Just heard a report on MSNBC about a neighborhood of 6000 people are gone. They were too poor to fill up their gas tanks and leave, so they rode out the storm. I hope I heard right. I'm in another room, but what I heard is horrifying.
Well, specifically the reporter said that most of the neighborhood lives government check to government check, and due to the timing of the storm they hadn't gotten their monthly check on the 1st of the month, and were low on money for gas, and hence chose not to leave.
A really controversial issue I'm sure but from what I know of people living off the government it seems wholly realistic to me.