Thursday, October 27, 2005

Luis M. Alvarez / Associated Press Nathali Chalita, left, Boris Garcia and Mabel Betancourt load up on ice and water at Amelia Earhart Park in Opa Locka, Fla. Gov. Jeb Bush took the blame for the slow relief effort in the wake of Hurricane Wilma.

Fla. gov takes Wilma blame

Jeb Bush says the state, not FEMA, was responsible for delays in getting relief to hurricane victims.

Associated Press

Wilma update Brown's FEMA deal extended Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff defended FEMA's decision to extend former director Michael Brown's post-resignation employment by an extra 30 days. "It's important to allow the new people ... to have access to the information we need to do better," Chertoff said. Brown resigned under fire as director Sept. 12, three days after he was relieved of his onsite command of FEMA's response to deadly Hurricane Katrina. Brown was permitted to stay on the FEMA payroll for 30 days at his $148,000 annual salary. The agency recently agreed to extend his contract. Related reports Accuweather.com Hurricane Center Satellite map of Wilma Forecast Eye Path Track the hurricane AP: Hurricane update Key West Recovering, and Digging Out Latest photo images Comment on this story Send this story to a friend Get Home Delivery

MIAMI -- With many Floridians still struggling to find food, water, ice and gas in the wake of Hurricane Wilma, Gov. Jeb Bush took responsibility for frustrating relief delays in a state all too familiar with powerful storms.

"We did not perform to where we want to be," the governor said at a news conference Wednesday in Tallahassee, adding that criticism of the federal response was misdirected. "This is our responsibility."

Bush's comments came amid finger-pointing by local and county officials upset with aid efforts, and criticism of the Federal Emergency Management Agency reminiscent of the anger unleashed following Hurricane Katrina.

"This is like the Third World," said Claudia Shaw, who spent several hours in a gas line. "We live in a state where we suffer from these storms every year. Where is the planning?"

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez called the relief distribution system "flawed" and said at least one of 11 sites in his county ran out of supplies.

But at another South Florida distribution site, ice sat melting Wednesday night, with officials issuing a plea on television stations: Come get it before it goes to waste.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, who oversees FEMA, asked victims to have patience as he surveyed crumpled boats, shattered mobile homes and snaking lines of cars at fuel stations along the storm's path.

Chertoff promised to deploy cargo planes overnight to gather water and ice from across the country for delivery by today.

President Bush planned to arrive in Florida today to get his first look at the damage wrought by Wilma and to visit the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

The record-breaking storm season wasn't over. Tropical Storm Beta formed early today in the southwestern Caribbean Sea, becoming the season's 23rd tropical storm, the most since record keeping began in 1851. It was expected to threaten Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua, but not the United States.