Katrina barely affected inland Mississippi, but many got aid
U.S. Attorney's Office checking on 1,000 fraud reports
By Eric Lipton
NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE
November 20, 2005
JACKSON, Miss. – When the federal government and the nation's largest disaster relief group reached out a helping hand after Hurricane Katrina blew through Jackson, Miss., tens of thousands of people grabbed it.
But in giving out $62 million in aid, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the American Red Cross overlooked a critical fact: The storm was hardly catastrophic here, 160 miles from the coast. The only damage sustained by most of the nearly 30,000 households receiving aid was spoiled food in the freezer.
The fact that at least some relief money has gone to those perceived as greedy, not needy, has set off recriminations in this poor, historic capital where the payments of up to $2,358 set off spending sprees on jewelry, guns and electronics.
Though a majority of the money appears to have been given out legally, the U.S. Attorney's Office is investigating at least 1,000 reports of fraud, including accusations that people lied about claims of damage or where they lived. State and local officials are criticizing FEMA and the Red Cross for doling out money without safeguards, but they also blame their fellow citizens.
"The donors all across this nation thought they were giving money to put food in the mouths of people who had nothing and clothes on the backs of people who had lost everything," said state Rep. John Raymond Reeves, who represents Jackson. "But that is not what happened here. There was a feeding frenzy."
And friends have turned against friends. When word of the Red Cross and federal money got out in Jackson's neighborhoods, many rushed to apply. Huge lines formed at Western Union outlets and other places that issued or cashed the relief checks.
Erica Thompson, 32, tried unsuccessfully to persuade her friends not to join in.
"People can take a good thing and abuse it," Thompson said while doing her wash at a coin laundry in Jackson this week. "It's not right."
Some of those who accepted the aid, though, feel no embarrassment.
"I needed that money," said Lynn Alexander, 30, whose apartment lost power in the storm, but was not damaged. She collected $900, she said, from the Red Cross. "It helped me put gas in my car, wash my clothes and buy food."
What happened in Jackson and its suburbs – in Hinds, Madison and Rankin counties – might not be unique. Emergency officials elsewhere in Mississippi and in parts of Louisiana have also questioned how so much federal aid could have been authorized, given the limited damage they documented.
"Someone is going to have to look at that," said Bo Boudreaux, deputy director of homeland security in Iberia Parish, west of New Orleans, where perhaps three mobile homes were damaged, he said, but 404 families, according to FEMA, received $2,000 checks in emergency aid.
FEMA, which is leading the $62 billion Katrina relief effort, has been criticized as responding slowly to the disaster and then wasting recovery money. In defending the payments in the Jackson area, the agency and the Red Cross cited the tensions between moving quickly to help the desperate, and moving carefully to avoid aiding the undeserving.
"This is the challenge we perpetually face," said Nicol Andrews, a FEMA spokeswoman. "Do you get assistance into the hands of those who desperately need it as quickly as possible? Or do you slow it down to dot every single 'i' and cross every single 't'? We chose to err on the side of the victim."
Charles Connor, a senior vice president at the Red Cross in Washington, said his group had a similar imperative. People who brought in a form of identification were eligible for aid. Connor acknowledges that apparently resulted in aid being offered to some who did not need it.
By the time Hurricane Katrina reached this far, its power had greatly diminished. The sustained winds, recorded at 47 mph at the airport, were far below hurricane speed. But gusts of up to 74 mph took down trees, knocking out power lines and damaging roofs.
Still, the region was largely spared. In Jackson and three nearby counties, only 50 to 60 homes were declared uninhabitable, directors of local emergency departments said.
Immediately after the hurricane made landfall, the Bush administration declared a disaster area along 15 Mississippi coastal counties, as well as 31 parishes in Louisiana. Residents there were eligible for federal emergency grants, housing assistance and money for repairs, medical bills and other costs.
But by Sept. 7, at Mississippi's request, the disaster zone was expanded as far as 220 miles inland, reaching 32 counties, including several that never experienced sustained hurricane-force winds.
Lea Stokes, a spokeswoman for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, said the state urged the Bush administration to include so many counties in the disaster zone after documenting widespread damage. The state encouraged all residents to apply for aid, even if the only cost they incurred was the purchase of a chainsaw or generator.
"Let them tell you whether or not you qualify before you rule yourself out," she said, echoing the advice offered by Mississippi officials.
Andrews said the federal government typically deferred to states on disaster declarations. But when that happens, she acknowledged, the door is opened for federal aid.
"Once we effectively turn on a county, anyone in that county can apply," Andrews said.
Link Here
By Eric Lipton
NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE
November 20, 2005
JACKSON, Miss. – When the federal government and the nation's largest disaster relief group reached out a helping hand after Hurricane Katrina blew through Jackson, Miss., tens of thousands of people grabbed it.
But in giving out $62 million in aid, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the American Red Cross overlooked a critical fact: The storm was hardly catastrophic here, 160 miles from the coast. The only damage sustained by most of the nearly 30,000 households receiving aid was spoiled food in the freezer.
The fact that at least some relief money has gone to those perceived as greedy, not needy, has set off recriminations in this poor, historic capital where the payments of up to $2,358 set off spending sprees on jewelry, guns and electronics.
Though a majority of the money appears to have been given out legally, the U.S. Attorney's Office is investigating at least 1,000 reports of fraud, including accusations that people lied about claims of damage or where they lived. State and local officials are criticizing FEMA and the Red Cross for doling out money without safeguards, but they also blame their fellow citizens.
"The donors all across this nation thought they were giving money to put food in the mouths of people who had nothing and clothes on the backs of people who had lost everything," said state Rep. John Raymond Reeves, who represents Jackson. "But that is not what happened here. There was a feeding frenzy."
And friends have turned against friends. When word of the Red Cross and federal money got out in Jackson's neighborhoods, many rushed to apply. Huge lines formed at Western Union outlets and other places that issued or cashed the relief checks.
Erica Thompson, 32, tried unsuccessfully to persuade her friends not to join in.
"People can take a good thing and abuse it," Thompson said while doing her wash at a coin laundry in Jackson this week. "It's not right."
Some of those who accepted the aid, though, feel no embarrassment.
"I needed that money," said Lynn Alexander, 30, whose apartment lost power in the storm, but was not damaged. She collected $900, she said, from the Red Cross. "It helped me put gas in my car, wash my clothes and buy food."
What happened in Jackson and its suburbs – in Hinds, Madison and Rankin counties – might not be unique. Emergency officials elsewhere in Mississippi and in parts of Louisiana have also questioned how so much federal aid could have been authorized, given the limited damage they documented.
"Someone is going to have to look at that," said Bo Boudreaux, deputy director of homeland security in Iberia Parish, west of New Orleans, where perhaps three mobile homes were damaged, he said, but 404 families, according to FEMA, received $2,000 checks in emergency aid.
FEMA, which is leading the $62 billion Katrina relief effort, has been criticized as responding slowly to the disaster and then wasting recovery money. In defending the payments in the Jackson area, the agency and the Red Cross cited the tensions between moving quickly to help the desperate, and moving carefully to avoid aiding the undeserving.
"This is the challenge we perpetually face," said Nicol Andrews, a FEMA spokeswoman. "Do you get assistance into the hands of those who desperately need it as quickly as possible? Or do you slow it down to dot every single 'i' and cross every single 't'? We chose to err on the side of the victim."
Charles Connor, a senior vice president at the Red Cross in Washington, said his group had a similar imperative. People who brought in a form of identification were eligible for aid. Connor acknowledges that apparently resulted in aid being offered to some who did not need it.
By the time Hurricane Katrina reached this far, its power had greatly diminished. The sustained winds, recorded at 47 mph at the airport, were far below hurricane speed. But gusts of up to 74 mph took down trees, knocking out power lines and damaging roofs.
Still, the region was largely spared. In Jackson and three nearby counties, only 50 to 60 homes were declared uninhabitable, directors of local emergency departments said.
Immediately after the hurricane made landfall, the Bush administration declared a disaster area along 15 Mississippi coastal counties, as well as 31 parishes in Louisiana. Residents there were eligible for federal emergency grants, housing assistance and money for repairs, medical bills and other costs.
But by Sept. 7, at Mississippi's request, the disaster zone was expanded as far as 220 miles inland, reaching 32 counties, including several that never experienced sustained hurricane-force winds.
Lea Stokes, a spokeswoman for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, said the state urged the Bush administration to include so many counties in the disaster zone after documenting widespread damage. The state encouraged all residents to apply for aid, even if the only cost they incurred was the purchase of a chainsaw or generator.
"Let them tell you whether or not you qualify before you rule yourself out," she said, echoing the advice offered by Mississippi officials.
Andrews said the federal government typically deferred to states on disaster declarations. But when that happens, she acknowledged, the door is opened for federal aid.
"Once we effectively turn on a county, anyone in that county can apply," Andrews said.
Link Here
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 3:51 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home