I led a convoy of several semis of relief supplies and building materials from the Tampa Bay area to Homestead about 24 hours after the storm passed. We had 6 cruisers and 16 tactical officers-we had no idea what we might run into. I recall the street names being spray painted on the pavement at intersections because the wind had scoured off the street signs. Total darkness was spooky in such a highly developed area.
Homestead AFB was a total wreck and much of the City of Homestead was flattened. Poor construction materials and methods were in evidence everywhere you looked. It was interesting to see that a number of buildings in downtown Homestead that were built in the 20's-30's survived the storm as the people who built them knew what a storm could do. Following Andrew, Major insurance companies told Florida they were not going to write policies in Florida if they did not mitigate. The Dade County building code became a model.
The scene looked like the apocalypse. Local police officers and firefighters had been on duty for 3 days straight and many had lost their homes and contents and vehicles and were separated from their families. They were in bad need of relief. One exhausted sergeant I spoke to told me, that just two days ago he had a house, two cars, a boat, and that day he had nothing left but the uniform on his back. At least he had sent his family north before the storm. Just getting a shower and change of clothes was a major issue for first responders and citizens were in desperate need of everything.
Looting was a problem and shots were fired every night. Citizens were asking officers for spare ammo. Gougers and unlicensed contractors showed up before we got there-we heard reports of bags of ice being sold off a freezer truck for $50, and "contractors" taking deposits and never seen again. Tarps and roofing materials, and generators and chain saws were being sold for outrageous prices. It did not take long to tell the difference between someone showing up to help, and profiteers or just outright crooks. If you live in the zone, it may take three days for relief to arrive, so three days of supplies is a minimum.
We ended up rotating teams of officers down there to augment local police for months. Our guys had to be self-contained in an RV with their own supplies and power generators as there was nowhere else for them to stay. Finding dump stations initially was a challenge. We sent cases upon cases of fix-a-flat because of all the roofing nails in the roads everywhere. We at one point hauled down a trailer load of spare tires and wheels for our cruisers. Red Cross and other organizations were great at setting up kitchens and providing hot meals.
Some well meaning but ill equipped Samaritans showing up to "help" ended up being an added burden because they were unable to sustain themselves, and after a day or two ended up being victims themselves. Mountains of "donations" of clothing and other stuff ended up in the trash heap because it was the wrong stuff at the wrong time. Disposable diapers, hygiene products, bottled water were critical needs. Prescription medications were a problem as well. I learned that if you want to help in a disaster, unless you can go with the proper equipment and are self sustained, the best you can do is make donations to the Red Cross.
These disaster scenes are evident in the U.S. every few years, and unless you have been on the ground it is hard to imagine the devastation. The U.S. has the most highly developed government and NGO disaster response system in the world, and as messy and seemingly slow as it is, recovery happens. Just consider the despair and helplessness of victims of one of these things in undeveloped countries where there is no help coming.
