Word: fema
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...energy and efficiency of the troops were in such contrast to the first sluggish response that the idea was revived of automatically bypassing civil authorities in the case of big catastrophes and sending for the soldiers immediately. "Neither the locals nor FEMA has the capacity to deal with a major catastrophe like Andrew," argues Linda Lombard, the Charleston County councilwoman who battled FEMA for relief money after Hugo hit South Carolina in 1989. "A major disaster is a war. And the people who are in that business are the U.S. military. When is the lesson going to be learned...
...Federal Emergency Management Agency is charged with taking care of disasters, natural or man-made. Last week it scrambled to remedy one of its own making. Director Wallace Stickney announced that FEMA had shredded a 1991 list of eight gay employees that an openly gay fema analyst had been pressured to provide in exchange for a security clearance. In April FEMA promised that the names would stay locked in a vault. But when Representative Barney Frank threatened to hold hearings if FEMA did not destroy the list, Stickney relented, calling the list "abhorrent...
Most distressing, only 17% of those living in flood-prone areas buy flood insurance, which typically costs $300 yearly for $80,000 coverage. Explains FEMA insurance administrator Bud Schauerte: "Some people think they're covered by homeowners' insurance. Others think the government will come to their rescue. But that's wrong; they may not get anything but a hotel room for a few days...
...FEMA spokesman Marvin Davis, who says the facility is still needed, concedes that political change in the world may ultimately redefine the role of Mount Weather. "But public policy rarely closely follows current events," he says. "It's too soon. We're less than a few months into the new world. It's going to take some time before that's fully assessed." Says Becton: "We are no longer faced with a bolt out of the blue from Russia, but no one has the assurance that someone else won't pop up in the next five or 10 years...
...hundred designated officials in the event of nuclear attack. During the same period, the U.S. government has dramatically reduced its emphasis on war preparedness for ordinary citizens and currently spends less than 50 cents a head each year on civil defense. In a 1989 brochure titled Are You Prepared? FEMA offered the suggestion that citizens could use "furniture, books and other items commonly found around the house" to build makeshift fallout shelters. But who would be left to be governed after the fires had died down and the chosen few emerged from the mountain...