Texas Mayors say FEMA didn't deliver on promise to do better

[barbaraann]

By Bobby White and Alex Friedrich, Knight Ridder Newspapers Fri Sep 30, 8:33 PM ET

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Texas - The day after Hurricane Rita battered his town, Nederland Mayor Dick Nugent called the Federal Emergency Management Agency with a simple plea: Bring us two generators.

Instead, FEMA showed up with a four-stall temporary shower. No generators.

Throughout Jefferson County, where Rita downed power lines and trees, knocked out communications and damaged homes and oil refineries, mayors and local officials this week voiced similar complaints. They said FEMA failed to keep its promise to deliver emergency aid and avoid making some of the same mistakes that followed Hurricane Katrina.
...
"It's baffling," said Port Neches' Johnson, who also asked FEMA for generators that never showed up. "They want you to fax requests to them for the things that you need, and it's like faxing it to a black hole.
...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/krwashbureau/_wea_storms_fema

[WestHoustonDem]

1. Houston Mayor Bill White spoke last night at the local party

fundraiser and said he's getting calls from those mayors asking for help getting things done cause FEMA isn't helping.

[AnneD]

5. It's a shame

more of this is not making the national media.It seems like they have shut down on this story. All you see is Bush flying around. Heck, give us that fuel he wastes, I am sure we can scrounge up a generator. The main lesson to get from all of this is that Fema has been gutted to the point that it isn't working anymore. And heaven help the rest of you folks when YOU have a disaster on your hands.

[Historic NY]

2. Its amazing some Repukes keep patting themselves on the back.....

the President said he wanted to observe the relationship between federal, state & local....guess he had his blinders on once again. I've had e-mails praising Tx. Government and how well things were managed by Republican Gov. vs Democrat Gov. In my opinion things are so broken its going to take years before they are fixed again, our government isn't working and Republicans pretend it is.

[dkofos]

3. When evacuations kill more people (107)

than the storms, you can't say things went well.

Well, you can, it just wouldn't be the truth.

[UpInArms]

4. but..but...but all those photo-ops helped to drive up the

SupremeFailedOne's poll numbers!

See he could get his ugly mug on the tv screens for the sheeple to think that there would be things done - all the while doing freakin' nothing.

:argh:

[rodeodance]

6. job well done for Rita---the press has moved on!!

[krkaufman]

7. Well, if this continued failing of FEMA hits the news,

... those photo-ops should come back to bite * in the arse. The news media *should* be jumping all over this, showing Bush's efforts as superficial -- and a failure of leadership.

[rodeodance]

8. i hear a lot of feel good stories and wilfires in the west now.

[rodeodance]

9. and photo shots of Arnie and firefighters.

[krkaufman]

10. Yep, "Move along; nothing to see here." n/t

[elehhhhna]

11. The frontline FEMA employees are being very poorly served & supported by

their cronypacked top ranks.

Like the troops & Rummy. Same deal.

I feel for the long-time fema grunts--who drop everything & show up in disaster areas for months at a time. They are 'on the ground' and on the recieving end of a great deal of anger & frustration.

[donheld]

17. I would never blame the regular employees

I'm sure they'd do their jobs splendidly if the top ranks would do theirs.

[texpatriot2004]

12. "FEMA Faulted Again" a recent Houston Chron headline n/t

[DeepModem Mom]

13. Yet somehow the idea has taken hold that they did better with Rita --

a new poll posted today in LBN gives this idea credit for "raising" Bush's appproval to 40%.

[merwin]

14. Well, they did do better than New Orleans. However, it wasn't very

much better.

Basically, it's hard to do WORSE without outright dropping a bomb on the people.

[jbnow]

15. How did they do better?

I realize there weren't a lot of trapped people in big shelters being shown on TV lacking food and water or a way out. But other then that what was better? Are you saying they reached the affected small towns quicker or what

[merwin]

18. They at least did SOMETHING. Even if they didn't help very many people,

they did help SOME people this time around.

I'm not saying their not completely incompetant or anything, because they are. I'm just saying they didn't fuck this one up quite as bad.

[savemefromdumbya]

16. but people think that FEMA was doing an excellent job!

also

Newsweek poll:- Why is it when we see the polls that Bush is still at 40% and that only 39% believe that Delay was involved in wrongdoing. I have deduced that most of America is braindead?

http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Newsweek_Monday_39_percent_see_DeLay_1001.html