Horrible, horrible, horrible news: At least 24 dead in evacuee bus explosion:
A bus filled with 45 elderly Hurricane Rita evacuees from the Houston area caught fire early Friday on gridlocked Interstate 45, leaving at least 24 dead, according to local officials.
I hope these evacuations (and how badly they are going) are a wake-up call to the government (and the American people) that we need to find a better way to prepare our cities, towns, people for disasters.
It certainly is a wake-up call to me. Pre-Hurricane Katrina, I had naively expected that the local, state, federal governments were better prepared (especially after the devastating hurricanes in Florida last year). I am not casting about for blame just hoping that we can figure out a way to expedite the process of evacuating folks. God, this is just tragedy upon tragedy.
My heart goes out to the loved ones of those folks on the bus.
myfanwy collins 