FEMA arrives empty-handed
Rebecca Neal
The Daily Advertiser/ The Indianapolis Star
# Complete Local Coverage
Brad Kemp/bkemp@theadvertiser.com
FEMA representative Kenneth Swain explains to Hurricane Katrina evacuees Friday what FEMA is trying to do for them at its new office at 111 Liberty Ave. in Lafayette.
Lafayette's first FEMA office opened Friday, but the center had no money or vouchers to give to hundreds of Hurricane Katrina evacuees who came searching for help.
"We're not giving anything," manager Kenneth Swain told the crowd. "We don't have anything yet to give."
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FEMA has been noticeably absent from Lafayette since the hurricane struck, and people descended on the church looking for answers.
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Swain said the center had one line Friday for people to fill out paper applications. Without working computers, he said there was nothing he could do to check on the status of applications already filed. Those who have filed applications should visit the center in a few days to check.
While people were crowding the FEMA center, U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany, R-Lafayette, and Republican U.S. Sen. David Vitter toured the Cajundome. Boustany said he was disappointed that FEMA was just now arriving.
"The communication lines are still not what we want," he said. "We're still not satisfied with the response."
Vitter said he and other Louisiana politicians were trying to bring more aid to the state. He said he met with Vice President Dick Cheney during his tour of Louisiana and told him help was urgently needed.
"We've waited too long without answers," he said.
The key now is working to hold agencies accountable for providing help, Boustany said.
"We think it's been heard and now we'll wait," he said.
http://www.theadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050910/NEWS05/509100313
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