FEMA Response to Terrorist Acts Continues Smoothly; Director Allbaugh to Visit Pennsylvania Crash Site
Release Date: September 19, 2001
Release Number: HQ-01-122
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Washington, DC -- At the World Trade Center, site of the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history, FEMA is continuing recovery efforts, assessing damaged buildings and facilities and assisting the city and state of New York in planning for removing the massive amounts of debris.
At the Pentagon site, FEMA's priorities are to provide environmental monitoring and technical support, brief state representatives on plans for debris removal and complete briefings for local officials on public assistance available to eligible localities and nonprofit entities.
FEMA Director Joe M. Allbaugh, who has been on site in both New York and at the Pentagon, is traveling today to Westmoreland, Pa., the site of the plane that crashed in an aborted terrorist attack.
Following is a summary of other FEMA operations:
- Assistance for victims of terrorist acts and their families is available
through several state and federal agencies. All phone numbers for those are
now up and running.
- Sixty-four nations have suffered casualties, and FEMA's Office of
International
- Affairs is working with State Department officials and foreign embassies
on handling these cases.
- The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has set up ten air-monitoring
stations near the World Trade Center site and 20 more will be established
within the week in areas around the site, including locations in New Jersey.
EPA is also overseeing cleaning debris from 300 cars in the area.
- Four new Urban Search and Rescue teams -- two from California and one
each from Arizona and Washington State -- are arriving to relieve teams
that have been on duty. Teams from Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana have been
released to return home.
- FEMA is drawing plans for Operation Barge-It -- a way to move needed
supplies from Port Newark to the World Trade Center, a storage warehouse and
the FEMA Disaster Field Office at Pier 90.
- The amount of debris from the New York disaster totals 1.2 million tons.
- At the Pentagon, the one remaining FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Force -- from New Mexico -- is expected to conclude its work on Saturday.
An economic recovery center will open in Arlington, Va., at a yet-to-be determined location.
Last Modified: Monday, 20-Oct-2003 15:53:13