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Wednesday, May 30th, 2018

‘People just give up’: Low-income hurricane victims slam federal relief programs

Author:     DANNY VINIK
Source:     Politico
Publication Date:     05/29/2018 05:08 AM EDT
 Link: ‘People just give up’: Low-income hurricane victims slam federal relief programs
Stephan:   I have been following what is happening after massive weather events, and I find it an increasingly alarming trend. You have probably read that thousands more people died in Puerto Rico as a result of first Hurricane Irma and Maria, and that both Puerto Rico and the American Virgins are still deeply damaged. But no one's talking about Houston. They should be, as you will understand after you read this article. FEMA like almost all federal agencies designed to protect and assist the American populace has been systematically degraded under the Trump administration, with the assistance of the Republican congress. As a result it is increasingly going to fall on local American communities to look after themselves. If you live in an area subject to extreme weather events I urge you to organize your community.

Lying just feet away from exposed electrical wires, 4-year-old Aaron Cervantes sleeps on a cot inside his grandparents’ hollowed-out Houston home, which was devastated by Hurricane Harvey’s floodwaters.
Credit: M. Scott Mahaskey/ Politico

HOUSTON — Nine months after Hurricane Harvey dumped more than 50 inches of rain on the Gulf Coast, green grass has returned to plush Houston developments and the city’s downtown hums with millennial workers choosing a favorite food truck. But just a short drive away, Kashmere Gardens has not recovered.

Nearly every street of the 10,000-person neighborhood has homes that are gutted. Empty window panes reveal sparse interiors without walls, doors or carpets. Doors hang ajar and mold consumes living rooms and kitchens. Signs dot the lawns, promising homeowners that they can quickly sell out and avoid the messy process of rebuilding. One family lives in a tent in their driveway where mangy dogs circle around, shedding fur and leaving a rotten stench hanging in the air. Inside their wrecked home, two 4-year-old children sleep just feet away from […]

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