Sept. 24 Marks Year Of Recovery
Hurricane Rita struck Sept. 24, 2005, less than a month after Hurricane Katrina sent hundreds of thousands of evacuees fleeing Louisiana. The combined recovery issues involved in sheltering evacuees from both storms and rebuilding infrastructure damaged in the Rita hurricane have forged new ground for FEMA.
Countless hours of effort by thousands of federal employees has been expended this past year on behalf of both disaster survivors and public agencies. FEMA has to follow the law - the Robert T. Stafford Act - that authorizes FEMA's involvement, but officials at all levels have endeavored to make sure that compassion and flexibility uncharacteristic of the spirit of the law isn't ignored in the efforts to adhere to the letter of the law. Deadlines have been changed to accommodate the needs of disaster victims as FEMA has moved from emergency sheltering to longer-term assistance programs. FEMA has also responded to congressional initiatives to increase Public Assistance funding to the same levels as seen in Louisiana (Read More)
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Last Modified: Monday, 02-Oct-2006 12:15:38 EDT