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.
And if this had happened during the Bush admin???
The story says that this family later discovered their insurance covered them (how could they not have known that?)...so that is good.
I believe Jefferson County, where this family is from, voted strongly for O...while neighboring Shelby County was one of the most lop-sided in the country towards McCain.
A note about tornado damage and home insurance. A few years ago, a Tornado went theough Chapman, Kansas...and went on to destroy around 20 homes in Manhattan, KS. The homes in Manhattan were very new, had loans on them, and were insured. As far as I can tell, all but one has been rebuilt.
Chapman, on the other hand, had older homes. People were living in homes owned for multiple generations in their family...paid for...and nobody had them insured. Their re-building has been a much longer process...Extreme Makeover even stopped by to shed some tears and build a house.
Why no insurance? Why did this family in Alabama immediately look to FEMA, instead of their insurance company? We are gradually being conditioned to look to the federal government for help and protection, in all aspects of our lives.
Good point. As long as there was an Allocation (after taking it from our Tax dollars) of over $10 Billion for this Agency in 2010, the money should go where it is intended.
The 2010 FEMA Budget:
Otherwise - nix the Agency and hand this back to the States.
After the 1994 Northridge quake, the State Farm inspector carried something similar...he measured his way through the place during his inspection, and by the time we left he had the actual dollar figure on his estimated damage and repair costs.
We were dumbfounded, because the number was tens of thousands of dollars more than we would have estimated on our own.
The program would estimate everything from scaffolding for painting to carpeting in rooms where there had been broken glass to food spoiled during the power outages.
Absolutley right! Why would any sane homeowner not have their home insured? How the heck do they fail to insure under a requirement from mortgage lender to carry insurance?
Hopefully this will teach the disaster victims to vote for the democrats in the next election.
Just not black enough?
Yes, and wait until they apply the same justification for denying benefits to healthcare.
Well I for one am really glad that they're 'often' correct. How often I wonder. Is it more than 1/2 the time? Is it less than 1/2 the time?
And the copy editor who passed this article apparently isn't familiar with Spell Check.
DISBAND!ELIMINATE JIMMY CAHTAH’S FEMA!
SLASH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO RIBBONS!
How about getting a hold of the controls at a HAARP installation and aiming the damn thing to hit DC and VA.
As Nnacy Pelosi said.....time to drain the swamp.
I agree, if a homeowner does not have insurance, they made a bad decision and have to live with the consequences.
What FEMA can and should do is help get the infrastructure back up after a disaster. The roads are often covered in debris and wrecked after disasters, and schools are often demolished, for example. Cities and towns are not financially equipped to rebuild all that quickly.
Private utilities rebuild all their equipment and infrastructure. FEMA did well in coordinating utility companies in regions to work as a team with others to help get utilities back up quickly.
But property and business owners have to insure their own properties and stuff or they will lose it. FEMA has way too much money and power.
Y’all can flame away. I am not a Nanny Stater but I do make exception for this kind of disaster. Just like us, many of these people affected are taxpayers. ENTIRE towns were completely wiped out, which would also mean not only are many of these people out of homes they are out of work as well.
These FEMA grants were not a substitute for insurance, it is emergency assistance. Granted insurance may cover housing etc, but the sheer devastation may be causing a back log of getting these people help.
Whether right or wrong, the Federal Government TAKES OUR MONEY to fund agencies like FEMA. As a citizen and tax payer, I have no problem helping a fellow American in a time of such dyer need through no fault of their own. I would much rather have my taxes going to help those in TX, AZ, AL, MO etc. than to go to Egypt, Yemen, Palestine, Libya, Greece, etc. Countries who would be happy to see us wiped off the face of the map!
These people are not deadbeats. Had the tornado not destroyed their community we would not be hearing from them. The Federal Government stinks and they should not be in charge of these emergencies. I think these services should be at the state or community level but it is what it is right now.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2514280/posts
What bothers me is how many people with paid off homes just decide not to pay the ~$500 a year to insure them! Even after 20 years of premiums it’s far less than paying to rebuild it.
Just what part of this home IS safe to live in?
Was Jefferson County a red county in 2008? That might be a clue.
Someone at FEMA should be walking with difficulty right now, having been the recipient of a new @sshole.
Just what part of this home IS safe to live in?
Was Jefferson County a red county in 2008? That might be a clue.
Someone at FEMA should be walking with difficulty right now, having been the recipient of a new @sshole.
the mayor nagin chocolate test...
The only thing FEMA should do is either cover things that insurance can’t/won’t cover (like floods) or step in when they make up bullsh*t excuses not to cover things (which happened after Katrina to some degree).
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