BillD, I know this sounds cynical and you don't want to go there, but it is truly impossible not to be cynical about the US response to this disaster, IMO.

The US government quickly immediately approved $13.6 BILLION to disaster relief in Florida in the wake of the hurricanes this year, just before the US election.

Compare that to the initial $10 million offered for this multi-national disaster.

You can't just stick your head in the sand and pretend there is no political aspect to disaster relief. Politicians control the pursestrings. We need to be clear about that, and act accordingly.