Surviving Ike’s aftermath

“Hurricane Ike was terrifying for everyone,” said Joel Achenbach in The Washington Post, “but for many the aftermath is worse.” People who decided to stay and ride out the storm in Galveston, Tex., now face what could be weeks with no running water, no power, and no gas.

That’s what happens when you defy the order to evacuate, said the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in an editorial. “It’s a lesson Texans should have learned from Katrina and Rita.” Sticking around only worsens the crisis that inevitably endures long after the wind and water have done their damage.

There has been the usual finger-pointing over delays in getting water and ice to the people who need it, said the Houston Chronicle in an editorial, but “thankfully nothing like FEMA’s failure in New Orleans occurred in South Texas.” Now all that’s needed is a “large supply of patience, and ice.”

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