NEW ORLEANS, LA — The Federal Emergency Management Agency responding to disasters such as the Midwest floods and the California wildfires isn’t the same agency that responded to Hurricane Katrina, a top official told a U.S. Senate panel Thursday.
Harvey Johnson, FEMA’s deputy administrator, told a hearing convened in Washington, D.C., to assess the agency’s post-Katrina performance that “significant progress” has been made in the nearly three years since Katrina and the catastrophic levee breaches left 80 percent of New Orleans under water. He credited R. David Paulison, confirmed as FEMA’s director in 2006, with pushing for the kinds of changes that he said have already made it a vastly different agency.
He noted several such changes: building partnerships between federal, state and local agencies; putting a greater emphasis on preparedness; and working to provide more prompt assistance.
Bureaucratic frustrations, particularly in seeking to free rebuilding dollars for hurricane-damaged infrastructure, was a leading, long-standing complaint among state and local officials after hurricanes Katrina and Rita ravaged parts of the Gulf Coast in 2005.
Emergency management officials from four states affected in recent months by such disasters as fire, floods and tornadoes had generally positive things to say about FEMA’s response to their situations. U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., noted that disasters since Katrina have varied in scope. Vast swaths of some New Orleans’ neighborhoods are still devastated, dotted with decrepit vacant homes, overgrown lots and severely warped streets.
Stephen Sellers, a deputy director in the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, said he believes the federal government must look at “reasonable” housing options, particularly for cases such as major earthquakes in which substantial amounts of housing stock would be lost.
Johnson said FEMA is working on a national disaster housing plan. The agency came under fire earlier this year after tests showed high levels of formaldehyde fumes in travel trailers and mobile homes used to house victims of the 2005 hurricanes. Formaldehyde is a preservative commonly used in building materials. Prolonged exposure can lead to breathing problems and is also believed to cause cancer.
He also acknowledged other outstanding issues that the agency is dealing with, such as building up and better training its work force.
Paul Rainwater, the executive director of the Louisiana Recovery Authority, said the state has had a sometimes tense relationship with FEMA. However, he also said that in spite of that, the state considers FEMA a partner that is being “as flexible as they can” within the constraints of federal law governing disaster recovery.
Local News
FEMA official: Agency is much different today
- Local News
-
-
PAINTING HYDRANTS
Firefighters with Picayune Fire Department conduct regular maintenance on the city’s many fire hydrants, such as giving them a fresh coat of paint.
-
Two charged with making meth around kids
Two parents were arrested for allegedly making and possessing methamphetamine, while their children were in the home.
-
Unemployment rate down slightly
Pearl River County’s unemployment rate dropped slightly between March and April of this year.
-
PMHS GRADUATION
Picayune Memorial High School held its graduation ceremony Thursday night where the school’s valedictorian Jared Christopher Bates, left, and salutatorian Bryce Austin Warden gave their speeches.
-
POPLARVILLE GRADUATION
Poplarville High School held its graduation ceremony Thursday night where the school’s valedictorian Rebecca Starke, left, and salutatorian Meagan Whitworth gave their speeches to the graduating class, parents and friends.
-
Local man paralyzed by juvenile shooting
Medical personnel were teaching a local man how to swallow again on Saturday after his spinal cord was severed by a .22 caliber bullet, fired by one of three juveniles, on Thursday.
-
Potential bridge replacement fund shortage draws discussion
Despite a lengthy agenda for Pearl River County supervisors Wednesday the board handled many of the items with a straight up and down 5-0 vote.
-
Glade Woods dies
Funeral services for Earl Glade Woods , 75 of Picayune, are Monday at 11 a.m. at First Baptist Church of Picayune. Woods passed away on Friday.
-
MHP on patrol for holiday
Even though there has been a remarkable reduction in the number of fatalities in Mississippi over the past seven years, last year’s Memorial Day Weekend was particularly deadly.
-
POLICE MEMORIAL
City employees were out at the Picayune Police Department memorial Thursday morning doing some upgrades to it.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Raw Video: 19 Dead in Qatar Shopping Mall Fire
Beryl Makes Landfall on Florida Coast
Service Dogs Help Wash. Soldiers Battling PTSD
Raw Video: Heckler Bursts in on Blair Testimony
Japan Farmers Plant, Seek Radiation-free Rice
UN Blames Syrian Forces for Shelling Houla
Raw Video: Gay Protest Blocked in Moscow
Vatican in Chaos After Butler Arrested for Leaks
Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results
Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class
Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack
Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
