FEMA Is Faulted on Aid After Hurricane Ike-Deja Vu

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FEMA Is Faulted on Aid After Hurricane Ike


By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: February 8, 2009

HOUSTON (AP) — The Federal Emergency Management Agency has denied nearly 650,000 applications for housing aid since Hurricane Ike hit southeastern Texas, finding that nearly 90 percent of claimants were ineligible for aid.


Pool photo by Smiley N. Pool
A house in Gilchrist, Tex., after Hurricane Ike. Nearly 650,000 claims for federal housing aid are said to have been denied.

Those rejected and their lawyers say the inspectors are unqualified or poorly trained and the inspection system is flawed in ways that withhold help from deserving people. The agency says the numbers reflect a widespread misunderstanding of its mission.

The Houston Chronicle reported Sunday that the agency had received more than 730,000 applications for money to help with home repairs, mobile homes or other housing services needed after the hurricane caused widespread damage in September. So far, the agency has paid out about $371 million to 82,000 applicants, declaring almost 650,000 ineligible for aid.

A lawyer for a homeowner challenging his assistance from the agency as insufficient told the newspaper that the gap between applicants and paid claims is caused in part by unqualified or poorly trained FEMA inspectors.

The lawyer, Mark J. Grandich, said that it seemed that the agency had “hired a bunch of people, basically just anybody, and put them on the street after one day of training.”

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http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/09/us/09hurricane.html?_r=1&ref=us