My poor friend :( .....@#$% FEMA

Im so [snipped] pissed. Were still freezin our asses off here. I keep getting spots of internet service. Little ferry facebook is booming with pissed off people who have gotten no help. Obama was just here,literally in our town, over 1000homes have been evacuated. Theres shelters all ovet and millions of $ in dmg. Youd think FEMA would be aiding us? # no! We called fema and they said little ferry officials havent reported to them so they havent recognized bergen county as an official disaster area! Then they told us to go online to file a claim... wtf?! Im lucky i can charge my phone at all, dont have any internet for 95% of the day. ..

well. my poor friend has to suffer at the hands of this storm.. he has been living in the up stiars part of his house because of flooding.. no power no water.. he has rigged up a battery to use his pone... and this was the message u just got from him . ats what can i do to help him help me .



let me add a littl more to this.. sorry i am on a cell phone at the moment .. my friend is not able to leave his house due to flooding. and resources .. also note that his health is in poor state.. he is at the moment unable to care for him self without assistance .. .. i am not asking for poor me reply's or any political hog wash.. i am simply ..asking for some helpful advice.. and making people aware of the situation.. and the lack of response by fema .... its simple for one to say .. get out and do somthing . but for some people thats not possible ...

go report his town as a disaster for him

if he did that instead of whining about his plight, FEMA might already be onto it

reply to post by LightningStrikesHere


Depends how far you are away from him.
Maybe invite him over to yours for the while if you have better living conditions.

Originally posted by okamitengu
go report his town as a disaster for him

if he did that instead of whining about his plight, FEMA might already be onto it

Individuals cant declare a town or city a disaster and receive federal help.

reply to post by LightningStrikesHere


Curious what or whom people whined to or about back in the days before FEMA...??? Not being insensitive here I'm sorry your friends home is in shambles...and he has issues right now...however...

I'm just curious at point people are going to say [snipped] FEMA put on their big boy boots and take care of their situation?? Or are they just going to sit upstairs and wait for internet connections to complain online??

Because I'm pretty sure that way isn't going to solve his current predicament...and I'm pretty sure that there was plenty of warning prior to his issue that would have kept him from being "stuck" upstairs...

I really don't want to come off like judging your friend because I don't intend to be judgmental, however...I am perplexed how this post...or his internet complaint about FEMA is going to "help" his situation??

I really hate to sound cold and callus...but I'm thinking somewhere along the way he made a mistake hes not taking responsibility for...and blaming FEMA isn't going to do him any good....expecting FEMA as your saving grace is a mistake in and of itself...everyone knows how incompetent they are...It is a government agency after all...

I am in the middle of a disaster area that has been reported and FEMA is nowhere in sight. No red cross either. People are suffering and NO one but local authorities are helping. I thought they knew about this storm and had FEMA ready to swoop in?

Don't believe what comes out or any reporter or politicians mouth. Not that any of you do. But what they tell you is happening is not happening at all.

And by the way, reporters are vultures!

The only thing FEMA is good for is building railroad cars and internment camps.
Better the FEMA money goes to the states. They can manage it better and get it out quicker where it is needed.

reply to post by DrGod



I didn't read it the same way. What I got out of it is that if Obama was in that town, how could they not recognize it as a disaster area. If Obama was there in that town they would have seen the damage and should know that it is indeed in need of help from FEMA.

If I were this guys friend I would simply go online for him and report that town.

Having the town known as a disaster area and having some FEMA pencil pusher seeing it listed as a "Disaster Area" on their official print out, as they check it during the phone call....are two completely different things. I'm guessing his was the pencil pusher variety, not the FEMA type out in the debris and water at the moment.

The President being there would mean the White House recognizes a disaster area and help is on the way. Dunno when, because everything is showing a system at or past the breaking point. This kicked everyone's tail, hard in terms of responders too. Their own homes with families are in trouble as well. It's enormous.

Make sure you report his address to all the agencies (local, state, federal) that are related is my suggestion. I hope things improve there soon!

reply to post by okamitengu


i guss you missed the part where he said he called fema? also i am sure they have been contacted by others .. now that we have cleared that up.. can you add any other positive advice?

reply to post by Sly1one


i edited the op have a read that might clear up any concerns you might have . thank you for the reply

It's hard to be everywhere at one time. I'm sure FEMA is working at it, but of course can't get to everyone all at the same time. Of course, if Romney wins and FEMA is gutted along with other social programs that try to help people (and are often misused by a number of people yet the programs get the blame instead of the people that abuse them), there will be even LESS help in the future. I'm sorry about your friend. If you can't mobilize yourself, since he was able to send word to you, you can try to contact others to help him. Sheriff Department, Police, and whoever else you think will do a better job than the RED CROSS or FEMA. Of course, considering allllllllllllll the warning about this being a superstorm, it sounds as if your friend was less than prepared for it. Evacuation would have been sensible. Emergency supplies. The fairly inexpensive phone rechargers that use AA or AAA batteries. Dehydrated foods. The list goes on and doesn't require much imagination. Patience under the circumstances is important too. It was a pretty good sized disaster and people can't expect to have instant help.

Originally posted by LightningStrikesHere
reply to post by okamitengu

 

i guss you missed the part where he said he called fema? also i am sure they have been contacted by others .. now that we have cleared that up.. can you add any other positive advice?

i guess you missed the part where they told him to file a claim...?

Even though your friend's town is tore up and the President visited, until the town's zip code is in FEMA's system as being declared an official disaster area they cannot legally release funds to help the area. Once the town or county HAS been declared a disaster area your friend will have to file a claim with FEMA, which can be done by telephone (I suggest he call during the wee hours of the morning if he doesn't want to wait on hold for hours).

Once you file a claim FEMA can then either send you a check to help with necessities, schedule an appraiser to come inspect the house to be able to send a check to help repair damages (also give you a SBA low interest loan application) or both. Used to FEMA could help by setting people up in travel trailers or mobile homes if their houses were destroyed, but I don't know if they do that any more.

The Red Cross can help with paying for your friend to stay in a motel temporarily if his house is unlivable, he needs to call them and apply for assistance, but also I would urge him to call during the wee hours as it's easier to get through. It's first come first served- so he needs to jump on it ASAP.

Hope your friend gets the help he needs!

reply to post by littled16


This person is exactly right. I have to say this on ats over and over and over. FEMA is a support agency. Your locals are the response agency. It is up to the local governments for cleanup, assisting, etc.

FEMA just funnels money and supplies. This poster is also right that FEMA cannot step in any state or jurisdiction until it is declared a distaster area.

If your friend is having trouble, he needs to go to a shelter. That is what they are for. There will be a lot more resources there.

Every media warned this was going to be a bad storm. No one should be surprised or unprepared.They warned that people can be out of power for weeks.

It is up to your friend to prepare himself, not FEMA to come and make him comfortable in his own home, ten minutes after the storm stopped.

He is not the only one. There are disasters all over the place. My state is dealing with a massive snow storm where 80% of the residents don't have power.

Also, power is restored by priority. Hospitals, dialysis centers, nursing homes, all come first. Then the general population.

AGain, if it is that bad, that is what a shelter is for. If not, suck it up.

LOL@ FEMA!

I was evacuated for two weeks during the fires in SoCal in November of 03. Burned through everything I owned including my business. I got a ton of assistance from FEMA and the Red Cross. I got a check for $240.00 and turned down for a small business loan to rebuild.

It was the only three days my house did not have fire coverage. Due to the forest I lived in being declared a disaster area (pine trees all dead due to bark beetle) my insurance company cancelled me. I found another company that would insure the house and the check I sent them was returned due to the entire area being a giant fireball.

I lost EVERYTHING! Thank god FEMA was there as I could never have rebuilt my life without that $240.00

#$%# FEMA, @#$% taxes @#$% the Government! I have come to hate and despise everything about our political system. As such I am moving me and my business out of Country. I loved my Country. Now I can't stand being here any longer.

Bail out banks, bail out big corporations, screw bailing out those that work hard for a living. And yes, I am still bitter.

Originally posted by okamitengu

Originally posted by LightningStrikesHere
reply to post by okamitengu

 

i guss you missed the part where he said he called fema? also i am sure they have been contacted by others .. now that we have cleared that up.. can you add any other positive advice?

i guess you missed the part where they told him to file a claim...?

I guess you missed the ridiculous idiocracy of a Federal relief agency telling you to file a disaster claim online when your town is under 4 feet of water. You should submit your resume to them

Originally posted by Konduit

Originally posted by okamitengu

Originally posted by LightningStrikesHere
reply to post by okamitengu

 

i guss you missed the part where he said he called fema? also i am sure they have been contacted by others .. now that we have cleared that up.. can you add any other positive advice?

i guess you missed the part where they told him to file a claim...?

I guess you missed the ridiculous idiocracy of a Federal relief agency telling you to file a disaster claim online when your town is under 4 feet of water. You should submit your resume to them

edit on 3-11-2012 by Konduit because: (no reason given)

i guess you missed the part where he was able to ring and whine to a friend but not ring and file a report to anyone or everyone that actually mattered?

call me old fashioned, but first i would have tried the correct channels (apparently fema isnt it, but not being an american, i have no idea what your correct channels are)

then, if i still had battery left i would have called and whine to friends.

i appreciate this is not an ideal situation, however, there was warning this was coming, not having phone numbers nearby (or in your phone) ready to go in case of emergency is the height of irresponsibility.

blaming FEMA after is just poor form. its not like they dont have like a bajillion calls to deal with.