FEMA frustration mounts

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Thursday July 27, 2006 NEWS

FEMA frustration mounts

'It's unbelievable how bad their response has been'

http://www.pressconnects.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?

AID=/20060727/NEWS01/607270353

CHUCK HAUPT / Press & Sun-Bulletin

Binghamton, NY

Dean wonders how her family is going to be able to get on

with their lives after they were rejected by FEMA. Their flood

insurance will take care of the mortgage, she said, but the family,

now living in Port Crane, has nothing to rebuild with. Rescue

workers painted orange markings on flooded properties to indicate to

other crews that the building had been searched and what had been

found. Dean's house was searched June 30.

AT A GLANCE

Since the region received a federal disaster declaration after the

June flood, 10,295 people have registered for assistance from the

Federal Emergency Management Agency. Here's a breakdown for several

counties:

Broome 3,634

Chenango 908

Delaware 2,095

Tioga 668

Nearly $30 million has been approved for homeowners, renters and

businesses in the 19-county area in the following categories:

* $16.2 million for disaster housing, which includes rental

assistance to those temporarily out of their homes and repair funds

to make their homes livable.

* Nearly $3.1 million for other needs assistance, which includes

money to repair or replace personal property damaged or lost by the

flooding such as household items, transportation costs, medical and

dental expenses.

* More than $10.4 million in low-interest loans from the U.S. Small

Business Administration to homeowners, renters and businesses to

return their homes and businesses to pre-disaster condition.

By Liz Hacken

Press & Sun-Bulletin

CONKLIN -- Black mold is devouring Dean's Shipman Road

home. Her neighborhood on the Susquehanna River is dotted with

dozens of homes bearing orange " condemned " stickers and crime scene

tape.

She wants nothing more than to tear down the raised ranch her family

has called home for the past 10 years, but she can't afford to.

Dean applied for Federal Emergency Management Agency aid, expecting

to fill in the gaps in what her homeowners insurance didn't cover.

To date, she has received $546 in rental assistance and three

letters denying other help.

" If my home had burned down, I'd be in better shape, " said Dean, 28,

who now lives with her husband and their two pre-schoolers in a

trailer in Port Crane. " They're not helping us. But if you lost a

hot water heater and your furnace, it's OK and you get money. "

Nearly a month after the late-June flood that destroyed hundreds of

Tier homes and businesses and damaged thousands of others, some

homeowners say they can't understand why FEMA hasn't cut more checks

to people who want to rebuild their lives, and why so many others

are being denied help. At the same time, some people's expectations

of FEMA exceed the agency's intent.

" It's virtually impossible to rebuild everyone's home, " agency

spokeswoman Carver said. " We're a temporary fix so someone

isn't living in their car. "

She said the agency's purpose after a disaster " is for recovery. "

" We want to make sure people are safe and living in a sanitary

situation until they can get long-term help, " Carver said. " It's a

complicated process. "

If a property is in the 100-year flood plain and was flooded

previously, FEMA requires the homeowner to get and maintain flood

insurance, Carver said. The agency even paid for the insurance for a

limited period of time. Some mortgages on homes in that flood plain

also require flood insurance, she said.

But if a home is in the 500-year flood plain, or outside the flood

plain, homeowners don't need flood insurance coverage in order to

get FEMA aid, she said.

is anxious to move on and restart life elsewhere. He is

typical of many flood victims. But he must wait for FEMA or SBA to

rule on his case, and the waiting time for appeals can be

unbearable. lived with his 78-year-old mother, Wilhelmina, in

Deposit's Riverside Trailer Park until 7 feet of water trashed their

mobile home.

On his denial letter from FEMA were these words: " insufficient

damage. "

The trailer, he said, has since been condemned.

" It's unbelievable how bad their response has been, " he said. " They

did so much down in New Orleans and they're doing nothing here. I

haven't even gotten so much as a bottle of water from FEMA. "

was told it could take six to eight weeks to process his SBA

loan paperwork. As a self-employed software developer, he said that

is too long for him to wait to get back to work.

The process of getting FEMA aid can be delayed by paperwork needed

to navigate assistance available from FEMA grants and U.S. Small

Business Administration disaster loans. Applicants who are denied by

FEMA can appeal -- Dean's last hope for her claim.

" Now that you have their answer, it's the fight to get them to

change their mind or at least see where you're coming from, " she

said. " I'm not asking for anyone to make me rich. I'm just looking

to move on. "

For some, moving on with loaned money isn't the most affordable

solution. FEMA gave of Conklin $5,400 for home repairs

and $713 for rental help -- not enough to pay the repair bill.

is also eligible for a $179,000 SBA loan repayable over 30

years, but she doesn't want to take on that kind of debt when she

had only 10 years left on the mortgage for her Maxwell Court home.

When she stopped her SBA loan process, she was told she is

ineligible for future FEMA assistance. A FEMA worker told her that

she may get " only " $6,000 more through other assistance categories,

she said.

" Any amount of money you can give me is not 'only,' " said ,

36. " That can do a lot of things for people who never thought this

would happen to them. "

Carver said applicants can refuse SBA loans, but it's still vital to

fill out the paperwork if they want to remain in the FEMA pipeline.

" If they are denied (FEMA aid) and throw the loan package away, "

Carver said, " then they are totally stopped in the process. "

Even those who have received money from FEMA in the past are finding

it difficult to get answers about what they're entitled to after

this year's devastation.

When Greaves' home on Verdun Avenue in Endwell was damaged in

the flood of April 2005, he received $1,300 to help with cleanup and

repair. So when the waters flowed into the first floor of his home

last month, he thought he'd get some FEMA help. But he was denied.

He said FEMA claims it told him in 2005 to buy flood insurance, but

he doesn't remember being told that.

" I'm sitting between two houses that got help from FEMA, " Greaves

said. " Why aren't we getting help in the same way? "

Like Greaves, is finding it hard to keep a positive

outlook as he awaits financial relief.

" Our life as it stands today, " he said, " is no better than it was a

month ago. "