FEMA Needs a New Approach to Disaster Relief - Economic Intelligence (usnews.com)

FEMA Needs a New Approach to Disaster Relief - Economic Intelligence (usnews.com): In contrast to this informal, unstructured, goal-oriented approach, FEMA arrived with a more formal structure and approach. Many FEMA workers had extensive knowledge and experience, but seemed limited in what they were allowed to do. In the middle of cleaning out a basement, a FEMA worker would suddenly appear with a request that people stop and fill out forms. One crusty old Vietnam vet explained to a FEMA worker, "You've never been in a war zone. This is a battlefield and your paperwork will not be helpful at this time." Ultimately, the town's volunteer zoning administrator stepped in, filled out all the forms and then went house to house making sure she had done the forms correctly, so the homeowners c