What does declaring a Federal Disaster Area actually do?

[Darkhawk32]

What functions and responsibilities are shifted from state to federal jurisdiction, etc?

[Roxy66]

1. Really good question......they declared it before it hit

[acmejack]

2. See this thread!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4644061

[Massacure]

3. I'm not sure about what it does immediatly, but I do in the long term.

In the long term, it allows municipalities and states to take out loans from the federal government with no or very low interest.

[Igel]

4. FEMA coordinates; FEMA can control.

But the governor has lots of resources, and FEMA's supposed to help fill in the gaps. The coordination is with the federal government and all it's branches.

Declaring Federal Disaster Area frees up money: lots of it. And it authorizes FEMA to do stuff. Other laws kick in, too.

Some responsibilities might shift. But the governor is still in control, and is still responsible for coordinating with bodies under her supervision, and with her fellow governors in other states. (So Perry and Blanco are the ones who worked out the Astrodome business, sans FEMA, although Blanco should have notified FEMA and gotten FEMA's help in implementing the deal.)

To this day, as far as I know, Blanco is in charge of recovery operations overall in LA, unless she's delegated portions of it to US authorities that now report--or should report--primarily to her. Similarly Barbour is in charge in ... is it Mississippi?

[trof]

5. For me, personally? Not a hell of a lot.

This is the second time in less than a year for me.
First Ivan, which kicked our butts, and now Katrina, which left us pretty much intact.
I'm in Baldwin County, Alabama, the one with the sugar sand beaches.

What I got after Ivan was debris pickup at roadside.
Our city does "yard trash" (limbs, leaves, etc.) as part of the garbage service. As a disaster area, they were reimbursed for the massive debris cleanup by FEMA and the feds.

You still have to cut up downed trees, and haul everything to the front lot line. Or, as in my case, pay to have it done. $4500, which no insurance covers.

The cleanup crews contracted by the city are not allowed to come onto private property, just pick up what has been brought to the street right-of-way.

[OneTwentyoNine]

6. I guess NOW it means all the local Government is out and Military in...

I've never seen ANYTHING like this shit mess in NO. Now Bush and his Nazis are running everyone out and are running the show with the military. Really paves the way for those no bid Halliburton/KBR contracts now doesn't it?