Federal Emergency Mis-Management System
and
A Red Cross Marks the Spot

Like so many government agencies, FEMA has excellent workers on the front lines. Without fail, each person I've dealt with personally has been helpful, polite and caring.

Like so many government agencies, FEMA has too much middle management totally out of touch with the front line people....and the stupidity near the top is hard to even believe.

On the Mississippi Coast, newly homeless residents watched in frustration as one FEMA truck after another rolled through -- headed for New Orleans.  New Orleans was in the news and everything was being sent there.

There was no ice, little water or food, no shelter and local businesses had in large part been destroyed.  Yet day after day, the FEMA trucks drove through the devastation in Mississippi....all headed for New Orleans.

The main change needed in FEMA's direct response is for them to listen to the local officials on the ground.  Time after time, they ignored advice from local leaders....and then had to make changes because of it.

It was corporate America that stepped up here.  WalMart opened damaged stores and re-routed shipments from other stores to provide necessities.  Lowe's and Home Depot blocked off damaged areas, and trucked in emergency generators, chain saws, etc. as quickly as possible.

Almost all of the local churches set up free meals and handed out water, food and clothing.  The volunteers I met when donating goods to these churches were the most caring, kind people I met when I returned.

When FEMA did set up, they insisted on being in charge of the entire emergency "office"....and neglected to order computers and hook-ups for the State agencies.  The method of being "in line" for FEMA was interesting.

In the Ocean Springs FEMA center there were 8 rows of chairs with about 20 chairs in each row.  As one person left the line to be helped by a FEMA counseler, everyone got up and moved over one chair.  This went on every few minutes until eventually you reached the front row chair on the left....which meant you were next to be helped. Only thing missing was the music.

FEMA's emergency website was excellent -- no one has given FEMA proper credit for that. If you were evacuated and in a place where you had internet access, it was great.  The phone line (800 number) was unreachable.

In late October, many on the Mississippi Coast are still waiting for FEMA trailers. Some have arrived with no keys.....some have been invested with roaches.....the slow rate of arrival is hard on families still living in tents.

According to the political appointed running FEMA these days, "we did not expect so much damage".  Excuse me, sir -- a category 4/5 hurricane with an eye 50 miles wide headed straight into the Gulf Coast......how could you expect anything other than massive destruction?

The Red Cross, though, gets the Gold Star for disorganization.  An 800 number that was simply never answered (I know of not one person that got through to that "help" line)....too few help centers set up where the lines were 5-8 hours of waiting daily.  Most of the people waiting were standing in the sun in unbearable heat.

In the first week following such a disaster, people need basics -- water, food, diapers, clothing.  As local businesses open with emergency supplies, people often need money more than anything.  Banks are often closed, many families live from payday to payday with little left over for emergencies.

Once again, the workers "on the ground" with the Red Cross were wonderful and compassionate people....many of them very frustrated at the constraints placed on them by the management of the Red Cross.

What is missing seems to be a real plan that involves state governments.  There are only 52 governors so it is not impossible that FEMA and the Red Cross could have a disaster plan that is clear to all involved.  We needed more Indians....and a lot less Chiefs...and we need them before hurricane season next year!

UPDATE:  FEMA has announced that Coastians who lost jobs and thus health insurance will be covered for 5 months under the Medicaid program.  There is a form you must pick up and mail in to access this coverage....problem is, the only FEMA centers that have the forms available for citizens to pick up.....are NOT located on the Coast of Mississippi!.  What part of "look at the map" don't they understand?

The author, Kay King, lives on the Coast of Mississippi, the area hardest hit by Hurricane
Katrina.  For more information about the disaster and the steps being taken toward recovery,
please visit   http://www.1disaster-recovery.com   .