NPR ran a few news stories over the past few days (see some NPR features from earlier in the week here and here) with varying reports of the number of folks in West Virginia who still do not have power a week following the derecho that ran roughshod over large portions of the nation's mid-section and east coast late last week. The story I heard at noon on July 5th put the number without power at 180,000; by 6 pm, it had dropped to 140,000. Both indicated that West Virginia was in worse shape than any other state a week after the storm. One thing that struck me was a quote from an emergency official talking about how the state's physical geography--and many areas' spatial isolation--was impeding efforts not only to restore power, but to get food and other supplies to those in need. Other news stories about the West Virginia situation are here, here and here (this one featuring lots of colorful local quotes).
Read earlier blog posts here and here about the challenges of responding to natural disasters in rural places.
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