If I understand, you think FEMA should have taken a stronger hand in limiting where people can live. The debate will go on for years, starting with finger-pointing about who was responsible. I feel qualified to criticize FEMA's handling of the disaster since, at age 16, I was working on my public service requirement to become an Eagle Scout, training with the Red Cross. A few months later Point Place, Ohio, was inundated by flooding from Lake Erie during a nor'easter. We knew the storm was coming, and took action two days before it by stocking schools with supplies. Several hundred homes were flooded. We organized boats, sandbag crews, food servers, triage areas, and sleeping arrangements. In all, we had more than 500 volunteers working over two weeks to secure the area and get families back to a somewhat normal life. Granted, this was a much smaller disaster, but we had no cell phones, no Internet, no computers and no mix of bureaucracies - just the local government and the Red Cross.My take is that the captain stays with the ship to the end. Starting with local authorities, there must be a chain of command. If a full evacuation is ordered by the mayor, then every public vehicle must be commandeered, from school buses to senior center vans to public transportation - even taxis. Enlist police, fire, and rescue personnel to mobilize and empty the area. Phone the governor when it appears that the storm is of biblical proportions. Get sheriffs, National Guard and state emergency-preparedness officials talking with the mayor, village officials, etc., to determine who's in charge, how they can be reached, and where the high ground is as well as where emergency shelters are to be stocked. Get the shelters prepared and have health care professionals ready to be stationed.The list goes on, but we, as citizens, have to feel that our tax dollars are going to fund a prepared, organized team of experts. Having the Homeland Security chief and the head of FEMA running the show may be helpful, but how do locals rely on outsiders who don't understand the geography, the various services, transportation links and local mobilization strategies? They actually interfered more than they helped.As for homes in low-lying areas, I suspect that the people of New Orleans will go right back to them. FEMA does have rules for height of first floor above seal level, lowest opening, and flood venting in foundations, but should they enforce them? On Long Island, they do. In New Orleans I believe they should. I advocate using metal building components that don't pull apart in the wind, but our local builders don't like to use them because they're most familiar with wood-to-wood connections. I only hope this disaster serves as a wake-up call for all of us. How do we evacuate a large island with few connections to the mainland? Boats, cars? Good luck.Readers are encouraged to send questions to: HERALD Homes, 379 Central Avenue, P.O. Box 220, Lawrence, N.Y. 11559-0220Attn: Monte Leeper, architect.
