Officials express frustrations with FEMA, flood recovery process

WEST DES MOINES - State and local officials expressed frustrations Tuesday with how long it has taken federal assistance to reach Iowa after historic flooding deluged parts of the state last year.

At a forum focused on the state's recovery efforts, Rep. Tom Sands, R-Columbus Junction, said it is not acceptable that people are still living in trailers provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Sands said FEMA was on the ground quickly during the floods, but decisions were made slowly by the agency in the recovery process.

That meant flood victims did not know whether they would qualify for money to rehabilitate their homes or for a buyout, he said.

"I think the biggest frustration is the bureaucracy and the red tape and the slowness of the federal dollars," said Sands, whose district was affected by the floods.

He said he knows of a family in his area with children trying to live in a small FEMA trailer. Sands said 14 of those trailers are in Oakville, a town hit hard in last year's flooding.

"That's actually a very high percentage of the population in town, and it is not acceptable. And that's one of my biggest disappointments with FEMA, even though they have done a lot of good things," Sands said, calling the process slow and discouraging.

Linn County Supervisor Linda Langston said she believes federal officials recognize that changes need to be made. FEMA's disaster response in the first six to eight weeks is good, Langston said, but she had criticisms of the agency's actions later.

She said in some cases FEMA officials harassed people in trailers, wanting to know what their plans were.

"For some folks, they don't know yet," Langston said. "They're in a buyout situation; they don't know how much money they have. It's really not possible for them to make a plan."

Lt. Gen. Ron Dardis, executive director of the Rebuild Iowa Office, said they have had a positive experience with FEMA.

"Early on, the work by FEMA was very good," Dardis said. But he also agreed with other panelists that the recovery process didn't happen in a timely manner.

He said the $517 million the state is receiving from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will get the state into the next phase of the recovery process in the area of housing.

"We will now be able to make commitments to the communities," Dardis said. "They will know how much money they have for buyouts, and so now folks will be able to make their plans and move forward."

Tuesday's forum was sponsored by IowaPolitics.com, Mediacom and Wal-mart and will be rebroadcast throughout the month on Mediacom's Connections Channel. It also is available through Mediacom's On Demand service.