IreneI, from chalmette. LA writes:
I came home after hurricane gustav,and I found a lot of siding fallen down ,I spend $800.00 to fix ,and my insurance doesn't cover that.Also ,In my restaurant we threw away all the food because no power,and I spent some money when we evacuated, If the government will pay me some money?

Admiral Harvey E. Johnson, Jr.
You should register for FEMA assistance online at www.fema.gov/assistance or by phone at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) / 1-800-462-7585 (TTY).

FEMA assistance is generally limited to damages to your personal dwelling and property. If you sustained damages to your small business or incurred economic loss as a result of the disaster, you may be eligible for low interest loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). More information can be found at www.sba.gov.

marilyn, from opelousas, la writes:
My mother's home has been demolished due to hurricane gustav- there is no roof on home, all of her furniture is damaged, floors are damaged, walls are damaged, mold has set in and it is still raining inside of home. How long will it take for fema to assist?

Admiral Harvey E. Johnson, Jr.
You should have your mother register for FEMA assistance as soon as possible either online at www.fema.gov/assistance or by phone at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) / 1-800-462-7585 (TTY). After she has registered, if she is uninsured for these losses, she can expect to have a FEMA inspector contact her within 7 days to schedule an inspection of her damages. An eligibility decision for housing assistance and other needs is typically made shortly after the inspection.

If your mother’s home is insured, you should have her call her insurance companies immediately, as FEMA cannot duplicate assistance provided by insurance.

In the interim, FEMA may also assist by providing blue roof tarps through the United States Army Corp of Engineers free of charge. She should call the FEMA helpline at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) / 1-800-462-7585 (TTY) for a referral.

nicole, from Marrero writes:
Will fema reimburse me for the gas and food I bought out of my pocket?I think you should, since it was a manditory evacuation and a voluntary one. And when will they start sending out the monies that were promised?

Admiral Harvey E. Johnson, Jr.
FEMA traditionally does not provide for out-of-pocket expenses due to evacuations whether it’s voluntary or mandatory. In order to minimize out-of-pocket expenses, FEMA works with local officials and voluntary agencies to make available congregate shelters that provide essential needs such as food, clothing, and sheltering.

Ashley, from New Orleans,Louisiana writes:
Will Fema Support those living here in the for there loss's with Personal, Shelter. etc? Who had to leave there home due to these Hurricane's?

Admiral Harvey E. Johnson, Jr.
FEMA encourages evacuees in the affected area to register for federal assistance. You can register for FEMA assistance as soon as possible either online at www.fema.gov/assistance or by phone at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) / 1-800-462-7585 (TTY).

tracy, from new orleans writes:
We just evacuated for Gustav. If we have to evacuate for Ike will FEMA pay for hotels up front? We have exhausted our evacuation budget with Gustav.

Admiral Harvey E. Johnson, Jr.
FEMA traditionally does not provide for out-of-pocket expenses due to evacuations. In order to minimize out-of-pocket expenses, FEMA works with local officials and voluntary agencies to make available congregate shelters that provide essential needs such as food, clothing, and sheltering.

Missy, from Sulphur, LA writes:
I wanted to ask why our Parish (Calcasieu) was not included in the Disaster area for Hurricane Gustav. We were under a mandatory evacutaion and left our home to travel more than 8 hours to Dallas. After returning we were informed we will not be receiving federal aide. Looking at a map, all of the Parishes and Texas Counties that were included boarder Calcasieu. I don't understand how we could have been overlooked.

Admiral Harvey E. Johnson, Jr.
The State of Louisiana, the mayors and the presidents of various parishes issued mandatory evacuations were issued based on the risks associated with the prospective severity of Hurricane Gustav. The exact path of the hurricane is not completely known until it makes landfall. After the storm, extensive surveys were conducted by federal, state and local workers to assess damages to the storm-affected areas. Assistance provided under a major disaster declaration is based on these damage assessments rather than the mandatory evacuation areas.

James, from Sioux Falls, South Dakota writes:
What has FEMA done differently during this natural disaster then what they did during the Katrina response fiasco?

Admiral Harvey E. Johnson, Jr.
Local governments, the State Government of Louisiana, surrounding states, the federal government, and FEMA all worked in a single coordinated effort to prepare before, respond during, and now recover from Hurricane Gustav.

In the three years since Hurricane Katrina, FEMA and state governments have conducted planning for response to all types of disasters. Part of this planning included formal agreements to share resources and emergency personnel.

Prior to Hurricane Gustav actually making landfall, preplanned evacuation procedures were used to make sure that the evacuation went as quickly and smoothly as possible from all areas of the state. Resources such as MRE’s, water, tarps, generators, and emergency equipment were prepositioned in locations around Louisiana for quick access after the storm. Search and Rescue teams, military units, and FEMA personnel from all parts of the United States were prepositioned in strategic locations around Louisiana to provide quick response as soon as the storm passed.

The most important difference was the support of the citizens of Louisiana who evacuated their homes and were a safe distance away from the prospective areas where the storm might hit and the highly damaged areas where the storm actually struck. This evacuation assured that people were out of harm’s way.

Cliff, from Brimfield, Ohio writes:
Admiral Johnson, Sir: Three hurricanes in a row, in a matter of day's. What is going on? has things changed to promote such activity? I sent another question in earlier about why are we having so many hurricanes lately. I don't remember having this many or the amount of damage they are causing. Thank You

Admiral Harvey E. Johnson, Jr.
The weather patterns in the Atlantic have been favorable for the development of hurricanes so far this year. It is impossible for anybody to predict the exact number, location, or time period that these hurricanes developed or that future hurricanes this year will develop.

Multiple hurricanes have occurred in the past. In recent history, Florida has been struck by four hurricanes in a single season.

Alex, from Mission Viejo, CA writes:
Why does it make sense to keep pouring money to "rebuild New Orleans, LA" when we know the city will face the same risk year after year? Does it make sense to keep rebuilding where nature tells us not to?

Admiral Harvey E. Johnson, Jr.
New Orleans, LA is a city with rich cultural history, the home to hundreds of thousands of United States citizens, and an important part of the Gulf Coast. It is American’s persistent nature not to back down in the face of adversity, to develop methods to protect our citizens through mitigation measures (and through early evacuation when appropriate) and to remain loyal to places that we call home.

Shahab, from Saratoga,CA writes:
What is your crisis evaluation process?

Admiral Harvey E. Johnson, Jr.
Crisis evaluation takes place in many shapes and form each day at FEMA from planning for future disasters to evaluating the resources that are needed to recover from current ones. It occurs at all levels from community governments offices’ of emergency management to FEMA’s executive meetings with the White House. Crisis evaluation ranges in all sizes of disaster from tornados that strike a single town to hurricanes that affect multiple states. FEMA continues on a daily basis to practice, plan, and enact crisis evaluation.

Shahab, from Saratoga,CA writes:
What has been the greatest chalenge to FEMA in its history?

Admiral Harvey E. Johnson, Jr.
Every disaster is a new challenge for FEMA to plan for, respond to, and recover from. In many way Katrina was the greatest challenge that FEMA faced because of the vastness of the effected area, the amount of damage, and the lack of some mechanisms to immediately respond to them. Another great challenge was the response to Hurricane Gustav which was the largest pre-disaster mobilization of resources and emergency personnel in history. Possibly FEMA’s greatest challenge is preparing for the unpredictable nature of when, where, and what type of disaster will take place in the future.

Gloria, from Home writes:
Could you give me 2 good reasons why prices go up after the aftermath of war or natural disasters. Thanks

Admiral Harvey E. Johnson, Jr.
Market prices for all commodities are controlled by supply and demand. When supply is high and demand is low, prices decrease. When supply is low and demand is high, prices increase. If a disaster disrupts the supply while the demand for the product remains constant or increase, the cost of a product is likely to increase.

malka, from ohio writes:
What preperations did the president do this time that he didnt for katrina?thanks G-d bless america

Admiral Harvey E. Johnson, Jr.
In the three years since Hurricane Katrina, the President, FEMA and state governments have conducted planning for response to all types of disasters. Part of this planning included formal agreements to share resources and emergency personnel.

Prior to Hurricane Gustav actually making landfall, preplanned evacuation procedures were established to make sure that the evacuation went as quickly and smoothly as possible from all areas of the state. Resources such as MRE’s, water, tarps, generators, and emergency equipment were prepositioned in locations around Louisiana for quick access after the storm. Search and Rescue teams, military units, and FEMA personnel from all parts of the United States were prepositioned in strategic locations around Louisiana to provide quick response as soon as the storm passed.

The most important difference was the support of the citizens of Louisiana who evacuated their homes and were a safe distance away from the prospective areas where the storm might hit and the highly damaged areas where the storm actually struck. This evacuation assured that people were out of harm’s way.

Bob, from Calcasieu Parish, Lake Charles, LA writes:
Why are we not receiving FEMA-1786-DR, Louisiana Disaster Declaration as of 09042008 while all surrounding parishes including to the north of us are? It is a hot topic here.

Admiral Harvey E. Johnson, Jr.
After the storm, extensive surveys were conducted by local, state, and federal workers to decide which areas would be received different types of assistance.

Disaster Declaration requests start at the the state level; they do not come from FEMA. The state must request assistance. Based on assessments of damage, the State of Louisiana did not determine that Calcasieu Parish would require a Federal Disaster Declaration.

Luo, from south china normal university writes:
If we want to prevent the disaster,why not protect the environtment.

Admiral Harvey E. Johnson, Jr.
Disasters happen for countless reasons from shifting of tectonic plates that causes earthquakes to wild fires that are caused by lightning strikes. Disasters are not preventable but constant planning and preparation work to minimize their impact. FEMA works on a daily basis to plan and prepare for all types of disasters.

Cliff, from Brimfield, Ohio writes:
Admiral Johnson, Sir: Are we having more hurricanes than normal? Or are more of them affecting land area's? I just don't remember having this many hurricane's causing so much damage in the past. Thank You

Admiral Harvey E. Johnson, Jr.
The weather patterns in the Atlantic have been favorable for the development of hurricanes so far this year. It is impossible for anybody to predict the exact number, location, or time period that these hurricanes developed or that future hurricanes this year will develop.

Multiple hurricanes have occurred in the past. Throughout history, devastating hurricanes have stuck the Gulf Coast, Florida, and all parts of the East Coast.

FEMA works on a daily basis to reduce the impact of all types of disasters. Hurricane Gustav is the most recent example of how planning and preparation can dramatically work to protect the lives and minimize property damage.

Charice, from Minnesota writes:
I was so impressed on how things went with Gustav I would like to know how did you prepare to work with the States for future Hurricanes? What procedures did you come up with to be so effective? Ex. Compared to Katrina, the communication was awesome this time around Another example, when the levy started to leak majorly, I saw men putting sand bags on the wall to keep it from bursting. Such great collaboration took place, I am so pleased with how it turned out I am proud of you, the Governor and local officials for the great work (Yes, and the people who stayed behind to help) Were these plans in place for Katrina? Thank you

Admiral Harvey E. Johnson, Jr.
The aftermath of Katrina compared to the aftermath of Gustav was dramatically different because of the amount of specific disaster planning and the amount of resources provided to Louisiana. The pre-disaster response to Gustav was larger than any other pre-disaster response in FEMA’s history.

Local governments, the State Government of Louisiana, surrounding states, the federal government, and FEMA all worked in a single coordinated effort to prepare before, respond during, and now recover from Hurricane Gustav.

In the three years since Hurricane Katrina, FEMA and state governments have conducted planning for response to all types of disasters. Part of this planning included formal agreements to share resources and emergency personnel.

Prior to Hurricane Gustav actually making landfall, preplanned evacuation procedures were used to make sure that the evacuation went as quickly and smoothly as possible from all areas of the state. Resources such as MRE’s, water, tarps, generators, and emergency equipment were prepositioned in locations around Louisiana for quick access after the storm. Search and Rescue teams, military units, and FEMA personnel from all parts of the United States positioned in strategic locations around Louisiana to provide quick response as soon as the storm passed.

The most important difference was the support of the citizens of Louisiana who evacuated their homes and were a safe distance away from the prospective areas where the storm might hit and the highly damaged areas where the storm actually struck. This evacuation assured that people were out of harm’s way.

barbara, from marrero writes:
Why havent we received no assistance yet ? Im a single parent with 2 kids. That had to leave . My money i use to leave was for the bills for this month .What is going to happen ? Then we have another storm coming IKE

Admiral Harvey E. Johnson, Jr.
If you have not already, and you are in a declared state, you should register for FEMA assistance online at www.fema.gov/assistance or by phone at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) / 1-800-462-7585 (TTY).