Tropical Storm Allison rolled through the Houston area 15 months ago. For most of us, it's been a case of "out of sight, out of mind". My home and my neighborhood were largely unaffected by the deluge and the flooding that followed. For others in more flood-prone parts of the area, the legacy of Allison has been an on-going nightmare, with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) at the center
Residents found themselves bulling their way ever so slowly through a soul-deadening bureaucratic tangle of misinformation, of finger-pointing between different government agencies, of an emotional roller-coaster ride where financial recovery seemed achievable, then impossible, then likely.
Some decided immediately to stay in the neighborhood, rebuild and try "to not get catatonic" in front of the TV whenever severe weather threatened. Others sold their houses as soon as they got what they thought was a reasonable offer.
Others tried to hold out for the brass ring: a buyout from the Federal Emergency Management Agency that would pay what the full-market value for the house and property had been the day before the flood -- only to find that circumstances forced them to give up the wait and sell to a private buyer for a lower price. And some who resolved to stay on the street are now looking to sell to FEMA because they feel the agency's "checkerboard" buyouts of some of their neighbors have permanently lowered property values.
And then there's me. I've also experienced the maddening chaos of conflicting advice from agencies helping Allison victims. Long, long waits in line, or on the phone, in sometimes vain attempts to talk to a real, live person. Talks with a real, live person from the county, say, who tells you that you first need a certain piece of paper from the city, which results in another long wait to talk to a real, live person from the city, who says nothing can be done without a certain piece of paper from the county.
This bureaucratic tail-chasing is something I've witnessed in Third World countries. That it is happening right here in our own back yard should be a cause for much remorse and gnashing of teeth among the responsible agencies. And the biggest problem is that because the vast majority of bureaucrats responsible for this boondoggle don't ever have to stand for re-election, there is no accountability.
It would be easy to stand off to the side and shake your head in commisseration. If it was your home that had been flooded out 15 months ago, and you were STILL having to wade through a bureaucratic morass, I submit to you that you would be looking for scalps- and who could blame you?
In light of this cl*******ck, I have to wonder: will folks still be dealing with the last tropical storm when the next big one blows through??
