Grilling Government on Hurricane Response

Louisiana state officials grilled NOLA city officials over the hurricane response. The results were less than spectacular.

Having heard many evacuees say they don't think the city wants them to return, Rep. Arthur Morrell, D-New Orleans, said he couldn't blame them for their attitude and asked what the city is doing to encourage its former residents to come back.

Ebbert said Nagin's "No. 1 priority in his battles with the federal government" is providing the basic services and temporary housing that will let more and more people return.

But Rep. Charmaine Marchand, D-New Orleans, and other legislators said the city needs to move faster to make trailers and other types of temporary housing available in the city.

Of course Nagin wants to push the responsibility onto the feds. He's a politician first and foremost. And the feds weren't there to respond either. How convenient.

However, everyone failed to realize that folks don't want to go back to New Orleans at this point because the infrastructure is so mangled that a minor rain will result in significant flooding. The levee system is coming under increased scrutiny and the consensus forming is that they were structurally deficient and incapable of handling a Cat 3 as originally planned. Yeah, I'd want to go back to living under sea level knowing that the one thing keeping where I live from being an aquarium is incapable of doing the job.

Patterson, NY is donating a fire engine to Waveland, MS. The replacement cost for a fire engine, plus the additional equipment sent down with the engine, would be $500,000. We've seen similar actions taken by fire and police departments around the country as spare or older equipment is sent down to areas affected by the hurricanes to restore basic fire and police service.

Of course, for those who are struggling to deal with the current conditions, the help is coming way too slowly.

Thousands are still waiting for a travel trailer from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and an untold number are living amid debris in tents or under tarps.

"We're not in recovery. We're still in relief," said Kevin Bailey, a volunteer from Ohio. That's not a message that is getting out to the rest of the country, he said.

"What's got homeowners so upset is FEMA and the (local governments) haven't been issuing any (building) permits," said Waveland resident and local builder Pete Grisham.

Before a crowd of upset homeowners Tuesday, the Hancock County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to begin issuing building permits using standards for elevation set before Katrina. The county ordinance could be revisited based on new flood advisory maps from FEMA, but board chairman Rocky Pullman said some of the figures he has seen are "astronomical."

FEMA rules prohibit allowing trailers from being placed on homeowner lots until utilities are restored. The problem is that some areas haven't seen all the necessary utilities restored. Thus, everyone is waiting on utility restoration before other steps can proceed. Would it make sense to provide the trailers to those homeowners without utilities on the grounds that it is better than living in a tent?

UPDATE:
Florida Governor Jeb Bush takes responsiblity for the slow recovery after Wilma came ashore. Getting power restored is the key to getting things back up and running smoothly, from providing food and water to getting gas stations working.

Frustration with Florida's relief effort flared Tuesday, when trucks carrying the first wave of relief _ food, ice and water _ either arrived much later than local officials expected or didn't show up at all.

Myriad problems affected supply deliveries, according to local and state officials. Cell phone service was down or spotty, complicating communications between government officials and truck drivers. Some drivers got lost on their way to distribution points and had to be brought there by police escort.

Local governments prematurely released distribution sites and times, causing crowds to gather hours before any supplies got there. In many cases, there simply was not enough ice, water and meals ready-to-eat to go around, or it took far too long to get the supplies to the proper places, officials said.

And Florida has had the most experience with hurricanes and dealing with the aftermath. Their problems show the limits of government at all levels to deal with these kinds of disasters.

In the meantime, the advice that every was told all along still holds true - everyone should make sure to have at least three days worth of provisions in case of a severe storm like this hurricane.

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