CNN article

This is the CNN website where I read an article about the FEMA response in California vs. New Orleans. There are a few other good articles on this website that could also fill you in.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/10/24/fire.fema/index.html?iref=newssearch

What do you think?

Hi everyone,
I'm sure most of you have heard about the devastation from the fires Southern California is facing. FEMA has been able to help families that are being displaced by the fires. Most families are staying in hotels or family/friends that are close by. The Qualcomm Stadium is providing food and shelter to other victims. This appears to be much more organized than the Superdome in New Orleans. Also, most of the people being affected by the fire are fluent in English and have their own transportation, whereas in New Orleans it was the poorer sections of the city that had devastation and people were trapped.
Do you think FEMA has learned from Hurricane Katrina so the aid is more organized and can help more people?
Do you think because the fires devastated wealthier people FEMA is helping them out more?
Do you think these two examples are just completely different because one was a hurricane and the other was a fire?

Let me know what you think about these Southern California fires, FEMA's reactions, and other's reactions.
Thanks!
Kelly K.

Today's the deadline

Hey everyone:

For those of you living on the floor, today is the deadline for the $100 deposit to reserve a spot on the trip to Mississippi over Spring Break. Christa Morris (in the Smith Chapel) should have a check made out to Penn State by 5:00 PM. Just a reminder.

Another reminder: we will be meeting up at Maintenance tonight at 5:00 PM instead of the Smith Chapel. We'll be experiencing "Tool Time," a lesson the campus maintenance employees have planned and will teach us with our basic construction education needs in mind. We'll also be having a "Tool Time II" in February.

We have two boxes of pretzels left to sell -- please stop by the Office of Student Affairs (Reed 115) to pick one up and sell it. We'll be moving on to the next thing as soon as we sell all the pretzels, so it's important that they all go as soon as possible.

Please let Christa (cdb120@psu.edu) or myself (crb22@psu.edu) know if you have any questions. Thanks!

Sarris Pretzel Sales in Brunos

Just a reminder to anyone who already knows and an invite to anyone who does not know, we are going to be selling Sarris Pretzels in Brunos this coming week of Oct 8th - 12th from 11 am to 1 pm . If anyone wants to help out by managing the table or if you would prefer to carry a box around campus to your classes, please contact me at cje5028@psu.edu, Craig, or anyone else on the service floor.

Thanks Colin

The Second Storm

When we think of Hurricane Katrina the storm, we see that nutcase reporter on television getting side-swiped by 100+ mph winds. We see the choppy waters of the Gulf of Mexico. We see rain pelting buildings, but the wind-blown water comes from the side, not from above. In short, we think about the events of August 29, 2005. We think about that massive white cloud that looks like it jumps toward the Gulf Coast after passing over Florida.

But there was another storm that came after Hurricane Katrina. This storm was not weather-related. However, just like the rain, wind, water, and sand combined in the aforementioned weather system, this storm also had varying components converge to destroy lives and valuable possessions.

The first ingredient is the lack of any federally-sponsored or organized comprehensive plan for rebuilding. Homeowners are asked to go it alone, or seduce Lady Luck by petitioning for their own existence by applying for assistance from private relief organizations. Even then, these private relief organizations, one of which is the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance group (who we will be working with in April), are limited in their ability to assist. For example, the PDA cannot completely rebuild a house; it can only renovate it and improve the structure. Those of us who made the trip to Gulfport last year and saw the concrete slabs and isolated chimneys know that many structures are simply not there. While FEMA did eventually respond, its process for distributing loans is long and extremely bureaucratic; there are Mississippi residents who still do not have FEMA money today. The other problem with rebuilding is that elected officials are hurting the process. Congress issued $5.4 billion in Community Block Development Grants, with the intent of helping those needing aid from Katrina. Originally these grants were distributed with the requirement that half of the funding be issued to low- to moderate-income residents. Haley Barbour, the governor of Mississippi, stepped in and ultimately was able to waive this stipulation; currently, only 20% of the funding has been allocated for the low- to moderate-income resident, with much of the funding not yet distributed.

Another piece to this second storm can be found in the lack of insurance afforded to an extraordinary number of Gulf Coast residents. Many insurance companies deny claims from Katrina due to water damage not being covered under their policies, even though there are many homes that would have surely sustained wind damage, which is covered under most insurance policies. State Farm, the largest insurance company in Mississippi, denies claims that involve sustained water and wind damage. The company issued a statement in February of 2007 announcing that the company is writing no new policies in the region, as the “current legal and political environment is simply untenable. We’re just in a position to accept any additional risk in this homeowners’ market.” For operating in an “untenable” environment, State Farm did quite well: in 2006, State Farm made $5.3 billion – the same as their earnings in 2004.

The haphazard rebuilding process has also led to a third component of the storm – a purgatory of sorts for wandering residents. With no federal assistance (other than the mirage of FEMA loans), Mississippians are forced to spend their savings in attempting to re-create their pre-Katrina lives. Many of these efforts, though, are stopped short as funding is exhausted. One family in the Mississippi area invested $25,000 into repairs from Katrina, but ran out of money with only 60% of the house completed. Relief organizations can then step in and assist families in these situations, but many organizations, like PDA, use unskilled volunteers and can also be short on funding. Those that were renters prior to August of 2005 have no place to go: instead of their former properties being rebuilt, new, pricey condominiums have been erected. 13,000 families still live in FEMA trailers, and most are displaced, former renters. Highway 90, running east and west along the Gulf through Gulfport, has seen much of this new construction.

While there are many other parts to this storm that is still hammering the Gulf Coast region, these three may be the most significant. Working together, they ensure that the ordinary Mississippi homeowner has as difficult a time as possible trying to regain his or her footing. Limited (at best) federal response, lackluster insurance companies, and displaced residents mark the second storm; and just like Katrina, warnings appear to be going unheard.

Reflection

1.) Katrina had a devastating affect on our country. It also brought up many good questions about how well our government system was working to help in times of need. The media seemed to place blame on many people, trying to put the responsibility on one particular organization when no one was to blame. Sometimes I think that the media blows things way out of proportion, so I wasn't surprised when the media tried to play up the poor and less fortunate, rather than the middle or upper class people who also lost their homes. I was surprised at how slowly the government has been getting things back to normal, although they will never be as they were before the storm. I was really surprised at how many people wanted to just ride out the storm!! They were told how bad it was going to be, but they stayed anyway.

2.) I really do want to learn more about Katrina, but I do want to focus on some local services too.

3.) If you don't do anything just because you don't think you can do much, you hurt others. It is better to do a little than do nothing at all. If everyone did just a little, there would still be many things accomplished. It just might take more time.

Answers

1.) The whole Katrina situation was hard to believe. It just didn't seem real or that it could happen to this country. I mean, I was aware that hurricanes have caused devestation before, but not quite as devestating as Katrina. Just seeing the devestation that this hurricane had on the countryside was just beyond compare. I can't imagine the effect of seeing the damage like in person would be like. It was just horrifying to think that entire families, entire neighborhoods just wiped out. It is so hard to think about that even today the damage is still in full swing. The damage was so horrible that two years of hard work and effort has barely made a dent. I'd say what surprises me the most about Hurricane Katrina is that even after two years there is so much still to be done.

2.) I enjoy hearing the stories of survivors, and those that have been helped, so more of those would be interesting.

3) To me that quote means, you can make as much or as little out of a situation as possible. You can make an effort as little or as big as possible. No effort is too little to matter, and as long as you want to make a difference you can. Just being willing and able to help is immeasurable to anycause.

Answers

1.) What surprises me most about what happened is the look of the gulfcoast region, still. I expected there to be building all over the community, but there really wasn't. However, after going there and hearing the stories I could understand what is taking so long.
Another surprise, was the hope and courage the survivors showed. They were not upset or badmouthing any authority, rather they were optimistic about the challenge they had overcome and the excitement they had because their house was being built.

2.) I would like to hear more personal stories about the students that went. I will read over the journal and remember how I felt.

3.) I think many people have this idea that to help other people you need to posses an amazing gift or be very skilled. However, I think the littlest things can make the biggest differences. Some people just need a visitor, or a friend to talk to, someone to spend time with, or help with hammering a nail. The people we are helping are not asking us to build an entire house in a week, rather they want us to assist with the ongoing process and take some time to talk to them and listen to their stories and see their pictures.
I think helping other people is something we all have the ability to do, but the difference is we are actually engaging in it.

Have a great week!
Kelly K.