Re: wtf is dubya doing?


"Winston Smith" <bogus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1125688649.6fc67afd2c95dd26ab81b1e4dee2a147@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> On 2 Sep 2005 12:57:12 -0700, r2000swler@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
>
> It's up to the state Governors to ask for FEMA aid. That's required
> to get the ball rolling. In this case they asked for it before the
> hurricane hit. FEMA 'should' have pre-positioned supplies in case
> they were needed. They didn't bother.

A copy of Governor Blanco's request for aid can be found at the link below.
As one can see from the request, the State had an existing State Hazard
Mitigation Plan which even details their evacuations. The request for
assistance however, was essentially for money for debris removal under the
Individuals and Households Program and the amount needed was estimated at
130 million. The Governor seriously under-estimated the amount that would be
needed. The actual amount that will be provided instead is around 10
billion, and that is probably just to start.
http://www.gov.state.la.us/Disaster%20Relief%20Request.pdf

The following link describes the Individuals and Households Program, and the
Types of Assistance from the document quoted below the link.
http://www.fema.gov/pdf/about/process/help_after_disaster_english.pdf

***
Types of Assistance
The following list shows the types of assistance that are available through
IHP and what each provides.

Temporary Housing (a place to live for a limited period of time): Money is
available to rent a different place to live, or a government provided
housing unit when rental properties are not available.

Repair: Money is available to homeowners to repair damage from the disaster
that is not covered by insurance. The goal is to make the damaged home safe,
sanitary, and functional.

Replacement: Money is available to homeowners to replace their home
destroyed in the disaster that is not covered by insurance. The goal is to
help the homeowner with the cost of replacing their destroyed home.

Permanent Housing Construction: Direct assistance or money for the
construction of a home. This type of help occurs only in insular areas or
remote locations specified by FEMA, where no other type of housing
assistance is possible.

Other Needs: Money is available for necessary expenses and serious needs
caused by the disaster. This includes medical, dental, funeral, personal
property, transportation, moving and storage, and other expenses that are
authorized by law.
***

As far as rescue, food and water, etc., that takes some time to coordinate,
the number commonly tossed around is 72 hours, as in a 72 hour emergency
kit. It is pretty much agreed that for the first 72 hours all first
responders will be overwhelmed with work and may not be able to get to
everyone immediately. After the hurricane hit on Monday, everyone was pretty
optimistic that the damage was not as bad as expected. Then on Tuesday the
levies started to breach and that is when the real emergency as we now know
it began. Today's headlines read that aid has now reached New Orleans, which
is about 72 hours later, which was pretty much expected.




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