Word: fema
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...billion plan that relies on the federal money. It would make available to the owners of storm-damaged homes a combination of grants and affordable loans worth up to $150,000, depending on the prestorm value of the house, minus whatever insurance payouts and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) aid a homeowner might get. In New Orleans alone, the payouts could apply to about 108,000 homes. The Governor also wants to earmark $1 billion to encourage construction of mixed-income housing, mostly apartments. That's a must in a city where most of the poor rented and rents have...
Governor Blanco's new housing formula, which improves on one put forward by Nagin, has the advantage of allowing people to rebuild pretty much anywhere. But there's one important catch: wherever they build, they must meet stringent new state building codes and FEMA rules that require houses in low-lying areas to be raised several feet above ground level. The most flood-prone neighborhoods, many of them poor, will probably require the most new protections, at a cost that could discourage residents from going back to the same spot...
...Though it takes pains not to cast blame, the report does suggest shifting a number of functions currently handled by the Department of Homeland Security (or its now notorious division, FEMA) to other branches of the federal government. Those include having the Department of Justice take over sole responsibility for handling law enforcement immediately after a disaster, giving Health and Human Services the job of overseeing the distribution of emergency aid to victims as well as a network of medical response teams, and bringing Housing and Urban Development on board to manage temporary housing - which should not, the report stresses...
...Michael Brown really to blame? Although the report strongly criticizes the ex--FEMA chief, it puts his inadequacies in the context of FEMA's broader problems and a "brain drain" in the top ranks. The report sidesteps the issues of political patronage and why inexperienced officials like Brown held certain top jobs...
What are the report's recommendations? Although it's primarily descriptive, the report implores FEMA and other agencies to better anticipate the needs of those affected by natural disasters by providing emergency supplies before they're formally requested...