While the Federal Emergency Management Agency has been under intense scrutiny for their management of the disastrous affects of Hurricane Katrina, the group may be able to salvage their reputation.
Cases of fraud related to FEMA funding have sprung up all over the country, such as in Florida, Alabama and North Carolina and as far away as Michigan, in relation to the tornadoes spawned from the hurricane and other weather-related problems.
In Bladen County, N.C., officials tried to refuse aid with no luck.
“We didn’t have any damage,” emergency management director for the county Mitchell Byrd said in a statement. “We’ve got the biggest case of fraud you’ve ever seen.”
FEMA agency spokeswoman Mary Hudak disagrees with Byrd about the amount of damage immediately noticeable.
“There are damages that may not be eminently obvious unless you look, part and parcel, at each case and take it apart piece by piece,” she said in a statement. “We take seriously all of the information brought to our attention.”
It is not uncommon, however, for people to abuse a system set up to help those in need during times of panic, Joe Adams of the Stennis Institute explained.
“Emergencies make it easier to scam than during more routine periods,” he said. “While administrators are focusing on the immediate needs, their lack of attention offers opportunity for people to commit fraud.”
After 9-11, cases of bogus donation organizations came to light, he gave as an example.
The immediate shocking aftermath of Katrina was also a factor in FEMA’s demise, Adams said.
“In crises, officials are trying to get things done quickly, which is generally difficult when large organizations are mobilized,” he said. “Whether FEMA is any better or worse than other agencies is an open question.”
Students agree.
Senior medical technology major Heather Jones said she feels that while the organization has its faults, FEMA may be getting a bad wrap.
“I understand everyone’s problems with FEMA,” Jones said. “They greatly mishandled the Katrina situation, but there was so much that happened so fast. It must have been difficult to deal with.”
Jones feels the major problem with FEMA was the lack of disaster preparedness experience among leaders and the magnitude of the damage suffered.
While the situation may seem dire, improvements can be made, Adams said.
“We need to have more and better training for government administrators on contract management,” he said. “Too many administrators rise to positions where they issue and manage contracts without any experience or training.”
Good disaster planning is a specialized art, Adams said. An abundance of factors contribute to disaster relief. So many, in fact, that it is difficult to take everything into account. No amount of funding could fix everything FEMA might have to face.
In spite of all of FEMA’s failures, admitting faults gains respect.
“By acknowledging that you have problems, or have made mistakes, then you have the obligation to correct them,” Adams said. “It is all about leadership. Owning up to problems and taking action to fix them takes courage.”