In the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is offering help to Florida residents with a program called “Operation Blue Roof,” which provides fiber-reinforced tarps to homeowners to cover damaged roofs until they can arrange repairs. The only problem is, one federal agency appears to have accidentally directed folks to a phone sex line instead. [More]
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If You’re Getting Robocalls About Flood Insurance, They’re Scams
By 8.31.17
The world is full of really horrible, lazy people looking to steal your money while putting in the least amount of effort. Take, for example, the scammers who are blasting out automated, pre-recorded robocalls that try to scare people into believing they have to pay up or lose their flood insurance. [More]
FEMA Asking Elderly, Disabled NYCers In Assisted-Living Home To Pay Back Thousands In Sandy Relief Funds
By 11.10.14
Spending months living in emergency shelters after being forced out of your home by Superstorm Sandy’s floodwaters sounds bad enough, but now disabled, elderly and poor adults living in an assisted-living center in New York City have been told by the Federal Emergency Management Agency that some of them have to pay back thousands of dollars they received in disaster aid. [More]
Beachfront Site Keeps Washing Away? FEMA Calls Area “Low Risk,” OKs Condos
By 2.18.14
It’s no surprise that waterfront property can be particularly prone to flooding. From the disasters of Katrina, Ike, and Sandy to the more everyday risks, building next to the water means you run a risk of finding that water in your living room one day. [More]
Couple Paying Mortgage On Fire-Ravaged Home Because FEMA Rules Won’t Let Them Rebuild
By 1.28.13
Last August, a family in California came home to find their house on fire. Five months later, they live in a rented house down the street while still paying their mortgage and flood insurance, but the house isn’t being rebuilt because there is no way they could afford to meet new FEMA flood zone standards. [More]
FEMA Tries To Get Back Mistaken Payments To Disaster Victims
By 5.12.11
Deciding it had been a bit too generous when dishing out disaster aid, FEMA is going around asking for refunds of mistaken payments. Letters demanding repayment within 30 days are coming as a shock to disaster victims who say they needed the money to get back on track and no longer have it. [More]
The President Will Text You When Terrorists Attack
By 5.10.11
America’s TVs and radios have the Emergency Alert System to notify people of dire local and national situations. Soon, your cell phone will act as a portable alarm for danger, too. [More]
You Can Be The Proud Owner Of A Formaldehyde-Contaminated FEMA Trailer
By 10.6.09
Looking to own a piece of history — or just want someplace to put those pesky in-laws when they show up unexpectedly? The General Services Administration has a deal for you! The government agency is selling off thousands of FEMA trailers leftover from the Hurricane Katrina period at rock-bottom prices. Of course, as with any second-hand product, these come with some caveats. In this case, it’s a warning that “the government may not have tested all of these units for formaldehyde.”
FEMA Food May Contain Salmonella Peanut Butter
By 2.5.09
Food kits distributed by FEMA as part of a disaster relief effort in Kentucky and Arkansas may contain some of that awesome salmonella peanut butter we’ve been hearing so much about.
Help! Chase Suddenly Wants Me To Buy Tons Of Flood Insurance!
By 9.2.08
Reader Nate and his wife recently bought their dream home, which they admit is more modest than most people’s dream homes, for $60,000. During closing, they wrote in their offer “that if the home was found to be in a flood plane we withdrew our offer,” but were happy to find out that the house was, in fact, not in a flood plain. That is, until Chase, decided that their house was in a flood plain after all and is requiring $185,000 in flood insurance.
By 10.27.07
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FEMA employees posed as independent reporters in a fake and staged news conference to ask softball questions of the agency’s response to the California wildfires. [MSNBC]
Lowe's Makes "Katrina Cottages" Available Nationwide
By 7.19.07
The small cottages designed to replace FEMA trailers after Hurricane Katrina are popular, so popular that Lowe’s has decided to offer them in their stores.
Anyone Want To Buy A FEMA Trailer?
By 3.8.07
FEMA has some used trailers (41,000 of them) to sell and so far, they’ve been netting “about 40 cents on each dollar spent by taxpayers,” according to the Washington Post.
