Friday, Sept. 9, 2005 | ||
Bad Links? | Palmetto center supplying victimsBy BEN NELMS The Federal Emergency Management Agency holding center on Tatum Road in Palmetto continues to send its remaining supplies to the disaster once known as the Gulf Coast. To date, said FEMA Logistics Management Specialist Maury Ransdall, the Palmetto has shipped a staggering one million Meals Ready to Eat (MRE) and 1.5 million gallons of bottled water ranging in size from one-half liter to one-gallon, cots and tarps. In all, approximately 600 tractor-trailers rolled through the Palmetto facility to pick up their precious cargo. Continuing shipments this week, Ransdall said, include 17,000 plastic tarps in eight sizes, large quantities of roofing material, 30,000 concrete blocks, 300 temporary holding tanks for waste disposal and the small quantity of water remaining in the 1.3 million square-foot warehouse. There is a possibility, he said, that additional supplies of bottled water might be forthcoming. Once those supplies are shipped the facility will be depleted unless additional supplies come in, he said. Ransdall and more than one dozen FEMA employees and contract workers have worked 12-hour shifts for the past 14 days. Mirroring their efforts are those of hundreds of truck drivers who had their cargo loaded by fork lift and let for the storm country of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. Still mindful of their surroundings and the significant traffic impact on Palmetto, Ransdall said FEMA wanted to be a good neighbor. At one point last week, he said, semis were backed up along Roosevelt Highway all the way to Bojangles near downtown Palmetto. The sight must have made an impression because both Bojangles and Dairy Queen brought food to the facility. FEMA also assisted the mass of truckers by renting a shuttle van to transport drivers to local truck stops and restaurants. Ransdall said the Palmetto center began stockpiling supplies last year after hurricanes hit Florida. Efforts in the 1.3 million square-foot warehouse swung into action earlier in the week, initially sending 150 tractor-trailers on their way south. Twenty-five of the bays at the huge facility saw continuous activity, with the exception of a brief respite on holding mode as officials watched Katrinas path to determine what areas would need the life-saving supplies. The mass of supplies at FEMAs Palmetto holding center serve as an overflow facility for Ft. Gillem, said Ransdall, one of three major logistics centers along with Ft. Worth and Californias Moffett Field.
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