FEMA, an agency for help, or just a joke?

[Rascal Trophy Fishing]

It's reported that 10, yes all 10 FEMA agencies in NYC have closed down during this emergency situation created by a natural disaster named Sandy, the hurricane that slashed across the terrain, leaving tens of thousands of people without homes, electricity, food, gas, and so much more. Why your ask? The signs in the windows say "closed due to weather"! Anyone else get the feeling that this important emergency agency isn't worth the paper it is written on and faked as a true partner to the aggrieved individuals that are in severe distress? I tell you this, this is a big JOKE, DISGRACE, for a Federal Agency that has a huge budget and is supposed to be acting with urgency, relief, help of any sort, not just reporting paperwork for those that need help, where is the help they are supposed to be giving? NONE! Till conditions permit them to return to "safe conditions for themselves". Well, if that is the case, close the darn agency, and let agencies of the private sector like Red Cross, and other emergency responders get "the job DONE"! From what I see and hear about FEMA both here, and at the "Katrina" situation issues, they are sorely lacking in actions, and yes, quality, to be continued into the Federal budget that they get funding from. I could add an upload to this post, for a new agency logo, but I don't see it available, anyone know where to post that? Thanks.

[danthebuilder]

http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20121107/tottenville/staten-island-fema-disaster-center-shuts-doors-due-weather

Not a big conspiracy. They were told to close & leave because of the nor'easter. They closed schools & businesses & told people in low lying areas to move elsewhere and for everyone else to keep off the streets.

[1mainiac]

No way to answer without getting into politics but the simple answer is it is just a smokescreen and waste of money by both parties. The waste is everywhere I work in the RV industry and over the last 15 years we have sold thousands and thousands of campers to FEMA many of them never even used. In Georgia there was a 40 acre field of campers from a hurricane in 2001 FEMA paid a avg of 13k each for them and they never left the staging area in 2006 I went with another tech to inspect some of them we considered buying from them they were rotted into the ground so we did not buy any of them. Some of them were as cheap as 200 bucks ea. There were probably close to a 1000 of them in that field. Same thing in Houston in 2000 and for Katrina. I also lived in Utica,IN one summer after the big flood in 97 We could have bought a nice house with 3 lots on the Ohio river for 25 grand from FEMA however The house had to be removed and a FEMA compliant house had to be built. Which would have cost over 100 grand. Many of my neighbors refused FEMA help because they could not afford to rebuild under their rules. We parked our motor home right on the banks where a very nice house had been The previous owner could not afford to rebuild and one of the people who refused FEMA help bought a bunch of the empty lots tor pennies on the dollar. She turned them into campsites. My neighbor lived in a travel trailer next to his house nothing wrong with his house but since the took the FEMA money they could not live in it until they built a new one. Which leads back to the statement Reagan made about the worst thing you will ever hear is " I am from the government and I am here to help"

[danthebuilder]

I also lived in Utica,IN one summer after the big flood in 97 We could have bought a nice house with 3 lots on the Ohio river for 25 grand from FEMA however The house had to be removed and a FEMA compliant house had to be built. Which would have cost over 100 grand. Many of my neighbors refused FEMA help because they could not afford to rebuild under their rules. We parked our motor home right on the banks where a very nice house had been The previous owner could not afford to rebuild and one of the people who refused FEMA help bought a bunch of the empty lots tor pennies on the dollar. She turned them into campsites. My neighbor lived in a travel trailer next to his house nothing wrong with his house but since the took the FEMA money they could not live in it until they built a new one. Which leads back to the statement Reagan made about the worst thing you will ever hear is " I am from the government and I am here to help"

So basically, after FEMA gives assistance for a disaster area. They require you to build a better house that will do a much better job of withstanding the next disaster? Who the hell comes up with these awful rules.

[1mainiac]

So basically, after FEMA gives assistance for a disaster area. They require you to build a better house that will do a much better job of withstanding the next disaster? Who the hell comes up with these awful rules.

The actual problem for several of them was that they had already built to the old standard. Which was based on the 100 year flood plain because they are in the 500 year flood plain and got hit they are screwed. The rule is they have to raise the house 6ft on one and 2 of them do not need to be raised because they are above the flood plain but FEMA wants new foundations built under them. None of this has to do with the fact they were not damaged in the flood but because it was declared a disaster area which put FEMA in charge of the entire area. The ironic part is one of the houses that was ruined was already built to the new standard prior to the flood. The owner of that house is rich and needed no help rebuilding his house. On another note if FEMA held the same standard in New Orleans most of the city would be vacant unbuildable land. Since in Utica they decided you had to have all livable spaces roughly 30ft above the avg river level with flood openings in the floor level which by the way lets all the snakes into your house. With much of New Orleans 12 to 15ft below sea level how high would you have to build to meet the same standard? The true Irony is that the houses on the KY side of the river do not have to meet the same standards as the IN side. Also this was a decade ago I would like to drive back thru there and see what it looks like now. The house we had in Jeffersonville,IN just 3 miles down river also flooded in the same flood as did the entire subdivision however none of the houses had to be changed to meet any new requirements ( bigger city more money). The problem is FEMA makes many of it's rules as it goes and based on who gets appointed to take charge of the area.

[Rascal Trophy Fishing]

Tip of the hat and many thanks to Jim for such a great amount of information and knowledge to share, I sure learned a lot.

[SteelEyes]

Think of it from the another point of view. The FEMA employees are not the ones doing the actual work of restoration. They are there to coordinate and make sure contractors/workers get paid. the people fixing power lines, etc. pretty much all stayed through the noreaster. So why would we want people like the FEMA employees to remain in those particular locations during the storm. Why would we want to take on that kind of financial liability for little or no benefit. When the noreaster came in the plan should have been to get everyone out of the area and harms way who wasn't absolutely necessary. Then they return a couple of days later, no big deal and no loss.

[1mainiac]

I would bet the crews got more done while they were out of town as compared to having them there over coordinating. FEMA is just one of many good intentions that really don't work well in reality. The fact is nothing any government can do that will prevent or fix every problem we need to be able to take care of ourselves and help our neighbors. Sadly for far too many they will either call for help or wait for it when they could be the help. Some people really do get what they deserve in the end so if you think the government can solve all your problems then FEMA and other agencies are just what you need. As for me I will take care of myself and my family until I am dead. I am also smart enough to not build in a flood prone area and when I have lived in one I have been ready to leave when needed. When we lived in Utica we had a 35ft motor home and a cargo trailer so when the river came up we moved out. After a couple of years of that crap I got a job in Houston and was there during Allison in 01 and when the Trade centers got hit. When Allison hit we hitched up the wagons and headed west for a few days then returned to help with clean up. Allison dumped 34in of rain in 48 hours in sections of the town and semi trailers were floating down the highway. Lots of places where the elements can wipe you out pretty often not sure why I should help people rebuild and live there. How many times do you have to be wiped out by the weather to consider living somewhere else?

[fishy1]

Isn't insanity described as doing they same thing over and over and expecting different results.

[1mainiac]

The problem is many of them get the same results every time someone else pays for their problem. My mother had a nice house just north of the ball park in GR but it flooded every year one year it flooded three times. She just adapted to it once she learned the game she always had the right amount of stuff damaged to max out the insurance. They always paid for the repairs and cleanup. Her house was built to FEMA flood standards but still it flooded every year. 1 time I went to get her out with my truck and got complaints because the waves off my truck knocked windows out of several houses. The water was only 3ft deep so I drove in the truck had 44's and a lift kit. The funny thing was we used to mud bog where the ball park is now because it was vacant wetlands and the land owner was not allowed to build there. But yet when they wanted a ball park poof like magic FEMA and the DNR allowed them to build one. I have caught fish where the ball park is now. One year we had Salmon in my ma's swimming pool that was cool sort of LOL.

[tom]

I'm growing very weary of statements regarding the inefficiency of the Fed; state gov'ts telling the fed to stay out of their lives' leave us alone,I'm staying here,nobody tells me to leave my home. I don't need no dang help! etc,etc. Then when Texas is burning down or a hurricane hits a coastline we listen to these same people asking where the national guard is, where's FEMA? Where do we apply for billions in federal aid? I would encourage these people to wait for "private enterprise" to come to their rescue. News flash!! You would still be standing on your roof if you depended on "private enterprise" to come to your rescue. As for people who continue to build on flood plains, people who build on mountainsides and mudslide down the hill while sitting at their kitchen table, people who build homes on the coast where hurricaines blow down their homes down every other year; you may want to encourage improvements in the Feds response,not their elimination.

[1mainiac]

The problem is eventually you run out of other peoples money. News flash Tom if your house was ruined every 3 to 5 years and you had to fix it yourself how long would it take you to find a better place to live? Lets face it many of those demanding the government to step in and help them in a emergency already expect the government to pay most of their daily living expenses. What happened in Utica IN in 97 was people were told to build flood proof homes or leave their houses were condemned. Some of them took the FEMA money and gave up their homes and left It sucked for several people I knew but life goes on. However they did not do the same things to people in Louisville or Jeffersonville they also did not hold the same standard in New Orleans. Which means simply they do not have a fair and balanced approach. I can assure you your town of Whitehall if flooded would not get the same response as Detroit you can guess as to why that is I already know.