[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2005, Book II)]
[October 27, 2005]
[Pages 1611-1612]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks During a Tour of Areas Damaged by Hurricane Wilma in Pompano 
Beach, Florida
October 27, 2005

    I have come here with the Governor and the 
mayor of this area because I wanted to 
thank all the volunteers who've come down to help people in need. And 
it's--there's an amazing spirit after a disaster, and that spirit is the 
spirit of people willing to give of their time. I've also come to make 
sure the Federal response dovetails in with the State efforts. And 
people here--what I've heard are people concerned about gasoline. A lot 
of the gasoline--the lines that people are standing in will be 
alleviated by new ships coming in, and they'll be able to off-load the 
gasoline and make sure the stations have got fuel. But a lot of the 
gasoline issues relate to the fact that the electricity is not up and 
running.
    I know people are frustrated because they don't have power on yet, 
but I've been told by Jeb and others that there are 
at least 6,000 people from out of State working with the power people 
here in-State to get people's lines up as quick as possible. In other 
words, this is a priority. People are working hard to get your 
electricity back on.
    The mayor wanted me to make sure that 
I told the citizens here that water and ice are moving quite rapidly, 
and that one of her concerns is generators. And Jeb 
and I spoke to her about the generators that are being moved from a 
central location to parts of Florida that need the generating capacity 
to get their life up and running.
    Things don't happen instantly, but things are happening. Right here 
on this site people are getting fed. Soon, more and more houses will 
have their electricity back on and life will get back to normal. In the 
meantime, the Federal Government, working with the State and local 
governments, are responding as best as we possibly can.
    Again, I'm impressed by the deep compassion and care of our fellow 
citizens. Out of these disasters oftentimes comes some good. And one of 
the good that comes out of a disaster is it gives people a chance to 
love a neighbor, to help somebody in need.
    So thank you all for giving me a chance to come by.

Note: The President spoke at 1:45 p.m. In his remarks, he referred to 
Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida; and Mayor Kristin D. Jacobs of Broward County, 
FL.

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