TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — In the tornado-shattered South, survivors are getting what they need — sometimes more than they ever expected. And it is coming from everywhere.
Volunteers in golf carts ferry sausage biscuits and bottled water to them. Federal workers are interviewing them so they can get emergency cash. And neighbors with chain saws roam devastated streets, cutting up downed trees.
Residents and elected officials praised churches, charities, volunteers and even the much maligned Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The second-deadliest tornado outbreak in U.S. history killed 342 people and left stretches of the South in ruin. In a region familiar with fumbled emergency responses, residents from hardest-hit Alabama to Tennessee have seen a steady flow of aid.
By Monday, survivors could find a place to charge a dead cellphone or get a free haircut or restock on prescription medicine.
“I’m getting everything, probably even more than I expected,” said Amy Hall, 23, who limped through the shelter set up at a community center in Tuscaloosa, Ala., with a broken foot, cradling her 11-month- old daughter.
Her 2-year-old son broke his nose and bruised a lung when a twister tossed their home. He spent two days in the hospital. Hall said the family was getting excellent care at the shelter, where 240 were sleeping and scores more sought other services.
In Tennessee, Marvin Quinn, 79, collected broken jars of home-canned peaches and pickles from the rubble. He said aid workers had been keeping him and his wife well-fed.
“I’ve been eating more in the last four days than I ever have,” he said. “Every time I turn around there’s someone with food, water, Gatorade.”
Unlike Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the response to the latest natural disaster has worked because agencies at different levels of government are working together and are telling residents where they can get help, said emergency management consultant Barry Scanlon.
“They seem to be working well together,” said Scanlon, the president of Witt Associates and a former FEMA worker.
A Republican congressman whose district was severely damaged said he is confident FEMA is up to the challenges ahead. “This is not a Katrina situation,” said Rep. Robert Aderholt.
