FEMA, Politicians Blame each other as Responders go without Food, Water

Houston Chronicle :  It didn’t take long for the finger-pointing to begin.  The Federal Emergency Management Agency came under fire Sunday as emergency workers were left undernourished and dozens of trucks or water and food had yet to be set up at distribution centers around Houston and surrounding communities.And no sooner had the agency — widely condemned for its glacial response to suffering after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 — drawn sharp criticism as its leaders and spokesmen began to say it was someone else’s fault.

Earlier in the day, a FEMA spokesman said delays in setting up staging points to hand out needed provisions had been caused by blocked roads. By the evening, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said it was the fault of state officials who handed his department the “unexpected challenge” of having to prepare distribution points in addition to delivering supplies, something the state had committed to doing, he said.

Two local members of Congress from both political parties had a different take.

U.S. Rep. Nick Lampson, D-Houston, said he was told before the storm by FEMA officials that there was food and water already staged at the Ellington Air National Guard base.

“Now it’s on the way? That doesn’t make any sense to me,” he said. “I don’t know what happened …The storm’s been over for 30 hours.

“I hope some heads will roll in this,” he added later.

U.S. Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston, said he was “outraged” at the agency because first responders at two staging areas are without food and water.

Stratford High School’s Tully Stadium and Spring Forest Middle school are staging areas for Texas Department of Public Safety officers and Texas State Guard and Texas National Guard troops.

“It’s just outrageous,” Culberson said, calling on residents near those sites to share food and water with the emergency crews. “I think it’s inexcusable. … I was horrified to discover that our first responders needed our help.”

Some were more circumspect, chalking up the delays to the intense pressure faced by government officials of all stripes in meeting the challenge of cleaning up after severe damage and rendering aid to 5 million people without power and access to clean drinking water. They held out hope that FEMA’s 5 million liters of water and 5 million meals would soon be available to those in need.

“None of these operations are perfect. There are always ways to do it better,” Perry said shortly after an aerial survey of the storm damage that landed at Ellington.

He said he was generally satisfied with the post-hurricane recovery effort.

But earlier in Galveston, Perry had raised the suggestion that in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Texas was treated poorly compared to what ultimately happened in Louisiana.

“During Rita and the aftermath of Katrina, Texas was treated differently than Louisiana, for instance on debris removal,” Perry said. “Our plea is that we be treated at least as good as Louisiana.”

Chertoff said federal law does not allow FEMA to play favorites: “We give assistance based on need.”

Galveston Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas was asked if she had any complaints with the pace of federal assistance.

“I don’t have any complaints, and I’m not in any position to,” said a weary-looking Thomas.

Houston Mayor Bill White said the city already told the agency where the supplies should be sent and promised to hold the federal agency accountable for delivery of the supplies.

“If they fulfill these commitments in the coming week, on a reasonable timetable and not a bureaucratic timetable, then they’ll get high marks,” the mayor said. “And if they don’t, they’ll get low marks.”

Chertoff told mayors from Beaumont, Port Arthur and Orange that food, water and fuel will be moved into the area as soon as possible, but he said there may be limits based on weather and logistics.

“We’re going to cut the bureaucratic stuff out, and then it’s going to be up to Mother Nature and the laws of physics,” Chertoff said.

Beaumont Mayor Becky Ames urged residents who left before the storm to stay away for the time being. She said damage is not as apparent as after Hurricane Rita, but she said the problems of providing services are just as great.

“People will ride around and don’t think it’s so bad, but we have critical infrastructure issues,” Ames said. “They may not have water. They may not have sewer. Right now they do, but they won’t if people keep coming back.”

Harris County Judge Ed Emmett said it was premature to blame FEMA for delays in bringing food and water to Harris County.

The original plan was for FEMA to deliver the supplies, and the state to set up the distribution network. But the state told FEMA early Sunday morning that it could not do that, Emmett said.

“My only distress and Bill’s only distress was well all you had to do was tell us that,” Emmett said. “We weren’t told we would have to supply the personnel. But we’re doing that and it will all be done.”

After learning from FEMA Sunday afternoon about the search for personnel, Emmett and White immediately began calling on their local resources, including the Harris County Citizens Corps, a volunteer group.

At 7 p.m., Emmett reported that several distribution points were almost ready to go: “We already have them manned, we have supplies on the way.”

Emmett denied that the miscommunication caused a delay in getting food and water to county residents.

“It’s wasn’t a delay because the trucks weren’t here yet,” he said. “The trucks weren’t going to arrive until tonight. The plan from the beginning was to have shelters and distribution points within 72 hours, and we’re going to have them within 48 hours.”

Emmett took issue with critics like Congressman Nick Lampson, who has lashed out at FEMA for not getting supplies into the area much sooner.

“I’m a little appalled that people are already saying this negative thing or that negative thing,” Emmett said. “We have a lot to be thankful for, nobody died in Harris County. People lost their homes, but most of those were evacuated before anyway.”

“Most people have food for a day or two. This is not a starvation issue,” he added.

“At this point we don’t have time to be pointing fingers at anybody.”

Reporters Mike Glenn and R.G. Ratcliffe contributed to this report.