During an interview with ABC News on Tuesday, FEMA spokesperson John Mills addressed concerns that people say they can’t get disaster relief because power and Internet are still down in parts of Hawaii by stating that “in the coming days, we’re going to open a disaster recovery center” “where survivors can go and sit down and talk one-on-one with FEMA, the Small Business Administration, and other organizations that may be there” about assistance.
Host Linsey Davis asked, “We’re hearing a number of complaints from people, starting with saying the search and rescue efforts are taking too long, I want to kind of get a sense of who’s responsible for that, how can that process be done more quickly? We’re hearing that a lot of people, as far as the housing that you were talking about, people are saying they can’t get online because the power and Internet [are] still down in much of west Maui, and so…they’re having a problem with that. And so, who does the buck stop with? Who, ultimately, is responsible, because, again, when we were talking to the Pentagon, they were saying, well, it’s FEMA, and talking to you, it sounds like you’re saying, well, it’s Maui County.”
Mills answered, “So, FEMA Urban Search and Rescue teams are working in support of the local fire departments. So, if the fire department, for example, does not have search dogs, the request goes out and we’ve brought in these urban search and rescue teams, including from Washington State and Los Angeles to take part in those search and rescue and mostly, unfortunately, recovery efforts going on.”
He continued, “On your next part of your question, FEMA is already in direct communication with thousands of survivors who have contacted us, by phone and online, that includes on mobile devices and the web. And we have already approved hundreds of households for federal disaster assistance and that money is going to be direct deposited into people’s bank accounts, mostly at this time, for critical needs to help them begin their recovery, people who have an immediate critical need directly related to the fires. And that’s also going to help them start the process for recovery. And then, the other thing we’re doing is, in the coming days, we’re going to open a disaster recovery center in partnership with the state and Maui County, and that’s going to be a location where survivors can go and sit down and talk one-on-one with FEMA, the Small Business Administration, and other organizations that may be there about various types of disaster assistance, to get their questions answered one-on-one.”
Mills concluded his answer, “We’re listening to local officials about where our staff can deliver the most good. And so, that’s why we work closely with the county to decide where our teams can be most effective in [the] coming days.”
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