Disaster Recovery Projects in Limbo despite Senate Budget Deal

FEMA's disaster-relief funding problems will not go away any time soon despite a last-minute budget deal struck in the Senate this week, leaving thousands of residents in neighborhoods across the nation wondering how they will reconstruct following a torrent of new natural disasters.

Without more funding, thousands of long-term recovery projects -- put on hold in August while the Federal Emergency Management Agency shifted capital to cover newer and instant disaster responses -- could go back to the backlog list before the end of the year.

As a result, communities hard-hit by floods, tornadoes, hurricanes and other disasters may be left on their own while Congress works out its budget kinks

As a result, communities hard-hit by floods, tornadoes, hurricanes and other disasters may be left on their own while Congress works out its resources kinks.

In North Dakota's Ward County, residents still are dealing with poorly damaged roads in the wake of epic flooding in June. Some of those projects were put on hold last month as FEMA's funds dwindled to near-empty. 

New Jersey Gets Disaster Relief Funds For Dec. Storm

MYFOXNY.COM - The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) says that federal disaster aid has been made available to New Jersey to state and local governments to help with recovery efforts from the huge December 26-27, 2010 storm.

Federal funding is available to state and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by the severe winter storm and snowstorm in the counties of Bergen, Burlington, Cape May, Essex, Hudson, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, and Union.

In addition, assistance is available to the state and eligible local governments on a cost-sharing basis for emergency protective measures, including snow assistance, for a continuous 48-hour period during or proximate to the incident period.

Following is a summary of key federal disaster aid programs that can be made available as needed and warranted under President Obama’s major disaster declaration issued for New Jersey.

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Williamson County denied FEMA assistance a second time

For the second time in a month, the federal government denied Gov. Rick Perry's request for financial aid to help repair extensive flood damage caused by Tropical Storm Hermine.

Perry asked President Barack Obama in a September 20 letter to issue a major disaster declaration for 13 Texas counties, including Travis and Williamson. The Obama administration denied the request October 8, but Perry appealed the decision.

In a letter dated November 5, W. Craig Fugate, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), wrote that federal officials stand by their initial evaluation.

"We reaffirm our original findings that the impact from this event is not of the severity and magnitude that warrants a major disaster declaration," Fugate wrote. "The required response appears to be within the combined capabilities of the state, affected local governments and voluntary agencies."

According to Perry's written request in September, eight Texans lost their lives due to the tropical storm, including one in Williamson County and one in Travis. A reported 178 Texas homes were destroyed and 298 suffered major damage.

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N.C. receives FEMA assistance

Gov. Beverly Purdue received a federal disaster declaration from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for the flooding that devastated homeowners in 6 eastern North Carolina counties following Tropical Storm Nicole earlier this month.

“These floods impacted hundreds of families across eastern North Carolina,” said Perdue, who pushed for the FEMA assistance.

The declaration makes available low-interest loans or grants to storm survivors to help them repair their homes in Beaufort, Bertie, Craven, Hertford, Onslow and Tyrrell counties, according to a release from the N.C. Office of the Governor.

Residents in those 6 counties can apply for low-interest federal loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration in the following amounts: homeowners up to $240,000 and renters up to $40,000.

Any who don't qualify for loans may be eligible for FEMA assistance.

County, state, and federal emergency management teams spent most of last week assessing damages in 21 counties.

FEMA denies state disaster ruling after Hermine

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has denied Gov. Rick Perry's request for a major disaster declaration for Texas following Tropical Storm Hermine.

The storm caused major flooding when it hit Central Texas last month.

The governor requested individual and public assistance for a total of 13 counties, including 5 in Central Texas. He also applied for hazard prevention statewide.

In its response, FEMA said the damage from the storm was not so severe or large, that the state shouldn't be able to handle it with state, local and nonprofit resources.

Rick Perry can submit an appeal within 30 days.

FEMA rejects disaster aid for San Bruno

The federal government has rejected the state's request for disaster aid for the deadly natural gas pipeline explosion in San Bruno.

The decision, an appeal of which is likely, means the state will not receive millions of dollars in disaster relief money to cover the costs of the calamity.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) determined the damage was "not of such severity and magnitude" as to overwhelm the state and local agencies that responded to the September 9 blast, according to the letter that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger received from the agency Friday. The letter goes on to say that help from other sources, including PG&E, will be enough to meet the needs of the event.

However, FEMA will reimburse the state for up to 75 % of the firefighting costs, agency spokesman Bradley Carroll wrote.

But San Bruno Mayor Jim Ruane, who testified before a Senate committee on pipeline safety Tuesday, said Schwarzenegger plans to appeal the decision. Ruane said he was surprised and disagreed with FEMA's conclusion that the city will be able to pay for the response and cleanup.

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Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina

Category 5 hurricane ( SSHS)
Hurricane Katrina near peak strength on August 28, 2005
Formed	August 23, 2005
Dissipated	August 30, 2005
Highest winds	175 mph (280 km/h) (1-minute sustained)
Lowest pressure	902 mbar (hPa; 26.64 inHg)
Fatalities	1,836 confirmed[1]
Damage	$81.2 billion (2005 USD) $90.1 billion (2010 USD)(Costliest hurricane in US history)
Areas affected	Bahamas, South Florida, Cuba, Louisiana (especially Greater New Orleans), Mississippi, Alabama, Florida Panhandle, most of eastern North America
Part of the2005 Atlantic hurricane season

Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall. At least 1,836 people lost their lives in the actual hurricane and in the subsequent floods, making it the deadliest U.S. hurricane since the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane; total property damage was estimated at $81 billion (2005 USD), nearly triple the damage wrought by Hurricane Andrew in 1992.


Hurricane Katrina formed over the Bahamas on August 23, 2005 and crossed southern Florida as a moderate Category 1 hurricane, causing some deaths and flooding there before strengthening rapidly in the Gulf of Mexico. The storm weakened before making its second landfall as a Category 5 storm on the morning of Monday, August 29 in southeast Louisiana. It caused severe destruction along the Gulf coast from central Florida to Texas, much of it due to the storm surge. The most severe loss of life occurred in New Orleans, Louisiana, which flooded as the levee system catastrophically failed, in many cases hours after the storm had moved inland. Eventually 80% of the city and large tracts of neighboring parishes became flooded, and the floodwaters lingered for weeks. However, the worst property damage occurred in coastal areas, such as all Mississippi beachfront towns, which were flooded over 90% in hours, as boats and casino barges rammed buildings, pushing cars and houses inland, with waters reaching 6–12 miles (10–19 km) from the beach.

The hurricane protection failures in New Orleans prompted a lawsuit against the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) the builders of the levee system as mandated in the Flood Control Act of 1965. Responsibility for the failures and flooding was laid squarely on the Army Corps in January 2008, but the federal agency could not be held financially liable due to sovereign immunity in the Flood Control Act of 1928. There was also an investigation of the responses from federal, state and local governments, resulting in the resignation of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) director Michael D. Brown, and of New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) Superintendent Eddie Compass. Conversely, the United States Coast Guard (USCG), National Hurricane Center (NHC) and National Weather Service (NWS) were widely commended for their actions, accurate forecasts and abundant lead time.

Nearly five years later, thousands of displaced residents in Mississippi and Louisiana are still living in trailers. Reconstruction of each section of the southern portion of Louisiana has been addressed in the Army Corps LACPR Final Technical Report which identifies areas not to be rebuilt and areas and buildings that need to be elevated.