FEMA

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California: Too Broke for More Fires

At least not without major help from Uncle Sam

(Newser) - California’s wildfires haven’t just destroyed property and forestland, they’ve also scorched the state’s beleaguered budget, Time reports. Arnold Schwarzenegger didn't lay a finger on the state's forestry budget of $518 million, and more than doubled the state’s emergency fund for fighting wildfires this year to...

FEMA Too Slow on Katrina Trailer Toxins: Federal Report

Agency didn't announce toxin find until 2 years after people moved in

(Newser) - FEMA was too slow to deal with reports of toxins in trailers used to house Hurricane Katrina victims, potentially posing a “significant health risk” to thousands along the Gulf Coast, a Homeland Security report says. Residents of the trailers had reported bloody noses, headaches, and worse as a result...

FEMA Will Sell Katrina Trailers to Occupants for $1

Obama administration announces housing plan for victims

(Newser) - Nearly 4 years after Hurricane Katrina hit, the federal government is bringing its assistance program for displaced victims to a close by essentially giving residents the 1,800 mobile homes it has loaned out, the Washington Post reports. Occupants can buy their units for $1 or $5, depending on the...

FEMA Orders Katrina Victims Out of Its Trailers

Residents still rebuilding their homes fret as eviction day looms

(Newser) - FEMA is booting thousands of Hurricane Katrina victims from its trailers at the end of this month whether they have somewhere else to go or not, the New York Times reports. Much of the permanent housing intended to replace the trailers remains unfinished, and as eviction day looms, many of...

FEMA Scraps 9/11 Coloring Book

Disturbing images given to thousands of kids to color

(Newser) - After touting it for six years, FEMA has pulled a downloadable coloring book that depicts a plane flying towards the burning Twin Towers from its website. A Scary Thing Happened has been disseminated to thousands of children worldwide and no one has complained about it—or its potential to traumatize...

FEMA Is Also in the Prevention Business

Agency funds preparation projects; some scientists want to see more

(Newser) - FEMA may be best known for its response in times of crisis, but it also tries to provide help before disaster strikes, NPR reports. In the tiny Missouri hamlet of Niangua, a tornado shelter mostly funded by the agency will soon be able to house the entire town—a relief...

FEMA Emergency Kits May Contain Tainted Peanut Butter

People warned to throw out packets in salmonella scare

(Newser) - FEMA food kits given to storm victims in Arkansas and Kentucky may have contained peanut butter contaminated with salmonella, CNN reports. The kits came from a company hit by a nationwide recall following a salmonella outbreak. FEMA warns that anyone who received a meal kit should immediately throw away any...

Deep Freeze Chills Midwest as Outages Plague Northeast

(Newser) - Brutally cold temperatures are buffeting the Midwest today, and states of emergency remain in effect throughout the Northeast following a devastating ice storm that left more than 400,000 people without power, USA Today reports. Schools were closed in Massachusetts and crews from up and down the Eastern seaboard rushed...

300 in Limbo as Houston's Last Ike Shelter Closes

Many still wrangling with FEMA, other agencies, blast 'ridiculous lies'

(Newser) - The Red Cross will boot nearly 300 Hurricane Ike survivors from its remaining Houston shelter Sunday, the Chronicle reports, leaving them to the care of federal and local agencies some accuse of “ridiculous lies.” The possibility of transitional housing does little for one FEMA reject, who was told...

Officials: Texas Needs $40B From Feds for Ike Cleanup

Mayors ask Congress to move quickly on relief

(Newser) - Texas officials told Congress today they might need up to $40 billion in aid to rebuild the state's hurricane-hit areas, the Houston Chronicle reports. The state's lieutenant governor sought at least $11.5 billion of aid and as many trailer homes as available to help the 770 communities damaged by...

Bush Follows Ike to Texas
 Bush Follows Ike to Texas 
Sep 16, 2008 4:56 PM CDT

Bush Follows Ike to Texas

(Newser) - President Bush visited Houston and took an air tour over Galveston today, urging Americans to continue contributions to the Red Cross and other charities and promising timely aid from state and federal governments, the Washington Post reports. Meanwhile, Houston Mayor Bill White grumbled about a slow FEMA response to his...

Ike Survivors May Wait Weeks for Hot Meals, Baths

60 food shelters to open today to meed demand for supplies

(Newser) - More relief was on the way for Hurricane Ike evacuees today as tens of thousands waited for supplies, the electricity to return to their homes, or their first hot meal and shower. The number of distribution centers was to be quadrupled to 60 by the end of the day to...

Stricken Houston Lines Up for Food, Water

Residents scramble for survival basics in Ike's aftermath

(Newser) - Thousands of weary Houston residents joined lines that stretched for blocks yesterday to collect the basics they need to survive in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike. Emergency supplies are being strictly rationed and each family is allowed only two bags of ice, a case of bottled water and a 12-pack...

Long Lines Await Ike Survivors
Long Lines Await Ike Survivors
Sep 15, 2008 2:15 PM CDT

Long Lines Await Ike Survivors

'Eye of the aftermath' proves trying for Texas residents in need

(Newser) - With a short supply of commodities like ice and gasoline forcing Texans trying to recover from Hurricane Ike to wait in hours-long lines, President Bush warned today the storm may put "upward pressure" on US fuel prices. Refineries and oil rigs sustained extensive, though not severe, damage, the Houston ...

Texas Battles Ike Blackouts, Floods, Looting

FEMA struggles to keep Houston, Galveston supplied

(Newser) - Federal officials were working yesterday to move emergency supplies and fresh water to distribution centers in beleaguered Houston, where residents were struggling to cope with continued flooding, blackouts and looting. Millions are still without power and a curfew is in force, reports the Houston Chronicle. Officials in Galveston, meanwhile, appealed...

Texas Illegals Promised 'Hurricane Amnesty'

Officials don't want immigration enforcement to impede evacuations

(Newser) - The federal government has declared a “hurricane amnesty” in an attempt to get Texas’ illegal immigrants out of Hurricane Ike’s way, the Christian Science Monitor reports. Immigration officials will not attempt to arrest illegals in shelters or along common evacuation routes. The Red Cross has begun outreach programs...

Storms Test New FEMA System
 Storms Test New FEMA System 
Sep 8, 2008 10:04 AM CDT

Storms Test New FEMA System

'Dynamic' approach distributes response burden

(Newser) - With three big storms hitting the US within about a week, FEMA is attempting to stay a step ahead, planning emergency response strategies and deploying supplies. The agency's new "dynamic regrouping" plan represents a real-time collaboration between military, civilian, and volunteer personnel, the Christian Science Monitor reports. "The...

Gustav Roars to Landfall as Cat. 2

Cat. 2 storm hobbles coast before making landfall

(Newser) - Hurricane Gustav was downgraded to Category 2 as it churned toward landfall this morning, causing 9-foot storm surges and widespread power outages to the southeast of New Orleans, CNN reports. A FEMA official told the AP this morning that the eye of the storm is expected to pass west of...

Bush to Skip RNC for Gustav Trip

President to visit evacuees and workers in Texas

(Newser) - President George W. Bush will skip the Republican National Convention tomorrow and travel instead to Texas to meet with emergency workers and people who evacuated the Gulf Coast as Hurricane Gustav bore down. He will hold off traveling to Louisiana, however, because he does not want to get in the...

Gustav May Delay GOP Convention
Gustav May Delay GOP Convention
Aug 29, 2008 1:53 AM CDT

Gustav May Delay GOP Convention

Storm could raise specter of Katrina, detract from McCain

(Newser) - Republicans are considering delaying the start of next week's convention in Minneapolis if deadly Hurricane Gustav hits big, reports the Washington Post. The storm is on course to nail the Gulf Coast with full force early next week, and party officials don’t want America thinking about President Bush’s...

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