, will be turned away from the disaster area, by Federal and State authorities, due to emergency measures that are now in effect.
>
>This is what happens when the incompetent lead the unwilling! The more I work for the government, the less I like it.