President Bush on Thursday directed Hurricane Katrina survivors to register for aid on a government Web site, but navigating through the cumbersome procedures can be daunting and time consuming.
After surviving a hurricane, flood and personal loss, Katrina victims lucky enough to have Internet access may find themselves overwhelmed as they head to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Web site.
In the best case scenario it takes at least seven clicks just to be able to start entering data. Before beginning, applicants are warned that they must supply a current mailing address and phone number — items many evacuees are lacking.
In a nod to the fact that thousands of victims of the hurricane are staying in shelters, the Web site says they may use the shelter address as their mailing address. It says it will post a list of the shelters and their address on the site, but on Thursday no such list could be found.
If an evacuee does not have computer access, they can register for federal assistance by phone. But the FEMA Web site says lines are so congested the best time to call is from 2 a.m. until 6 a.m..
Bush directed hurricane victims to the Web site and the FEMA phone numbers to get speedy assistance, but acknowledged that tens of thousands of people needed to be processed.
“So I ask for your patience if you experience problems in trying to contact FEMA,” Bush said as he outlined efforts by the government to ensure federal benefits get to victims.
“In all the steps we take, our goal is not to simply provide benefits but to make them easy and simple as possible to collect,” he said.
FEMA said it was expediting assistance to help people with their emergency needs through the Web site, on the phone or with FEMA personnel on-site at several shelters.
FEMA is distributing $2,000 per household through the expedited assistance program. It is available to people who were affected by the disasters in Mississippi and Louisiana.
Normally the process on the Internet takes several steps. After registering, FEMA mails out a copy of the application and says an inspector should contact the applicant within 10 days to schedule a time to meet at the damaged home.
It does not say how to deal with the fact that many of the victims of Katrina cannot get back to their former home.
FEMA normally decides if the person qualifies for assistance about 10 days after the inspection.
Victims are not the only ones facing bureaucratic hurdles with assistance.
People offering help with supplies, manpower and even airplanes to ferry equipment or evacuees have reported spending several frustrating days trying to offer their help only to have it be refused because of the bureaucratic process.
