Fergie's Tech Blog

Red Tape Chronicles: Contacting FEMA -- Lights On, Nobody Home

Bob Sullivan writes in The Red Tape Chronicles:

How's this for red tape: A hurricane destroys your home. You call the Federal Emergency Management Agency's toll-free number to register for help. A machine tells you they're too busy, and to hang up and use their Web site. So you visit Fema.gov and get the following message:

"The system is unavailable. Please try again later or contact the FEMA Helpline at the number listed below."

Many victims of this busy hurricane season are all too familiar with the routine. And Steve Kanstoroom, who’s been watching FEMA closely, is hardly surprised. Kanstoroom has come to expect such gunk in the wheels of disaster recovery. He’s spent the past two and a half years collecting such stories at FEMAInfo.us, a Web site that’s largely critical of the federal government’s response to disasters. The stories he tells there will make your spine tingle and your heart hurt.

posted by Fergie @ 11/01/2005 11:54:00 AM