Relocations and Cleanup Spur New Round of Katrina Awards
To shore up his image in the affected area and across the U.S., President Bush replaced embattled FEMA Director Michael D. Brown, under fire as inexperienced, with R. David Paulison, a 30-year veteran of fire and emergency services. The management shift hardly interrupted the parade of activated task orders or new contracts let by FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers for critical work, even as some critics questioned their contracting approach.
Fast-tracking emergency housing topped FEMAs list of construction priorities. Hurricane victims are set to be housed in mobile home and trailer communities of 5,000 to 25,000 people for three to five years as cities and towns are rebuilt, says Brad Gair, FEMAs newly-named housing commander. "Clearly this is going to be the most expensive housing problem weve ever engaged in," he says. FEMA on Sept. 9 said it was setting up a new Housing Area Command, which includes the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, the Corps and the American Red Cross, to coordinate housing operations across the Gulf Coast.