FEMA not involved with private disasters

Just so you know, FEMA doesn’t really have the authority to cover disasters that private insurance is available to cover. If you’ll remember back a few years ago, there was a tremendous flap over flood insurance due to just this issue.

Basically this started in California when they had about four straight years of floods, rains, and mud slides. All insurance companies wanted to stop issuing insurance in California due to these hits.

FEMA is down to issuing minor grants/loans for uncovered local governmental stuff and or mitigation. Something like the flood in Wisconsin when their dam broke in the Dells would in my estimation have been strictly their issue. Little damage was done but for the “season.”

Perhaps the Army Corps of Engineers came up with some bucks to help with the dam, but I would not have under the guidance we had used. The size of community makes no difference. In fact, stretching points leads to lots of waste, fraud and abuse.

You need to check out the GAO reports on Katrina, California, and Florida (Hurricane Andrew) as well as the upper Midwest floods in 1997, but as far as waste, fraud and abuse goes, Katrina tops them all. The issue is more like what has New Orleans and its citizens done to cover themselves, and/or should the rest of the country go along covering the Southeast and California?

Sorry guys, the fed (Obama) will pony up with money, but what will he do for all the other states, when they need?

Stephen McMahon

Grayslake