Politicians, FEMA blame each other for relief missteps

It didn't take long for the finger-pointing to begin.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency came under fire Sunday as emergency workers were left undernourished and dozens of trucks of water and food had yet to be set up at distribution centers around Houston and surrounding communities.

And no sooner had the agency — widely condemned for its glacial response to suffering after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 — drawn sharp criticism as its leaders and spokesmen began to say it was someone else's fault.

Earlier in the day, a FEMA spokesman said delays in setting up staging points to hand out needed provisions had been caused by blocked roads.

By the evening, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said it was the fault of state officials who handed his department the "unexpected challenge" of having to prepare distribution points in addition to delivering supplies.

Taking sides

State officials said that was a local responsibility, which came as a surprise to Houston Mayor Bill White and Harris County Judge Ed Emmett

"If I could have known something 18 hours ago, we could have made plans to pick up something a lot quicker, that's a fact," White said.

But he added: "Whatever the little drama was is only a matter of hours, not days."

Emmett agreed, calling the flap "much ado about nothing." The state could not set up the centers because it was overwhelmed in other areas, he said.

Several local and federal elected officials from opposing parties had a different take.

"I disagree with the leadership of the state in not participating in the (point of distribution) program going on tonight," said state Sen. Mario Gallegos, D-Houston. "I saw it in lines today at Galena Park. People are frustrated, they're scared, they're upset."

U.S. Rep. Nick Lampson, D-Houston, said he was told before the storm by FEMA officials that there was food and water already staged at the Ellington Air National Guard base.

"Now it's on the way? That doesn't make any sense to me," he said. "I don't know what happened ... The storm's been over for 30 hours.

"I hope some heads will roll in this," he said later, adding that the efforts of local mayors, judges and emergency responders should be applauded.

U.S. Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston, said he was "outraged" at the agency because first responders at two staging areas are without food and water.

Stratford High School's Tully Stadium and Spring Forest Middle school are staging areas for Texas Department of Public Safety officers and Texas State Guard and Texas National Guard troops.

"It's just outrageous," Culberson said, calling on residents near those sites to share food and water with the emergency crews. "I think it's inexcusable. ... I was horrified to discover that our first responders needed our help."

Some were more circumspect, chalking up the delays to the intense pressure faced by government officials of all stripes in meeting the challenge of cleaning up after severe damage and rendering aid to 5 million people without power and access to clean drinking water.

They held out hope that FEMA's 5 million liters of water and 5 million meals would soon be available to those in need. Local officials said they expected some distribution centers to be announced late yesterday evening.

"None of these operations are perfect. There are always ways to do it better," Gov. Rick Perry said shortly after landing at Ellington after an aerial survey of the storm damage.

He said he was generally satisfied with the post-hurricane recovery effort.

Reporter Mike Glenn contributed to this report.

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