When floodwaters knocked out the water treatment plant in Mason City, Iowa, FEMA rolled into town and promptly set up an account with a Pepsi bottler to supply bottled water. Then FEMA officials moved into a vacant store and began handing out the stuff. “We saw different FEMA people in and out,” City Administrator Brent Trout said. “We really started seeing FEMA people showing up to see what was going on in town and putting out the word on flood assistance.” Nearly three years after Hurricane Katrina turned FEMA into a punchline, many homeowners, politicians and community leaders in the flood-stricken Midwest say that so far, the agency is doing a heckuva job — and they mean it. Up and down the Big Muddy, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is being commended for responding quickly and surely. “The lessons we learned from Katrina we’ve taken very seriously,” said Glenn Cannon, FEMA assistant administrator for disaster operations. He added: “We’ve changed the way we do business. We don’t wait to react.” After Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast in 2005, FEMA came into New Orleans late and unprepared, and soon became a symbol of government bungling. President Bush’s compliment to FEMA Director Michael D. Brown — “Brownie, you’re doing a heckuva job!” — became a big joke. Now, storms and flooding in the upper Midwest have left 24 people dead, driven tens of thousands from their homes and caused billions in damage. After the rain s ...
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When floodwaters knocked out the water treatment plant in Mason City, Iowa, FEMA rolled into town and promptly set up an account with a Pepsi bottler to supply bottled water. Then FEMA officials moved into a vacant store and began handing out the stuff. “We saw different FEMA people in and out,” City Administrator Brent Trout said. “We really started seeing FEMA people showing up to see what was going on in town and putting out the word on flood assistance.” Nearly three years after Hurricane Katrina turned FEMA into a punchline, many homeowners, politicians and community leaders in the flood-stricken Midwest say that so far, the agency is doing a heckuva job — and they mean it. Up and down the Big Muddy, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is being commended for responding quickly and surely. “The lessons we learned from Katrina we’ve taken very seriously,” said Glenn Cannon, FEMA assistant administrator for disaster operations. He added: “We’ve changed the way we do business. We don’t wait to react.” After Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast in 2005, FEMA came into New Orleans late and unprepared, and soon became a symbol of government bungling. President Bush’s compliment to FEMA Director Michael D. Brown — “Brownie, you’re doing a heckuva job!” — became a big joke. Now, storms and flooding in the upper Midwest have left 24 people dead, driven tens of thousands from their homes and caused billions in damage. After the rain s ...