-
HURRICANE CENTER
Browse by day posted:
Browse by week posted:
- EYE ON STORMS
-
When tropical storms threaten 
this hurricane season, get expert insight from Pulitzer- winning Times-Picayune writer Mark Schleifstein.
- FORECASTS & ALERTS
-
- SATELLITE/RADAR
-
-
- 2008 SEASON PREP
-
Three years after Katrina, we face a new hurricane season. Are we ready?
Washing Away is the Times- Picyaune's acclaimed 2002 series on our city's hurricane vulnerabilities.
- WEATHER NEWS
-
From the
Times-Picayune -
From the
Associated Press
The latest federal, state and local recovery assistance
by The Times-Picayune
Wednesday September 10, 2008, 6:08 AM
DISASTER FOOD STAMPS
Temporary food stamp benefits are now available based on income level and the size of the family. The following sites in the New Orleans area were confirmed as of 5 p.m. Monday, however many have been experiencing long lines and are telling people to return at another scheduled time.
Applicants must go in person to one of the designated sites. The sites will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. for at least seven days starting today. Approved applicants will get the food stamp benefit for seven days, which can be renewed depending on the circumstances of the recovery and the next potential hurricane.
-- New Orleans: Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, 900 Convention Center Blvd.
-- Jefferson Parish: Alario Center, 2000 Segnette Blvd., Westwego
-- St. Tammany Parish: Castine Center, 63350 Pelican Blvd., Mandeville
-- Plaquemines Parish: St. Patrick's Family Life Center, 28698 Highway 23, Port Sulphur
-- St. John the Baptist Parish: New Wine Fellowship, 1921 W. Airline Highway , LaPlace.
-- St. Charles Parish: (Opens Thursday) St. Charles Parish OFS, 14401 U.S. 90, Boutte.
Applicants are encouraged to call the toll-free number, 888.LAHELPU (888.524.3578) or visit www.dss.state.la.us, to learn of new sites.
The benefits range from $162 for a single-person household to $975 for an eight-person household.
For families with more than eight members, the household will get $975 plus $122 for each additional member. The new recipients will be eligible for one month.
Those who are already part of the program will see an increase of 20 percent for one month to cover losses of food in their homes due to Gustav. Applicants must also show proof of identity and residency.
The program will allow citizens to buy hot food as well as groceries.
LOCAL RED CROSS SHELTERS AND MEAL SITES
Shelter locations include:
• St. Charles Parish: Landry High School, 108 Tiger Circle, Hahnville.
For a complete listing of shelters, call 2-1-1 or 1-866-GET-INFO.
The Red Cross has established five kitchens in the Greater New Orleans Area and Bayou Region that will support mobile feeding trucks and distribution points.
Lunch and dinner are available today at:
• Orleans: Lower 9th Ward - Sanchez (lunch only)
• Jefferson Parish: Lafayette and Ashton in Gretna
• St. Tammany Parish: Mobile feeding throughout hardest hit area
• St. Charles Parish: Landry High School, 180 Tiger Circle in Hahnville
FOOD, ICE, WATER, TARPS
• Belle Chasse Auditorium, 8398 Louisiana 23. Tarps, bottled water and MREs.
• St. Patrick's Church, 28698 Louisiana 23, Port Sulphur. Tarps, bottled water, MREs.
• Assumption Catholic Church, 6951 Louisiana 39, Braithwaite. Tarps, water, MREs.
Click here for the latest state information or call the state's emergency hotline at 1-866-288-2484 to listen to a recorded message with the most up-to-date information.
SALVATION ARMY MEALS, WATER SITES
• Sureway Grocery, 3209 Hwy. 1, Grand Isle; Meals, Water
1-800-621-FEMA (3362).
1-800-462-7585 (TTY).
Lines open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Gov. Bobby Jindal has asked President Bush to expand the federal disaster declaration to include all of Louisiana's 64 parishes, which would make the entire state eligible for federal dollars to help with debris removal and make residents in every parish eligible for individual assistance.
The following assistance is available to residents in federal disaster areas:
• Hotel costs
• Rental payments for temporary housing
• $500 grants to certain households to cover immediate needs. No eligibility requirements issued yet.
• Grants for home repairs and replacement of essential household items not covered by insurance
• Grants to replace personal property and help meet medical, dental, funeral, transportation and other serious disaster-related needs not covered by insurance
• Unemployment payments up to 26 weeks for workers who temporarily lost jobs
• Low-interest loans to cover residential losses not fully compensated by insurance. Loans available up to $200,000 for primary residence; $40,000 for personal property, including renter losses. Loans available up to $1.5 million for business property losses not fully compensated by insurance
• Loans up to $500,000 for farmers, ranchers and aquaculture operators to cover production and property losses, excluding primary residence.
• Crisis counseling for those traumatized by the disaster; income tax assistance for filing casualty losses; advisory assistance for legal, veterans benefits and social security matters.
SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
-- Low-interest loans to cover residential losses not fully compensated by insurance. Loans available up to $200,000 for primary residence; $40,000 for personal property, including renter losses. Loans available up to $1.5 million for business property losses not fully compensated by insurance.
-- Loans up to $1.5 million for small businesses that have suffered disaster-related cash flow problems and need funds for working capital to recover from the disaster's adverse economic impact. This loan in combination with a property loss loan cannot exceed a total of $1.5 million.
PARISH NUMBERS AND WEB SITES FOR ASSISTANCE
Orleans: 311; Web site
Jefferson: 504-736.6100, Web site
St.Bernard: (call FEMA 1.800.621.FEMA); Web site
St. Charles: 985.783.5050, Web site
St. John the Baptist: 985.652.9569, Web site
St. Tammany: 985.809.2300, Web site
Plaquemines: 504.247.2477, Web site
Lafourche: 985.537.7603, Web site
Terrebonne: 985.873.6357, Web site
Tangipahoa: 985.748.3211.
Now FEMA is back pedaling away from hotel reimbursement as fast as they can. Another reason to stay next time.
I got the same treatment from FEMA. They took all my information, and then told me that they don't have plans to reimburse for hotel stays, even though I told them several times during the conversation that I was calling them for hotel reimbursement. What a crock! FEMA was on WWL TV this morning saying they'd reimburse those expenses, even directly contacting the hotels to pay them. The video is still on the WWL site. If they hadn't promised it, I wouldn't care. Now it's a matter of principle. Don't make a promise if you don't intend to keep it, FEMA!
Think about it. Before Katrina, did the govt. every PAY anybody for having inconvenience from a natural disaster? Katrina opened a terrible can of worms, by the govt. telling people, WE WILL PAY YOU. Instead of rolling up our sleeves, cleaning and fixing up, now everydoby WAITS for a hand-out. You can't even blame the people for accepting the $. We accepted the $4k from Katrina because it just appeared in our bank acct.
This money dosen't come from heaven, it comes from taxpayers working hard to make a better life, and is taken away and squandered on BIG GOVT. programs. How do we stop this madness?
In response to fankania, before Katrina the state would have looked at Gustav differently. Mandatory evacuations would not have been ordered in some parishes I believe. I for one wasn't planning on leaving but when I heard Ray Nagin say that this was going to be worse than Katrina & the storm surge on the Northshore was going to be 20 feet, I trusted that he had better information that I did on the situation. Now I wish I would have just listed to my gut instead of him. I am out approx $600 from this evacuation. My family lives paycheck to paycheck & this was not a planned vacation of any kind. I do not think it's too much to ask for FEMA to reimburse these expenses provided that people have receipts to prove what was spent.
I have to agree with frankania.
We choose to live here. It's the most wonderful city, but we make the choice to live here. Part of that is potholed streets and regular hurricane evacuations.
It costs money to evacuate and we have to consider that when we consider living here or leaving. Just as we figure in sales tax, air conditioning, etc.
If you can stay without being any burden on infrastructure - don't require search and rescue or even MREs - then don't evacuate. But if you aren't completely self-sufficient, then you need to evacuate whenever we have a serious storm coming at us, and you have to budget for that every month to keep an evacuation nestegg.
I think it's very unreasonable to expect FEMA to reimburse us evacuation expenses because it's a nearly annual event that we can always expect.
I agree with nolagringa. I live in an economically depressed area on the border of Michigan and Indiana, just above South Bend. Our neighborhoods are terrible, with boarded up houses on every block. Our streets are in disrepair. There are no federal dollars coming our way, for sure. Our crime rate is skyrocketing, because they have cut police officers to the minimum. Fire and other essential services are also facing cuts.
So places like where I live are not seeing the federal dollars, but our taxes are going to NOLA through FEMA. We are struggling just to feed our kids and are barely surviving. It is not fair that money is taken out of our pockets to go to NOLA, when we have the same population approximately in our area, and we do without. It is a cost of living, if you choose to live in a hurricane prone area to provide for your own evacuation.
And in our area, we had a tornado a year ago that pretty much wiped out a town. We were denied FEMA assistance. Why? Because we were heavily insured, and the area got together to provide for our own recovery. 3000 volunteers showed up for 2 days of cleanup and recovery work. They had to turn away volunteers. We have rebuilt our community together since then, without the help of the federal government, and little assistance from the state of Indiana. I think NOLA commnities could learn how to rely on themselves more, just like we did.
I think that many people outside the NOLA area feel the same as I do. A hurricane is probably going to be yearly, and is expected. I do not think that NOLA will have the support like Katrina had any more. The only reason FEMA and the government is doing as much as they are this time, is for political reasons. The government screwed up last time, and are trying to make up for it this time for approval ratings.
I do wish you all well, and to a good recovery.
There is no comparison between your tornado and what we experienced here. An hour after the tornado, they could return to their homes and start recovery. We could not re-enter the city after Katrina for 6 weeks. Our homes were under water for more than 30 days. We had no jobs, transportation, infrastructure and no community or neighbors to help us dig out of this. Months later, volunteers began to come (summer projects and church groups), which are appreciated, but the scope and breadth of the work make actual recovery nearly impossible.
There are natural risks everywhere. (Tornado, Volcano, Earthquake, Fires and yes, Hurricanes).
New Orleans was not hit by a mojor hurricane for 35 years before Katrina. Katrina was the first time most of us ever evacuated. New Orleans is no more 'prone' to hurricanes than any area of the country is 'prone' to other natural disasters.
Residents here have the exact same struggles to make ends meet as you do. Survival is difficult enough without having to take 'bill money' to pay for hotels and meals. We are not on vacation. We are forced from our homes. We cannot return because there is no electricity. Our government has failed to provided basic services (electricity..I'm not talking about freebies).
You are right that the actions of FEMA are designed to make up for their inadequacies from Katrina, but you are wrong that the people of New Orleans get what they bargain for by living here.
New Orleans is a wonderful, historic, charming city in which we are privileged to live.
Living in NOLA I can understand both the necessity of FEMA as well as the necessity to have the ability to live without FEMA. Yes, it is definitely a choice to live in our great city. And yes, it is up to the individual citizens of our great city to be aware of, and plan for hurricanes regardless of our financial status and situation.
Regardless whether FEMA offers hotel reimbursement or not, my family will not be requesting a check. We feel if we have the ability to shoulder our own responsibilities, that maybe the money will be sent to someone who needs it more than we do.
New Orleans has its own population of elderly and infirm residents who cannot provide for themselves during an evacuation. I believe FEMA should be used for the needy, not those who experience an inconvenience.
Able bodied persons who were without the means to travel had travel, shelter, and meals available to them. They also are being brought back to their homes. Tarps, meals, MREs, water, etc are also available at different places around the city.
So if a home owner needs a low interest loan to fix what their insurance carriers won't cover, the loans are waiting and available. The is true for business owners. Past that and the security the government provided to our city, I believe this is where their responsibility should end.
F.E.M.A stands for....
Flock
Everyone's
Misfortune
Again
That's pretty bad when someone says they're going to do something and they don't. Should the president know about this mistreatment from FEMA? I guess they think money grows on trees and when we have to evacuate, when just grab a few hundred and leave. I'm like cajungirl75, I'm also out close to $500. I'm not looking for a handout, just a little help. This was an unexpected expense.
Well let me just say this, like everyone else, I had to spend $$ I hadn't planned on. If FEMA will help me out I'll be happy. After all, my tax dollars make programs such as FEMA possible. I don't believe for a second that the only reason that we're getting a good response from the govenment on this is because they are trying to "make up" for Katrina. The truth is, this is exactly how Katrina should have been handled three years ago. The difference is this time we have a governor who knows what he's doing and obviously had a plan long before Gustav showed up. Blanco was clueless and I believe that if Gustav had been as bad as it could have been and Blanco was still our Governor, we'd be in the same shape we were in for Katrina.
I certainly remember on WWL a FEMA representative saying FEMA would reimburse people for travel and lodging after the hurricane. Now, I go looking where to find information on this, and its no where to be found. Maybe its more the reason to stay home next time.
If you cannot afford the lifestyle - leave for good.
Government - stop giving away
http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=45665
CHECK OUT WHAT HOMELAND SECURITY says about REIMBURSING HOTEL EXPENSES already incurred. It's near the bottom of the page
We don't have regular hurricane evacuations! Katrina was the first one and then Gustav! People live paycheck to paycheck around here, and it is hard to budget in a $600 evacuation when you don't have the money to do that on!
I think Fema should reimburse for Hotel Stays, food and gas. Lots of people got paid that Friday and paid their bills and didn't really have the money to run from this hurricane. We were staying, but when the mayor said it was madatory, we packed up and left and we only had $100 on us to do that with! So yes I am looking for reimbursement for gas!
I took a trip I had no intention on taking, but I was not risking my life or my families life with as the mayor put it "the mother of all storms".
I wish you people who have money and can leave on a whim would just one time know what it is like not to have MONEY! Then maybe you would get off your high horse and stop telling people they are looking for a handout!
If people are so adamant about being deserved government handouts - then move to Cuba and become a communist. Your entire life will depend on handouts. You will receive the same amount of chicken per month, the same amount of toilet paper, rice, flour, milk, corn, etc. as your neighbors. No one will have the opportunity to become affluent, as you will all live in the Ghetto. You have no opportunity to own your own home or pay for a better apartment. Your job will be working for the government at about $10.00 per month.
We need change in the government handout division of this country, as it brings fraud, deceit and greed to people who don't even deserve it.
Stop whining and take responsibility for yourselves and your actions. If you evacuate, that's up to you and your family - NO ONE CAN FORCE YOU TO LEAVE. You cannot blame public officials for making you so scared that you had to leave. If you don't leave next time because you won't get a government reimbursement, then so be it - you determine your fate and the fate of your family - that is not the job of the government and it should never be their job.
FEMA stinks.....Is there not another organization besides FEMA?
Just tried to call them on the phone, since the website is no help at all.. the computer voice said 'this call will now be disconnected'. What kind of deal is that?
In response to lovey49120, I just thought I'd point out a couple of things which the general public may or may not be aware of. We talk about the money which the "Country" sent to help out New Orleans and South Louisiana and that the money perhaps should not have been sent however it is clear that the very people who make this argument do not realize that for decades the federal government has been taking money out of Louisiana and sending to California, Arizona, New Mexico, Alaska and other states. A large portion of the money raised by the refining of Crude and the products made from that refining is sent to other states who do not have the same natural resources. I don't recall the exact numbers however the money Louisiana was allowed to keep was far less than that of Texas. If the resources are taxed equally then perhaps the helping hand from the Feds would not have been needed because then the state could build it's own reliable levees, roads, schools, etc. There was a bill that came up decades ago to upgrade the levees and that was shot down in favor of building a bridge in Alaska for a small village. Amazing....South Eastern Louisiana produces 30% of this Countries gasoline and heating oil for the East Coast. Gasoline is supplied all the way to Florida from Louisiana refineries just outside of New Orleans. The nations ONLY port capable of accepting the Super tankers is at Port Fouchon so with these things mentioned, if the nation continues to extract the natural resources from Louisiana and extract so heavily that the state can not maintain it's infrastructure then the Country will suffer greatly.
JohnPaul
Out $500 for an "unexpected expense." I'm sorry, but I hate to inform you, you live in Hurricane Alley, therefore this expense should be expected every year during hurricane season. Perhaps you can pawn your pc or laptop and get reimbursed. Or next time, get on one of those buses or trains out of town and you can stay at the shelter for free. And don't forget, bring your own food because I hear the people were complaining about a lack of short order cooks at the shelters.
pazzomadre,
yeah you're right, I'm out $500, and because of this, it puts a strain on paying my other regular bills. I'm sure everyone would agree on that aspect. Some people may not be able to even pay their normal bills. I could have put that money toward bills, but I had to spend it on hotels & gas. Sounds like you don't even live in this area. Buses & Trains? Yeah right..I would rather go where my family would be comfortable then scattered about in a shelter. Taking a train or bus dictates where you will be staying. Then you'll have to leave when they say its time. No thanks!
I have another question - hubby got a heart attack, all related to the evacuation - it started last Saturday, when we were sitting in the traffic on I-10 (took us 5 hours from the Westbank to Slidell). Thank goodness he's much better now, but
1. I cannot return to work - so no payment - before Monday.
2. He needs still 24 hours care - and this is not covered by the insurance.
3. I have no clue how much the hospital bill will be, and how much the insurance will pay.
4. And of course he'll not be able to work for awhile either.
So the question is - as Ray-Ray declared the mandatory evacuation, that caused my husband health issue and all these unexpected expenses, who the @#ll will pay for it?
To people like NOLAhippie and others who think the govt is wasting its money helping out those less fortunate...what are your opinions on the 10 Billion monthly spent on Iraq. You seem fit to crtiticize US citizens for taking assistance in a time of need. What about people who are not even in this country benefitting from far more assistance than NOLA will ever get from the Feds. I would bet one months worth of Iraq expenses would go a long way to shore up the levee system and add additional pumps.
Place your outrage where it is deserved. Don't rant against people from our own area when those living far away are getting far more of our tax dollars than we ever will.
Sorry JohnPaul - I'm from the westbank - the home of the potential flood of all floods that they have warned us about for every cotton-pickin storm that heads this way.
My family decided to leave at the last minute - just in case. But in doing so we did not leave on the pretense that the government would bail us out when we returned. I just so happened to have saved our prized "stimulus check" that everyone else apparently pizzed away before the season.
We also save money from Christmas bonuses to use in CASE OF AN EMERGENCY. Which, typically is used for evacuation purposes.
As for the lady with husband who had a heart attack - no it is not Ray-Ray's fault and it is not covered by FEMA. That is totally a health realted problem - not a government problem. Maybe he can sue McDonalds for his arteries being clogged - or perhaps his heart condition is hereditary (high blood pressure; cholesteral, etc.) How can you place the blame on government?
To lovely49210if you choose to live in a high crime area provideyour own protection,if your house catches fire put it out yourself!!!Is this the concept you are proposing?everybodyneeds help from time to time.However if our goverment were cable of providing cat5 levee protection like in Holland maybe we wouldn't have to keep running
It's hard to accept that people who live in the area can have so little compassion. We evacuated as well, and ended up spending nearly 2000 dollars on hotels, and medical expenses incurred when my grandson (who has medicaid) became seriously ill. The medicaid didn't cover his bill, because we were out of state. when our daughter tried to get assisitance from FEMA, she was denied. We won't persue it, because we have the money available to us to care for her. That does NOT mean that I believe there are those who DO need it. I feel that those of you who think that the all of the people asking for fema assistance are trying to rip off the gov't, have never walked a mile in their shoes. I'm shamed at our lack (as a whole), of compassion for each other. Everyone has their own story, and to lump people together as some of you have done in this forum, is downright selfish. You should hope that one day you never have to be in a situation where you have to depend on FEMA, or each other for that matter. You'll die of thirst, and go hungry. You kids won't be able to get medical care when needed. or at the very least, you'll be living in a box to pay for your losses due to a natural disaster. You need to apologize, and ask how you can help, instead of being so mean-spirited.
What a shame for others to cast aspersions on people who are hurricane whipped.No one wanted to leave the city but could we trust the levees? These levees should have been fixed 40 years ago after Hurricane Betsy. The Corps Of Engineers are negligent for the poor protection that surrounds this city when we are threaten with a storm.The government has spent enough money in Iraq to cover the cost of building levees to surround the entire United States.It appears to me the people in those countries are getting a handout and freebie on our taxes.When you speak of what the government duties are,remember our citizens come first. Cat 5 protection is what we need and until that occurs we will constantly be running.
Well considering the fact that we are all tax payers and was forced to evacuate I think FEMA should reimburse us something because Entergy won't care if you used your light bill money on gas,food,or lodging. We should be entitled to something not a hand out but reimbursement for the money we spent I mean after all President Bush did just send 1 Billion dollars to Georgia to help them recover from Russia bombing them so why can't they send us something? We actually live in America!
If NOLA were hit by an especially cold winter this year, should FEMA reimburse the purchase of heavy coats?
In response, I do understand that we as Americans are being shafted with the government giving out more money to other counties than they deserve. The war in Iraq is also in this category, in that the government of Iraq even has a surplus of money! These are society's problems that need to be fixed.
However, other areas do have a right to adequate police and fire protection and essential services. How much money was spent on police, national guard, etc. to protect NOLA's citizens from harm? Why should another state go without adequate police protection because so much federal monies go to NOLA? Our neighborhoods have "devastation" on every block. Our roads are in disrepair. We do without. Remember, we are in a recession, people! I visited NOLA in July. I was upset because I saw so much federal monies pumped into NOLA. We don't see any federal monies. All of the other states take from our pockets, and we don't see anything in return.
Money is directed to FEMA from somewhere else. For example, if every person who is affected by the hurricane is given $200, that is the equivalent of feeding 100 children a school lunch (at the cost of $2 per meal) elsewhere.
We pay also through our insurance premiums. Everytime there is a disaster, the collective pool of money has to be refurbished for the next disaster. Eventually the insurance companies have to raise rates because of disasters, and we "outsiders" pay directly more for hurricane relief through our premiums.
We are a struggling nation, and to expect that all your expenses for hurricane evacuation should be reimbursed is not fair to the other states and future disasters. At least with a hurricane, you have advanced warning and can protect yourselves from harm to your person and property. What will happen when there is an disaster in another state that there is no warning for? Agencies such as the Red Cross will be out of money and unavailable to help them. My main point of this reply is that every dollar that NOLA receives has to come from someone's pocket. As Americans, we do what we can to help people in need to the best of our abililty. But there is a limit to the amount of monies that can be spent without other areas suffering tremondously and lacking basic services.
I think many "outsiders" are feeling that NOLA is too egocentric. You are not seeing the fundraisers, etc. and the support from the country that you did for Katrina. It's not that we don't care as a nation what happens with NOLA, it is just we don't have anymore to give.
so, are we getting reimbursed for the hotel costs? i saw a guy from fema on the news last night saying we were getting reimbursed from september 1 until whenever our power came back on. is that no longer the case?
Maybe we could all go on a PER DIEM type plan. If you live in a disaster area you get x number of dollars per day to be troubled. Then you get to gamble on whether to leave or not in advance of a storm. Of couse those in other parts of the country would get the same in the face of tornadoes and earthquakes etc... That's only fair.
What can we do for those in Delaware? I never seem to hear of disasters in Delaware. Of couse I guess the people in Delaware could opt to move to areas more prone to disasters to get in on the money train. (Paid for by FEMA, of course)
pazzomadre,
my husband's heart attack was completely evacuation related - he never had any heart conditions - even in the family. And he had a full medical exam not too long ago. If there was something going, I believe his doctor would know it, and he did not - he was shocked when I spoke with him. The attack was caused (according to the doctors in the hospital) by the heat, the traffic congestions and the upsetting as a whole. So take care, my question was a rhetoric one (if you know what it means).
I wonder if I do decide to leave, will the hotels & gas stations take the gold colored $500 bills from Monopoly? hehehehe....
Here's the deal. You do have a choice. You can either take the free buses and trains out of town to a shelter where you will be provided a bed and meals or you can evacuate yourself and drive your own car, go where you want, and stay where you want.
If you choose to do your own thing, why should the taxpayers pay for that? If you live in New Orleans and have evacuated for a storm before, you should know that it costs $500 to $1,000 to evacuate.
There's your way or the free way.
Wow,
I just have to say that I am extremely appalled at all the negativity that I have read here. I believe that there are limitations that should be put in place on how much money is reimbursed to residents from the government; but that is just to make sure that everyone has a chance to recieve some assistance.
I also believe that those that are adamant about others being ill-prepared for the hurricane do not understand what it is like for those of us who have to live paycheck to paycheck. Money for evacuating, like FEMA funding for NOLA, has to come from somewhere; and most of the time it comes from bill money. If you are living paycheck to paycheck that can be devastating. What are your options, pay bills and face a hurricane and possibly death or not pay a bill and evacuate to safety. I think we all know what path is usually taken.
Assistance with evacuating is extremely helpful to those in that situation. I guess if you are not living in that situation, it is impossible to understand.
I am really appalled at how pazzomadre is responding to these posts. It is like there is no compassion for those that are not fortunate enough to have money saved.
I am a graduate student and I just started school last week. I was able to save up some money, but had to spend it on books, rent, food, and other necessities for school and life in general. I have limited funds and have had to spend over $300 evacuating the city because it was mandatory.
Since pazzomadre seems to have an opinion on what everyone else could have done, I would like to know what I could have possibly done to prepare myself better for this. Whatever the answer is, I am sure that it will be unrealistic and completley biased to their personal situation.
Ambermichele,
Don't go to graduate school in New Orleans if you can't afford to evacuate - - how 'bout that???
Ambermichele,
Or take one of the buses or trains that evacuated many New Orleans residents to shlters out of the city. What, do your graduate studies prohibit you from this type of evacuation. YOU HAD OPTIONS!
I can’t see reimbursement for hotel stays being accepted without a huge fight. There will be a public outcry about setting a very expensive precedent for future government-mandated evacuations. After all, why would I stay in an evacuation center, sleeping on a cot with hundreds of others and sharing bathroom facilities if the tax payer will pay me to stay in a hotel room in comfort and privacy?
Don't forget friends, in my original post above, I was talking about the BIG GOVT. philosophy, not the plight of poor scared people. Any honest person accepting the govt. money is just acting rationally.
What the FEMA policy encourages is DEPENDENCY and failure to plan for our own destinies.
The best thing to do would be for govt. to announce strongly that there will be NO MONEY given to any individuals for natural disaster problems. Free transport, national guard patols, free water, food and shelter, YES, but ONLY for the time of actual danger.
It's amazing how insensitive some people can be! Yes, we all should have some savings for emergencies. But with the economy as it is and the high price of gas, it can be very difficult. Those who don't live here do not understand what we face. I am 35 years old and Katrina was the first major strorm i can recall. The year before, we evacuated for Ivan, which was a near miss. That was th first time I had ever evacuated. Most people would not evacuate if it were not mandatory evacuations and the threat of unreliable levees were not so strong.
As for FEMA, Katrina was the first time many(most) people in this area had even heard of or needed to apply for FEMA. This is totally new, so don't think we are all sitting here waiting for a disaster so we can get our fema check. GET REAL!!
I think Lovey doesn't want FEMA to help the poor people with expenses because "she?" states she was denied after the tornado because she was heavily insured. Sounds like she is just bitter to me.
I was denied after Katrina because I too was heavily insured. Yet, I don't have a problem with FEMA helping those less fortunate.
One more point I want to add. Everybody is saying take the free train and free shelter. They are not free. The trains, busses, shelters are paid for by FEMA. Also, the government doesn't spend tax payers money wisely. They spent $70,000.00 per fema trailer. It would have been more cost efficient to have paid to make the homes livable instead of putting all that money into temporary substandard housing. An example is my neighbor lost part of her roof to Katrina. She was uninsured and was issued one of those over priced trailers when $20,000.00 would have repaired her home 100%.
I think there is a very good point here. If they make such a big deal out every hurricane that hits Louisiana then every state affected by a natural disaster will expect the same. Just like the evacuees w/ Gustav expecting "spending money".
WBNOLAGUY--
I am not bitter or do not want FEMA to not help poor people. I just want to watch out for other people across our nation and future disasters elsewhere.
I am not bitter about the tornado. My point is that our area (the Michigan/Indiana area around South Bend) took responsibility for our own community. When the town was wiped out by the tornado, over 3000 people came to volunteer over 2 days; they were turning away volunteers. It was months after that FEMA denied us. Why, because the community had helped itself and the costs for recovery were low because of all the volunteer's work (We had some Amish workers that built solid buildings!). Plus the area took responsibililty for themselves as many were insured.
I am just saying that there needs to be more state (although Indiana didn't step up either in our case) and local assistance rather than FEMA and if people love this city, they should help each other more to recover.
Wow this is a pretty interesting story to bring out all those from otha areas to be very insensitive.
lovey49120...
Maybe you didn't know but the aid given to us New Orleanians after Katrina was donated many to the red cross and other government agencies to assist with our recovery. You try to compare our disaster to yours which doesn't even compare. Before 3 years ago this city had not witnessed a hurricane for 35 years.
If you didn't know alot of us here are tax paying Americans so it's not just your tax dollars being used. This time damn near the whole state of Louisiana and all of the Gulf coast regions had to evacuate.
Besides what's to be said about Florida who is definantly in hurricane alley and go through the same disasters every year. Do you complain about them receiving FEMA off of your tax dollars or should I say OUR tax dollars.
If the people of this city had the resources maybe we could rebuild without help but just like us your town used resources of others via volunteers over 3000 to be exact. How big is your community sounds as if not as big as a major city.
can you imagine rebuilding your home that took you 3 years to do, move in and be threatened with the same faith of having to rebuild again,
Let me ask you how do you rebuild a whole city including surrounding areas that was underwater due to the negligance of your beloved federal government and is still recovering 3 years later.
But on a good note Da Saints whipped Tampa Bay AZZ!!!! Geaux Saints!
Lovey, I didn't understand either when I first moved here (just after Katrina). Where I grew up, people certainly would have helped out more than I saw here. But there are several distinctions.
For example, EVERYBODY was affected here and the infrastructure was obliterated further than the eye can see. It was weeks before people could even get back into the city or surrounding areas. No income for that long, living in a hotel, and then many family/friends not returning - it makes it difficult to rebuild upon return. You can't ask your family to help you out when they can't return (no schools, work, etc. were here for very long) and they've lost everything, too. And when I say everybody was affected, that means contractors too - it was very difficult to find people to hire, and the fraud was unbelievable. There simply was no community to help each other.
Katrina was a huge disaster that was completely unexpected and definitely required a federal plan for recovery. Any other community that is affected in the same way, I certainly expect my tax dollars to go to helping them. As a last resort.
The problem that I have is that we now know that we live in hurricane alley and that our land is sinking, and that the condition we're in with global warming is leading to more hurricanes. So, we know this, and we have to be prepared on an individual, family, neighborhood, and community level. I think that this demands fiscal prudence and making friends in places you can go to. I make many financial sacrifices such as not having cable TV (thanks, neighbors with wireless without a password) or going out to dinner in order to have a small fund available to evacuate to sleep on friend of friend's floor. I absolutely know that many of us are in rough financial straits - I am too - but evacuation costs are a part of living here now. It makes me think twice about having a pet and other lifestyle choices. It's just the reality of living here now.
For Gustav, half of Louisiana has been without power. With this widespread sort of disaster, it makes it difficult for the state to provide assistance without federal.
I like the poster earlier who suggested federal aid in the form of transportation, shelter, water, food, but not $$.
And hey, if anybody from Indiana needs an evacuation plan, my couch is available.
And I believe some posters here are overreacting. Suggesting personal fiscal responsibility as first strategy is not a lack of compassion.
I am also concerned that agencies make promises they do not keep - that's unacceptable. But my personal opinion is that FEMA shouldn't have made the promises - feel free to disagree, but don't say I lack compassion; all my volunteer work (that led me here) would indicate otherwise.
Should I add that even NOLA aid others dduring their disasters. I do remember the 9-11 disaster that affected this entire country as Katrina did. NOLA donated fire trucks (brand new)to aid in their recovery. So we don't just take we also give.
What a country we live in. It's amazing how many haters from who knows where are posting in here. Honestly, you take the time to read our local website and hate locals for wanting assistance. Do your really feel your tax money that much? I don't care about paying forest fire fighters in California, snow removal in the big cities, billions for wars fought that Americans don't agree with, AIDS research and prevention, Foreign Aid (pick your country!), flooding in the midwest, money for anything involving kids (what about us that don't have them?), not to mention all the insane stuff our taxes go to. I have a friend that goes off on NASA! lol.
Seriously, so so so much tax money to crazy secret military stuff. Who knows how much. The people that live here a just Americans like you. It's a big country and we spread that money around on everything. Would it be that bad to help out someone living paycheck to paycheck. Another question to think about: Do you think that minorities living in major cities throughout the country "choose" to live there. That they can just "relocate"? Think about that. Just freshen up the old resume, pack the kids up and relocate. Just that easy, right?
Just take it easy on us. We did what was asked. We left. It costs a lot of money. Knowing the power was good as gone, we through out all of our food. Now I have to stock up an empty fridge. I guess I should just shut up and eat a MRE. I feel your love fellow Americans.
Disaster Food Stamps, one catch; you must meet the Disaster Income Limits.
The lower income people are the only households that will get the handout. The amounts will be based on household size and income.
Those who meet the income limit will be able to restock their refridgerators with the food they lost during the power outages.
What kind of crap is this!
I do remember Katrina, and I do not want to be insensitive. And I agree that "our" tornado doesn't compare in the size, but I do think it does show what others can do for others in disasters.
And I do mind about FEMA being used for rich folks in Florida. How about those Southern Californian's that have houses on the beach and end up having to rebuild them for some reason, i.e. landslide, every few years. Or those in the Los Angeles area who keep rebuilding in the fire prone hills with the Santa Ana winds? (I come from Northern California originally). Wastes of money whether it be insurance or FEMA.
Part of what I am trying to say is that we as a nation have to be good financial stewards of our disaster resources. If we deplete them in one area, what will happen in an unexpected disaster elsewhere?
The Red Cross is also a national support. People are not donating this time around. The media up here is trying to get people to, but nobody is donating. My posts have been to let you aware of what is happening and how people are reacting, i.e. the attitudes I've encountered, outside of the disaster zone. I guarantee I have been more logical and compassionate than others across the nation expressing what is being said about New Orleans.
I deeply care about what happens in your area. I visited in July. I was so upset about Gustav..I had a dream that I had to take care of an elderly man named Louis Armstrong!! I had to protect him from harm, despite great forces working against me. In reality, I thought of each person I had met on my trip, each business I entered, and the wonderful sights I saw flashed through my mind. I was devastated at the thought of any harm to the people or property.
Nolagringa--I'll take you up on an evacuation plan to your couch around February when we have an ice storm for about a week and it's 20 below with the wind chill!!!!! Some tropical weather would be appreciated at that time, I am sure. I could get a few carloads of winter evacuees I am sure :)!
Lastly, to the person who told us "outsiders" to get off the this board, I would like to say that this is a public message board on the internet. Free speech people. Yes, nasty things should not be said by outsiders. But it is also information that can help explain things to those in NOLA and about other areas attitudes, and give people more perspective.
And be happy you are American and you don't live in Haiti..people have starved with Gustav. And they are in the path of Ike. That's where the international news is centering their attention.
Wishing you all the best.
areyoujoking,
I saw that too. People who are on Food Stamps are jumping up to the maximum amount for their category plus a bonus amount. The "extra" disaster assistance should be used to fund more people, not spent on those who already receive assistance. Who planned this? Again, I am concerned about financial stewardship of these disaster monies.
I just talked to fema (granted, the guy could barely speak english) and I was told hotel costs are no longer being reimbursed. WHAT THE HELL??
I also just talked to FEMA and was told that the reimbursments were no longer availible...
I am so sick and tired of people saying how their tax dollars are going to New Orleans BLAH BLAH..You don't think people in New Orleans pay taxes that go to other areas?(Mid west tornados...West Coast earthquakes...Central US flooding..) I'd love to have all the taxes that I have payed over the many years given back so I would never be a burden on all the tax payers.
This is too all of the people who want to put other people down MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!!!!!!! If you do not live in Louisiana SHUT UP BECAUSE YOUR TALKING STUPID YA'LL SAY SOME OF THE DUMBEST THINGS!!!! Louisiana is not known to be hurricane city so just SHUT UP!!!! I HATE IGNORANT PEOPLE LIKE YOU ALL (NEGATIVE PEOPLE ONLY) IN ORDER TO RECEIVE ANY HELP YOUR STATE,CITY,OR TOWN HAS TO BE DECLARED A disaster AREA BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OR DON'T YOU PAY ATTENTION TO THAT IF YOUR STATE OR CITY IS NOT DECLARE A DISASTER AREA THEN YOU CAN NOT RECEIVE HELP FROM FEMA BUT YOU CAN RECEIVE HELP FROM THE RED CROSS YA'LL NEED TO PAY ATTENTION AND SEE HOW THE GOVERNMENT WORK.WE DON'T NEED YOUR HANDOUTS KEEP IT IF THAT IS HOW YOU REALLY FEEL. KEEP IT AND GET A HEART BECAUSE IT CERTAINLY SOUNDS LIKE YOU NEED ONE.THESE POOR PEOPLE ALREADY HAVE ALOT TO WORRY ABOUT WITHOUT READING YOUR NEGATIVE THOUGHTS.SO I SAY GO LOOK FOR ANOTHER DISCUSSION BOARD BECAUSE YOUR NEGATIVE THOUGHTS AND WORDS OR NOT WELCOME HERE!!!!!!!!!!! LEAVE PLEASE!!!!!!!!
Pzzzled,
1. I did have options and I chose to evacuate to my hometown. That was my choice and it was the best for me.
2. I never said that I couldn't make up for the money I spent evacuating, I am fortunate enough to have been able to do that. It was an unfortunate expense, and because of it I will have to go without some things.
3. I still think that anyone who lives here and can not afford to evacuate without assistance deserve to recieve it from somewhere.
4. I do not think that it is your business to tell me where I should or should not go to school. I chose to come here for reasons that outweighed the possibility of a hurricane. I guess everyone that lives in New Orleans should be fortunate enough to have money to evacuate and the poor people should move elsewhere...please, grow up.
Boy these self-righteous, hard-hearted goons on here are too much! Thank God you all don't run the country; we'd be in shambles.
You say why live here and not move? Very few places have no natural disasters, so that's a ridiculous statement. California has many types of disasters, regularly!
You know all that money WE all pay in taxes year after year to the government? The money that we give involuntarily? Well that's what it's for, idiots! To help society recover after a disaster.
Are there people who scam it? Of course. Are there people who need it and are able to get back on their feet? Most definitely.
Are children fed, elderly taken care of, the disabled and veterans assisted, or just a hard-working parent trying to make ends meet given a foot up not important to you?
What about the many musicians you enjoy going to listen to here, often for FREE, who make very little money? What about the many types of artists who's work you get to appreciate, but you never think twice about their income, their insurance- or lack of? Also, many of these wonderful people are not native to N.O., and have no extended family or resources here.
And then there's the regular average citizen who might need a hand.
If you don't care, then YOU are the one who needs to move. You have no heart, and YOU are making the situation worse by making people feel guilty for taking help that they deserve.
You are not the judge and jury.
You really do undermine efforts of those who are trying to help families get back on their feet, many who are too proud to ask for help because of idiots who butt in. If you don't need the help, or are too proud to ask for it, then mind your own business and let us do our work.
Do you plan to receive social security when you are eligible? You shouldn't if you don't believe in 'taking' money from the government. You should have planned better for your retirement.
What if you become an invalid, or deathly ill, I sure hope you don't plan to ask for help. You shouldn't have gotten sick, or in an accident.
Sad to say, but it's probably people who actually go to church and consider themselves a 'good' person who have these hate-filled, jealous attitudes. Pure ignorance. Shame never brings change. Love and support do.
In the words of James Evans on Good Times: “The last thing a person wants to be is “poor” and that’s just above “sick and dead”...
Instead of saying a prayer, the city was spared and not a repeat of the last time, with lost lives, homes and jobs, you are arguing about who should or should not get help. If you are fortunate to have a few dollars in the bank...give thanks because everybody don’t....People, never forget, in the next second everything you hold dear could be lost...believe me.....in seconds... Blaming Nagin for evacuating the city is ludicrous, he did not make that decision by himself, there were plenty of others involved....the main thing was nobody wanted another Katrina scenario (revisit “When the Levy Broke’ if you need a reminder). So they went with the safest solution, granted the hurricane missed New Orleans, but suppose it hadn’t? What then? Now some people are complaining because they had to leave. Nagin’s evacuation caused a heart attack, made you spend your bill money and force you out of your home. Well Hurricane Ike looks like he will probably come right up, what I now call “Katrina Alley”. I am waiting to see what the ones complaining about leaving will do then. I think the city should continue with their mass evacuation for the people who want to leave and let the ones stay who want too; just give them armbands for identification purposes in case they are needed. During the hurricane city officials (police, fireman etc.) should only handle looters and fires, and the people who stay is handle there own business until the hurricane is over.
As for our tax dollars, you are complaining about FEMA and the what might be regarding reimbursements coming out of our tax dollars for people in our neighborhoods, city, state, country....Tell me are you spoiling for a fight with Bush and Cheney because they are sending billions of dollars to rebuild Georgia from Russia’s bombing, have you written Washington about that. New Orleanians had to and still are jumping through hoops to get our homes and city rebuilt..... Just think about what you are saying.... you would rather help some other country before you help your neighbor.....Something is terribly wrong with that outlook.
Educate yourself on the following important topics so that you may comprehend better what is happening around you:
HAARP- High Frequency Active Auroral Research
a project set up in Northern Alaska devoted to weather manipulation
CHEMTRAILS - Deliberate spraying of our skies with long plumes of toxic aerosol
PRESIDENTIAL DIRECTIVE #51 - One of nastiest aspects of that criminal document called the Patriot Act
FEMA CAMPS - Internment camps set up around the country. Lots of documentation on this one.
Enjoy!
A FEMA Representative on one of our local news stations made a comment I'd like to address. He said "We aren't going to pay for the people of the affected parishes to go on a few days VACATION." when discussing hotel and gas assistance. Now speaking only for myself and my family, We can't afford "vacations" and a "mandatory" evacuation is NOT by far a vacation! Yes, yes, I know, we could have evacuated with all the rest of the evacuees that had no means and went to shelters but, we were urged to run in our own transportation if available. Now I don't know the percentages of who did and did not evacuate to shelters but, I can stress that every shelter was super crowded and if we'd all needed a shelter they would have never been able to accommodate that massive of an amount of people. These circumstances are by no means prepared for, budgeted for, or especially asked for and I took the utmost offense to this statement. We evacuated with our rent money to the top of Louisiana and STILL got flooded in our hotel room (that we paid full price for). If I'd have stayed home I'd have my rent and we'd have remained hi and dry. If I'd have known we'd get no assistance from anyone, I would have never left, nor will I in the future with out financial support guarantees. This is not a budgeted expense that's planned for year after year. None of my creditors even recognize Gustav as a disaster nor did they offer any deferments. I will definitely ride out all remaining storms until my family and I can save up to permanently evacuate this fish bowl of a state and start over in a place where we can be recognized as people and not as vacationers looking for a free ride.
Eliminate FEMA, get the hell out of Iraq, stop government bailouts of private companies and reduce the associated taxes. Then I could use that money to pay for my evacuation expenses. Government is the reason why some people can't afford to evacuate.
This is absolutely ridiculous! I knew that FEMA changed there policies in terms of what each household would receive back in 2006. Emergency assistance (expedited assitance)was decreased from $2000 to $500 per household. I understand there position sense there were false claims made and the amount of money they awarded exceeded there expections(over $7.1 billion), however, it's there responsiblity to give back to the people that spend an obscene amount of money on preparation for this scheme that they concocted (THE MOTHER OF ALL STORMS) please..... It took FEMA 10 days to put funds an each households account after Katrina made landfall. The amount of money we've spent on gas, and then to find out they still haven't secured the levels properly. I'm tired! I need at least 10% of the money I spent on the road from FEMA. GIVE ME MY MONEY!!!!!!!!!!
God forbid, another hurricane the goverment is responsible for. Why are you not paying me for this, why are you not paying me for that, why,why,why? Always looking for that quick buck that you dont have to work for. No one else cries as much as the people here. No matter what our great Goverment does it is never enough. And because of you people, meaning the ones that dont need but take only because of greed, this system will never work.
To lovey49120
Do you realize that hurricanes do not strike the New Orleans area yearly. Hurricane Katrina was the first in over 30 years. Also, if your community didn't receive disaster assistance from the government, it was not because of how heavily insured you were, but because your area was not declared a disaster by the president. I think it is sad that you write such nonsense because you are bitter. I think you should inform yourself properly before thinking your tax dollars are going to our area yearly.
In addition, I evacuated and had to spend a lot of my own money, but I did it and I didn't complain. However, I understand that someone may need assistance from our government during a disaster and I believe they should get it.
Did you complain when there were disasters in other parts of our country or some other country?
And please do not come to our great city with your negativity because the taxpayers (of New Orleans) do not want people like you here!
What I want people to realize is that New Orleans flooded because of the Government (The Corp of Engineers). If they had built the levees properly, then the city would not have flooded. So the government is responsible for helping people. This does not mean that the system should be abused. Billions of dollars were wasted on sub-standard levees.
THESE ARE PRINTED LIES.....
I JUST got off the phone w/ FEMA. The caseworker said there was "a rumor in the press that there was assisstance w/ evacuation expenses, but that the GOVERNOR declared the disaster NOT FEMA, so LA and FEMA are in negotiations now trying to figure out which agency will (if at all, is my guess) assist....call back next week....."
ALSO: I'm missing work and tried to apply for Disaster Unemployment......the web page keeps
crashing so you can't apply online.....the phone keeps going straight to an "answer-to-busy-signal.
TIME TO RECALL JINDAL NOW!! .....not that much better than we had w/ Blanco.....and the levees help up this time!! THERE'S NO EXCUSE FOR THIS.
It seems residents of Tonti Realty properties have a welcome home letter awaiting them--A $50.00 or more late fee and a threat to evict if not paid by 5:00 P.M. Monday Sept 8. How nice of them to think of us and make a bundle on evacuations. I know I appreciate it and will remember!