Posted on 06/13/2011 7:38:13 AM PDT by TSgt
Jefferson County resident Jonathan Stewart said he laughed in shock after the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) claimed the house his family lost in the deadly April 27 twister was ‘not unsafe to live in’.
Displaced families in tornado-ravaged Alabama are outraged after being denied federal aide to rebuild their flattened homes – due to ‘insufficient damage’.
The devastating reality is the house is now a concrete slab surrounded by rubble.
Mr Stewart told AL.com a FEMA inspector saw first-hand the Pleasant Grove residence he shared with his wife, Lisa, and their two children was ripped from the ground. Three days after the visit, however, he received a letter reading: ‘Based on your FEMA inspection, we have determined that the disaster has not caused your home to be unsafe to live in.
‘Although the disaster may have caused some minor damage it is reasonable to expect you or your landlord to make these repairs. At this time you are not eligible for FEMA housing assistance.’
Mr Stewart told the website: ‘Lisa and I looked at the letter and laughed.’ While he has since found out his insurance coverage will replace his house, the family is not alone.
Lashunta Tabb’s home 15 miles away in North Smithfield Manor was stripped of its siding, and more than half of her roof blew off with tornado-force winds.
She too, received a letter claiming there was ‘insufficient damage’ – the number one reason in Alabama the people are determined ineligible for FEMA grants, worth up to $30,200.
It is not yet known how many Alabama tornado victims received the letter.
FEMA deputy branch director for individual assistance Lynda Lowe said finding of insifficient damage are often correct, and many of those who filed for assistance did not have damage.
FEMA officials encourage whose who believe they were wrongly declared ineligible to file for an appeal through local disaster recovery centres.
Spokesman Renee Bafalis said: ‘If you have a question why you received a determination of ineligibility, go in there and let them look it up and help you file an appeal.’
A report issued on Wednesday, however, revealed few disaster victims follow through.
It showed less than one percent of the 25,081 applicants initially declared ineligible for any reason had appealed, leaving the potential for millions of dollars in federal aide to go unclaimed.
An applicant has 60 days from the date of the determination letter to appeal.
It was not known at press time how many applicants were declared ineligible in Alabama due to insufficient damage. However, similar findings have occurred after nearly every recent disaster.
THE BUREAUCRACY BEHIND APPLYING FOR FEMA AIDE:
When a disaster victim applies for a FEMA grant, an inspector is dispatched to the applicant’s property.
Inspectors carry laptops connected to a database called NEMIS (National Emergency Management Information System), which guides them through measuring rooms and assessing damage.
Items marked for repair or replacement are priced depending on the geographic region.
Letters are issued based on the computerised report, telling an applicant whether he qualifies for FEMA assistance.
An applicant has 60 days from the date of the determination letter to appeal.
What qualifies as ‘insufficient damage’ remains unclear.
A pending lawsuit accusing FEMA of improperly denying thousands of farm workers in Texas money to repair their homes after Hurricane Dolly struck in 2008 based on the insufficient damage finding claims that FEMA used a concept called ‘deferred maintenance’ to back the rejections.
Deferred maintenance is not referenced in any regulation, Jerry Wesevich, an attorney with Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid who represents the plaintiffs, told AL.com.
Mr Wesevich described deferred maintenance as a ‘shorthand term that FEMA uses when it determines somehow that a condition of a home prior to the disaster caused the damage after the storm’.
An Alabama inspectors’ coordinator for FEMA said deferred maintenance is no longer used in assessing damage, although there is a place for inspectors to note ‘pre-existing’ conditions.
Can we just defund FEMA already? Why does this agency even exist in the first place? Aside from this bungling, as well as its bungling in Katrina and just about every other natural disaster, I have to ask, why is this a federal concern anyway?
Yep....must be the lack of a tan.....
I hate to don the tinfoil, but I really, really wonder if this isn’t some backhanded way to say “you didn’t vote for me so screw you” by Obama.
Our taxpayer dollars at work. Whoever is sending out these grossly inaccurate letters should be fired.
Our Constitution doesn’t provide for FEMA, so arguing about this family’s experience is pointless, other than to serve as a springboard for eliminating FEMA.
Rewarding friends and punishing enemies.
“Lynda Lowe said finding of insifficient damage are often correct.” Hey sometimes we get it right! A Lowe standard of performance is good enough for government work.
That and “we won”.
Look at what they do, not what they say.
Funny, stuff like this is why I carry homeowners insurance. My policy will actually pay for alternative living space should the house become unlivable.
Why are we expecting taxpayers to pick up the cost?
The “Man” is trying to keep us down.
Pathetic.
and his arm isn’t “sufficiently injured” to get ObamaCare.
Heard Ron Paul on a cable news show this morning talking about FEMA and how it is unconstitutional. I am inclined to agree with him. Should be left to the states.
President Obama doesn’t care about White People!
And when the country lies in ruins just like that, Obama will still be claiming it’s not yet damaged enough.
When people find out that the government is screwing them they figure there’s no point in fighting it because the government can do what it darn well pleases. That is the behavior of a people who knows they are living under lawlessness. As long as we refuse to fight back that’s what we will have, and it will only get more severe.
I dunno...all it needs is a little paint, some tidying...and walls & roof!
The same should apply across the board, then.
Buy insurance or take your lumps.
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