The Bush administration's mass mobilization for the storm sharply contrasted with its widely criticized preparations for Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans and the Mississippi and Alabama coasts nearly four weeks ago.
Health Emergency Declared for Texas, La. By LARA JAKES JORDAN, Associated Press Writer
Sat Sep 24, 4:34 AM ET
After sending in supplies, mobilizing the military and declaring emergencies in two states, federal authorities anxiously monitored Hurricane Rita's approach to see where to deploy help in the storm's aftermath.
Rita's strongest winds were striking Texas and Louisiana coastal communities early Saturday as a Category 3 hurricane — down from Category 5, the highest level, earlier this week. More than 1.5 million people have been evacuated, said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.
"I think at this point the federal government has done pretty much all that's possible to do," said Federal Emergency Management Agency Acting Director R. David Paulison.
"Right now, we just have to wait out the storm, see exactly where it makes landfall, and then move ahead with our supplies that we have on the ground and our resources," he said.
The Bush administration's mass mobilization for the storm sharply contrasted with its widely criticized preparations for Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans and the Mississippi and Alabama coasts nearly four weeks ago.
But signs of gaps in Rita preparations persisted as Texas lawmakers reported fuel shortages and a lack of shelter for evacuated special-needs patients.
President Bush on Friday visited FEMA headquarters in Washington before heading to the U.S. Northern Command in Colorado Springs, Colo., to monitor the storm. The president scrubbed a short visit to San Antonio to meet emergency responders who were being relocated as the huge storm shifted course.
"There will be no risk of me getting in the way, I promise you," Bush said.
Anticipating Rita's landfall, FEMA stockpiled four days' worth of food, water and ice in Texas and Louisiana, and the Pentagon added 13,273 active-duty troops to the 36,108 National Guard personnel stationed throughout the region, Paulison said.
Forty Coast Guard aircraft, nine cutters and 26 Defense Department helicopters were among the military assets ready to move in as soon as Rita passed though the area, Chertoff said.
Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt declared a public health emergency Friday in the two states to ease some of the requirements for hurricane victims who seek Medicaid or other assistance after the storm. The government already had moved some emergency medical supplies to Texas, and health officials dispatched to Louisiana for Katrina remained for Rita's aftermath.
But officials in Rita's path pointed to some gaps that remained in the federal readiness system.
"We have thousands of people with no fuel or food, no shelters, no cots, no security," said Houston-area Rep. Kevin Brady (news, bio, voting record), R-Texas, who said some evacuees were inadvertently heading toward Rita as the storm changed its course. "When the winds start hitting tonight those people are going to be stuck."
The University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio issued an urgent plea for help for local shelters caring for special-needs evacuees from the coast.
"They are in desperate need of both physicians and nurses," the center said in a statement.
Also, Chertoff said breaches in New Orleans levees caused water to pour into parts of the city still flooded, and largely abandoned, from Hurricane Katrina.
Amid last-minute preparation for Rita, Chertoff and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson promised $2 billion federal housing assistance to Katrina victims who remain homeless. As of Friday, more than 747,000 households struck by Katrina had qualified for FEMA assistance, Chertoff said.
Asked if the assistance also would be given to Rita victims who lose their homes, Chertoff said, "Obviously we need to see how Rita plays out."
Meanwhile, at least one state outside the hurricane zone is being denied federal disaster relief. The Bush administration on Friday turned down a Wisconsin request for help for three counties hit by tornadoes, saying the damage wasn't severe enough to qualify.
Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle said he would appeal. "While I understand that FEMA's resources are strained, the country shouldn't be in the position of having to choose between victims of one disaster and victims of another," Doyle said in a written statement.
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On the Net:
Federal Emergency Management Agency: fema.gov |
