One flooded family's help so far? About $600

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One flooded family's help so far? About $600

7/17/2006, 4:26 p.m. ET

Syracuse.com

By CARA ANNA

The Associated Press

http://www.syracuse.com/newsflash/national/index.ssf?/base/news-

18/1153157672145870.xml & storylist=ny & thispage=1

FORT PLAIN, N.Y. (AP) — The first day back in his flooded home,

Hoffman took a steak knife to his soggy living room rug. By Sunday,

when he stripped the walls from his kitchen, he was deep into taking

his own house apart, chasing mold.

He has a contractor, but the contractor's too busy to visit. He

wants to apply for federal aid, but he says that requires damage

estimates he can't make alone. His insurance adjuster? Still backed

up from Hurricane Katrina.

Three weeks after a mix of Mohawk River and nearby sewage plant

flowed in, the total aid Hoffman has received so far is about $600.

That's from the Red Cross, for a family of six.

Hoffman sits with his wife and children in the hallway of their

ripped-up and empty first floor, lit by a single bulb. The power

breakers need replacing, plus the furnace, heater, washer and dryer.

Face masks and wires are scattered about the hallway. By the door,

the last clean piece of home remains — white lace curtains.

" I'm not homeless, " Hoffman says, though the family must stay

elsewhere. " I'm under repair. "

As of Monday morning, 8,584 people from 12 upstate flood-hit

counties had registered with the Federal Emergency Management Agency

for disaster aid. That included many of the Hoffmans' neighbors in

this blue-collar village along the Mohawk River. The State Emergency

Management Office said 10,810 had applied for state money as well.

For most victims, the water is long gone. Now they deal with the

wait.

Hoffman took two and a half weeks off from work his job as a state

prison guard to clean up his home from dawn to nightfall. He's seen

the parade of inspectors. " The SEMO guy didn't say anything. He just

looked around, " he says. The " FEMA guy " did an inventory of the

damaged rooms and then said the family would be denied aid because

they had flood insurance.

" That's not correct, " says Dean Cushman, spokesman for the Federal

Emergency Management Agency, reached by phone Monday. " Every

individual is different. " If insurance covers all needs, perhaps a

homeowner would not get a FEMA grant, but he or she could be

eligible for an SBA (Small Business Administration) loan, he says.

The various programs and their paperwork have left the Hoffmans with

a folder about two inches thick. Frustrated, Hoffman praises the

local Amish community, which rode in on horse-drawn buggies last

week to help local businesses clean up.

" If we could only have the response as fast as they showed up! "

Hoffman says.

Federal and state officials continue to chase misunderstandings,

while getting criticism from victims who aren't sure what happens

next.

" I've never been in a position to ask for help, " Hoffman admits. " I

didn't know how. "

Aid officials say they're doing their best. As of Monday, FEMA had

approved $10.2 million in aid for New Yorkers. By Saturday night,

$7.3 million had been distributed. A SEMO spokesman said he did not

have similar numbers on hand.

But everyone, from victims to local officials, wants an idea of

timing.

Cushman says a FEMA payment usually arrives seven to 10 days after

an agency inspector looks at a house. " If everything goes

correctly, " he adds. " If you're waiting for an insurance settlement,

that can add time. "

And state aid can be " a couple of beats behind " federal aid, says

Don Maurer, spokesman for the State Emergency Management Office.

That's because the state's two disaster relief programs, totaling

$60 million, are meant to help pay for damage not covered by

insurance and federal programs.

Meanwhile, people applying for SBA's low-interest loans for expenses

not covered by insurance will know if they're approved within 21

days after their application is received.

" We understand people need that money instantly, " says SBA spokesman

Tom Nocera. As of Sunday night, the SBA had approved 15 loans for

$656,300. Another 262 applications are being processed.

Somehow, the Hoffmans feel they're not doing too badly. But they

mention with concern the quadriplegic man at the end of their block,

or the 94-year-old woman who lives alone nearby, refusing to leave

her damp home. " It's hard to get along without electric and gas, "

says the woman, Alger, as she feeds birds in her backyard.

Quackenbush, chairman of the board of supervisors in

Montgomery County, watches Alger and shakes his head. His board last

week wanted to loan $6 million in county money to residents until

federal and state aid could arrive, but it found out the plan was

against the state constitution.

Quackenbush had to deliver the bad news last week to an expectant

crowd of about 200. They were angry. He was angry.

" What's unconstitutional is watching people suffer, " he says.