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Release Date: 09/25/03 00:00:00
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
September 25, 2003
The U.S Department of Homeland Security is coordinating the federal response to Hurricane Isabel's millions of disaster victims in four states and the District of Columbia. In the week since the hurricane made landfall, thousands of emergency workers and volunteers have moved millions of pounds of emergency supplies to North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. They are also aiding victims as they clean out residences and businesses, discard damaged belongings and begin the long road to recovery from this massive storm.
The Department's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, has delivered 5.7 million pounds of ice and 2.4 million gallons of bottled water to North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia. North Carolina and Virginia have ordered another 2.5 million pounds of ice and 277,000 gallons of water for delivery on Friday.
FEMA-supplied electrical generators have been installed at 911 call centers, water pumping stations and medical facilities in Virginia as well as locations in North Carolina. These supplies, along with tents cots, blankets, portable toilets, plastic sheeting and roofing were stocked at four FEMA mobilization centers days before Isabel's landfall and are meeting the critical needs of people affected by Isabel.
The U.S. Coast Guard, also part of Homeland Security, is supporting FEMA and state and local agencies with aircraft, boats and personnel flying missions in support of recovery efforts. Coast Guard assessment teams have identified at least 800 aids-to-navigation markers damaged or missing and have begun to replace critical and damaged markers.
President Bush has signed federal disaster declarations for the Isabel-impacted states of North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia and the District of Columbia making them eligible to receive a full range of federal disaster assistance. Federal aid to victims can include temporary housing for disaster victims forced from their homes, grants and low interest loans for home and business repairs, unemployment assistance and crisis counseling. State governments and local jurisdictions may also qualify for public assistance to cover public building and infrastructure damages.
Homeland Security officials continue to monitor 15 sector-specific Information Sharing and Analysis Centers, including the most vulnerable critical infrastructures such as electricity, telecommunications, water and transportation. Officials are supporting efforts by the private sector to resume critical power and water services in all the impacted areas.
The U. S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service is supplying food to disaster relief organizations such as the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army for mass feeding or household distribution. Disaster organizations request food assistance through state agencies that run USDA's nutrition assistance programs.
The Red Cross reports 25 shelters are operating in 10 states with 1,900 volunteers assisting hurricane victims. Two Red Cross kitchens and 13 Southern Baptist Disaster Relief kitchens have served 212,895 meals and snacks at kitchen locations and from emergency response vehicles driving street-to-street in the affected communities. Red Cross damage assessment teams are surveying damaged dwellings in the hurricane-impacted areas to determine how many families may be affected, the types of assistance that are needed and the best methods of delivery of the assistance to disaster victims.
This page was last reviewed/modified on 09/25/03 00:00:00.