Kentucky: No Power, No FEMA

Thousands of people in ice-caked Kentucky awoke in motels and shelters, asked to leave their homes by authorities who said emergency teams in some areas were too strapped to reach everyone in need of food, water and warmth. … Dozens of deaths have been reported and many people are pleading for a faster response to the power outages. About 438,000 homes and businesses across Kentucky were without power, down from more than 600,000, the largest outage in state history, and as far away as Oklahoma, around 10,000 customers still had no electricity. The outages disabled water systems in much of the western part of the state, where some in rural areas resorted to dipping buckets in a creek. Authorities warned it could be days or weeks before power was restored in the most remote spots. … "We're asking people to pack a suitcase and head south and find a motel if they have the means, because we can't service everybody in our shelter," said Crittenden County Judge-Executive Fred Brown, who oversees about 9,000 people, many of whom spent a fifth night sleeping in the town's elementary school. Local officials grew angrier at what they said was a lack of help from the state and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. [Emphasis mine - admin] In Kentucky's Grayson County, about 80 miles southwest of Louisville, Emergency Management Director Randell Smith said the 25 National Guardsmen who have responded have no chain saws to clear fallen trees. "We've got people out in some areas we haven't even visited yet," Smith said. "We don't even know that they're alive." Smith said FEMA was still a no-show days after the storm. [all emphasis mine - admin]

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