Nov 1, 2008 2:24 pm US/Central
FEMA Official Says Agency Response Slow After Ike
HOUSTON (AP) ―
-
-
Motorists line up to get gas on Sept. 15, 2008, in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike, in Houston, Texas.
AP
A top official of the Federal Emergency Management Agency has admitted that the agency's response to Hurricane Ike was sluggish, according to a newspaper report.
Deputy FEMA Administrator Harvey E. Johnson Jr. said he intends to improve the help the agency provides to Texans left damaged and homeless by the mid-September hurricane. He said the agency will deploy mobile homes to the hardest-hit areas more rapidly, review rules that might be resulting in premature denials and provide more resources to Texas.
He said Friday he has put more personnel into Texas housing assistance programs. He invited energy company officials into FEMA's Texas field offices to help provide electric power to mobile homes housing storm victims, and he has started a review of procedures that result in relatively few families being approved for assistance when they first apply.
Ike came ashore near Galveston on Sept. 13, causing at least $11 billion in damage to the state
Johnson met this week with local officials in Galveston, the Beaumont-Port Arthur area and Houston to learn about their concerns.
"I think that I agree with the elected officials I met with," Johnson told the Houston Chronicle for a story in Saturday's editions. "They all have called and expressed the concern that FEMA is moving too slowly. Within FEMA, there is a renewed sense of energy to redouble or triple our efforts, that we need to box some ears."
Kirk Roccaforte is mayor of Bridge City, a town between Port Arthur and Orange devastated by Ike. He estimated that only about 20 of Bridge City's 3,400 homes were habitable.
Roccaforte said he felt Johnson was sincere in his commitment to help the area more effectively.
Officials in Beaumont, Port Arthur and Orange say they need thousands of temporary homes, particularly for refinery and chemical plant workers who toil in industries crucial to the local economy.
Johnson said FEMA's assessment shows that 2,800 to 5,100 mobile homes are needed in Texas. He said he expected 370 to be in place by the end of Friday, including 169 parked in driveways with no power hooked up yet.
Johnson said he also has heard reports of questionable denials. In response, he said the director of the agency's national service center flew to Austin on Friday to review procedures at call centers where applications are taken over the phone.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
