Texas, La. officials give FEMA mixed reviews

BEAUMONT, Texas -- The reasons for local officials feeling frustrated with government started before Hurricane Rita slammed into southeastern Texas, and continued for days afterward.

First, hospital patients were airlifted out of Beaumont hours later than they expected, and by then some patients were weak and vomiting at the airport, said Judge Carl Griffith of Jefferson County, which encompasses the city.

After the storm struck a week ago, nearby Port Arthur nearly ran out of food for emergency workers.

Beaumont's mayor, Guy Goodson, said he did not have a meaningful conversation with federal emergency officials for two days after the storm hit.

Several government officials in southeastern Texas said the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other government agencies must work faster during disasters like this one. Many complained that many requests for aid were mired in paperwork, with the sought-after supplies coming in fits and starts or not at all.

Griffith, the chief elected official in Jefferson County, called this week for a presidential commission to investigate the emergency responses of federal, state, and local agencies, and investigate how to improve their performance in the future. He recommended that FEMA be elevated to a Cabinet department whose secretary would have direct access to the president.

''They're being called on to be the 911 of America in disasters," Griffith said. ''They've got a process that's very bad. And they don't have the resources to deliver the job tasks that they're given."

Other local officials praised FEMA's work. Tina Horn, administrator of Cameron Parish in the southwestern corner of Louisiana, said FEMA was coordinating relief centers there, along with temporary housing and efforts to help people find jobs.

''FEMA's doing a good job," Horn said. ''People are able to fill out the paperwork. Some people have already got their money."

FEMA officials said they have listened to local officials' complaints and responded rapidly when necessary, such as having a team of state and federal representatives working in the same spot to handle requests for generators more quickly.

But the agency's officials said they urge communities to be prepared to be self-sufficient for 72 hours after a storm because there are likely to be many road closures and power outages, making it hard to transport generators and other emergency supplies to cities and towns right away.

Justin DeMello, FEMA task force leader based in Beaumont, said the agency did not respond slowly given the extent of the storm. The agency, he said, has been giving out food, supplies, and dozens of generators daily, while also coordinating with dozens of state and federal government agencies to make sure people get food stamps, shelter, tips on where to find jobs, and other aid.

''I'm not into process and I'm not into paperwork," DeMello said this week. ''I'm here to get the job done."

As of Thursday, in the Houston area alone, FEMA had approved nearly $150 million in aid to 41,580 households affected by Hurricane Katrina, or 74 percent of the 55,863 who applied for help, said spokesman Justin Dombrowski. Not everyone is eligible for aid, he said, and some applications may have been duplicates.

Only 4,296 of 15,663 Hurricane Rita households, or 27 percent, had been approved, largely because the storm struck only last weekend, he said.

FEMA officials say they are working fast while trying to spend taxpayers' money wisely and prevent fraud. Inspectors have to try to make sure the proper equipment is being sent to local governments, and must visit damaged houses before releasing a check so that a homeowner can rebuild.

Several government officials said disaster relief should move faster.

Griffith protested that FEMA-supplied generators sat unused at the Ford Park arena in Beaumont for several days. The city of Nederland could not get a generator for its emergency operations center.

''We didn't get the damn thing," said Nederland Mayor Dick Nugent, who said the city had to buy four generators to power the emergency center and other services after his request to federal officials did not come through.

Port Arthur Mayor Oscar Ortiz said churches and oil refineries brought food, electric generators, and water to the coastal city faster than the federal government did.

''We called up the other day and asked them to send us some stuff. They said: 'Have you got your paperwork done?' " he said. ''Paperwork? I've got no power. How in the hell can I send you anything unless I got a carrier pigeon?"

But others said they were reluctant to blame FEMA. Some government officials and evacuees appeared to be confused about what exactly the agency's role is.

Even Griffith, one of FEMA's most ardent critics, acknowledged that it was not FEMA's job to airlift patients out of Beaumont before the storm, but he said his proposed commission should determine whose job it should have been.

After a storm, local governments are supposed to file requests for aid with state officials, who then turn them over to FEMA.

''To point the finger at FEMA is not fair," said Mayor Glenn Johnson of Port Neches. ''We don't know where the breakdown is."

Tackling the aftermath of two hurricanes at once put a strain on FEMA. On Wednesday, the Houston relief center shut down early because it was overwhelmed with applications.

By Thursday, the center was open again, and the lines of people moved quickly from outside into an air-conditioned building. But evacuees still complained they remained in confusing situations: Some said they could not get food stamps, or find the correct telephone numbers for FEMA, or fill out the aid application forms correctly on their own. Many said they were there because they had applied for aid but had not heard from FEMA.

Andrea Berry, 39, of Beaumont said she filled out an aid application after the hurricane but had not heard from FEMA as of Thursday, so she went to the aid center in Houston to stand in line. Since Hurricane Rita, Berry has been living in a friend's house in Beaumont with more than 20 people, including her daughter and 7-month-old granddaughter.

''I think they let us down," she said of FEMA.