REPORT CRITICAL OF OES IN WAKE OF FLOODS.Byline: Robert D. Davila Scripps-McClatchy Western Service As waters from the Flood of 1997 recede re·cede 1 intr.v. re·ced·ed, re·ced·ing, re·cedes 1. To move back or away from a limit, point, or mark: waited for the floodwaters to recede. 2. - at least for now - only about one-third of people expected to be eligible have applied for government assistance, officials said Thursday. ``A lot of people haven't called to register and get access to federal aid,'' said area director Alfred E. Judd of the U.S. Small Business Administration. ``We have to let people know.'' The one-stop number for residents and business owners who suffered losses in the recent flooding, including heavy rain last week, is 800-462-9029 (or 800-462-7585 for TTY (TeleTYpewriter) See teletypewriter and TDD/TTY. (hardware) tty - /tit'ee/ (ITS pronunciation, but some Unix people say it this way as well; this pronunciation is not considered to have sexual undertones), /T T Y/ 1. teletypewriter. 2. devices) 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week. The tentative registration deadline is March 5, officials said, although the date is flexible. Flooding this month forced more than 100,000 people from their homes, the largest evacuation in California history, state and federal officials said during a briefing on recovery efforts. The American Red Cross American Red Cross: see Red Cross. housed 55,795 evacuees Resident or transient persons who have been ordered or authorized to move by competent authorities, and whose movement and accommodation are planned, organized and controlled by such authorities. in 86 shelters since Dec. 30, spokeswoman Elizabeth Quirk said. Statewide, preliminary damage estimates total $1.6 billion. The property toll to date includes 20,796 homes, 2,967 mobile homes and 1,935 businesses damaged or destroyed, officials said. ``This has been, by every standard, a historic event,'' said Richard Andrews, chief of the Governor's Office of Emergency Services emergency services Emergency care '…services …necessary to prevent death or serious impairment of health and, because of the danger to life or health, require the use of the most accessible hospital available and equipped to furnish those services' . A report Thursday by state auditor Kurt Sjoberg said OES ``needs to better plan its recovery from disasters'' and is also behind schedule in computerizing many of its functions. OES could save up to $833,000 a year and improve performance by ``standardizing procedures, establishing priorities for its activities and affixing accountability for tasks,'' the report said. Andrews replied that OES is making progress on computerizing operations. He also said the state's actions are constrained by the Federal Emergency Management Agency The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is the federal agency responsible for coordinating emergency planning, preparedness, risk reduction, response, and recovery. The agency works closely with state and local governments by funding emergency programs and providing technical , which determines key elements of disaster recovery. FEMA FEMA, n.pr See Federal Emergency Management Agency. coordinating officer John Swanson acknowledged victims' complaints of slow response to assistance claims. ``We know we've got a problem with the recovery process,'' he said. ``I can assure you by the end of this year we will have a new process and procedures in place.'' |
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