Rod & Betty Jo wrote [in part]:

"Warren" wrote in message
... [also in part]

That, combined with the unusually slow response from the Federal
government,

What was unusual or slow about it? Which disaster of similar magnitude ever
had a faster response?

Almost 100 years ago -- in an era of slower communication and much
slower transportation -- the federal response to the San Francisco
earthquake was much quicker. See the partial timeline at my
URL:http://www.rossde.com/ (timeline data from the Virtual Museum
of the City of San Francisco).

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening pages at URL:http://www.rossde.com/garden/