WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:03.520 JUDY WOODRUFF: And now we explore Washington's response to the devastation 00:03.520 --> 00:08.520 caused by Hurricane Ida with David Bibo of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. 00:09.280 --> 00:13.360 He is the acting associate administrator for response and recovery, 00:13.360 --> 00:18.360 and he is just back from Louisiana, where he saw areas hit hardest by the storm. 00:18.640 --> 00:21.280 He joins us now from the FEMA headquarters. 00:22.080 --> 00:24.000 Mr. Bibo, how would you say 00:24.000 --> 00:28.160 this aftermath compares with what we have seen after other hurricanes? 00:28.160 --> 00:29.600 DAVID BIBO, Federal Emergency Management Agency: 00:29.600 --> 00:33.120 Well, Judy, no question the devastation is heartbreaking. 00:33.120 --> 00:36.000 I joined the FEMA administrator yesterday with the governor, 00:36.800 --> 00:40.240 saw the degenerate in Lafourche, Terrebonne, St. John the Baptist, 00:40.800 --> 00:45.800 and Jefferson parishes. Some of the reporting from your correspondent there was in those same places. 00:46.800 --> 00:50.960 And they're going to need a lot of help. And recovery is going to take a lot of time. 00:51.680 --> 00:54.080 (CROSSTALK) JUDY WOODRUFF: I'm sorry. 00:54.080 --> 00:58.320 So, what is FEMA's principal role at this point? We see there is 00:58.320 --> 01:02.320 enormous effort at the local level. But what is it that the federal government can do? 01:02.320 --> 01:03.760 DAVID BIBO: Right. 01:03.760 --> 01:07.920 So, we have been involved since several days before landfall, 01:08.480 --> 01:13.480 pre-positioning meals, water, tarps, blankets, cots, specialized teams. We were able to 01:14.000 --> 01:19.000 participate and support the search-and-rescue mission that has still been under way today, and 01:19.360 --> 01:24.360 some of the National Guard distribution, points of distribution that you saw there in your reporting. 01:24.800 --> 01:28.960 We have established a flow of commodities to make sure that that can continued 01:28.960 --> 01:33.680 in the days ahead. Also, importantly, with the persistent power outages, 01:33.680 --> 01:36.720 we provided hundreds of generators, as well as 01:36.720 --> 01:41.440 folks from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to help install those at critical facilities, 01:41.440 --> 01:46.440 like water treatment plants, sewage plants, as well as hospitals and other critical facilities. 01:47.440 --> 01:49.760 And that's the important work that is under way right now. 01:49.760 --> 01:53.360 JUDY WOODRUFF: And what's your understanding of how long it's going to take to get the power 01:53.360 --> 01:57.280 back? I mean, we have seen estimates of going into weeks and a month. 01:57.280 --> 02:02.000 DAVID BIBO: And we know that, with 150-mile-an-hour winds and 02:02.000 --> 02:04.960 the extent of the damage, that it could be a while. 02:05.520 --> 02:10.520 Entergy, the primary power provider, has more than 20,000 personnel that they are bringing 02:11.440 --> 02:16.440 into the state to expedite the return of power. Importantly, the president the other day approved 02:17.600 --> 02:22.600 a major disaster declaration, which authorizes assistance for individuals and communities. 02:23.680 --> 02:28.680 So people who have been affected by Ida can go on FEMA's Web site or DisasterAssistance.gov, 02:30.720 --> 02:35.720 download the FEMA app, or call 1-800-621-FEMA to take advantage of that assistance. We have already 02:37.120 --> 02:42.120 approved more than $25 million in assistance for affected Louisianians in the past day. 02:42.880 --> 02:47.600 JUDY WOODRUFF: You mentioned the very basic needs that people have. We heard that from our own 02:47.600 --> 02:51.200 reporter, food, water, power shelter. 02:51.840 --> 02:56.840 Is FEMA and are other agencies going to be able to get people the help that they need? 02:57.600 --> 03:02.080 DAVID BIBO: Well, providing that support in such a degraded environment 03:02.080 --> 03:05.840 is extremely challenging. And that's why we're seeing the parish presidents, 03:05.840 --> 03:10.320 the mayors encourage their residents, if they did evacuate, to wait to return. 03:10.320 --> 03:12.960 And it's really critical that Louisianians 03:12.960 --> 03:17.960 who left town in advance in response to those mandatory evacuation orders, which probably 03:18.240 --> 03:23.240 saved lives, heed those continued directions from local and state officials about when to return, 03:24.720 --> 03:29.680 because we don't want folks returning to a place where essential services have yet to be restored. 03:29.680 --> 03:33.520 JUDY WOODRUFF: What -- if people are watching this and they want to help, 03:33.520 --> 03:37.600 what can people in the -- who don't live in the area do to be of help? 03:37.600 --> 03:40.560 DAVID BIBO: There are two things I would suggest. 03:40.560 --> 03:45.560 First, you can visit NVOAD.org and find a charity that is active in disasters and donate to provide 03:48.240 --> 03:53.240 support. It's always better to donate money than it is to donate supplies in kind. And the other 03:54.000 --> 03:58.960 thing it's really important to note is that the remnants of Ida are not done with us. We have 03:58.960 --> 04:03.920 flash flood warnings, we have tornado warnings across the Northeast tonight, into tomorrow. 04:03.920 --> 04:08.920 So it's critical that folks pay very close attention in the Northeast, because there is 04:09.040 --> 04:14.040 still a very life-threatening weather situation unfolding from the remnants of Ida right now. 04:14.240 --> 04:16.720 JUDY WOODRUFF: And we have seen that reporting of flooding in 04:16.720 --> 04:19.280 Pennsylvania and Maryland and other states. 04:19.280 --> 04:22.160 But just finally, back to Louisiana, 04:22.160 --> 04:26.560 how concerned are you that we could be headed for a real humanitarian 04:27.120 --> 04:32.120 crisis, with so many people now out of power and, again, out of water and out of food, gasoline? 04:33.840 --> 04:37.760 DAVID BIBO: Being out of power presents challenges, no question. 04:37.760 --> 04:40.960 Our focus in support of the state of Louisiana 04:40.960 --> 04:45.040 is to get those generators attached to those critical facilities, so that we can have as many 04:45.040 --> 04:49.120 essential, absolutely essential services available as possible. 04:49.120 --> 04:54.120 The city of New Orleans opened cooling centers today, as well as points of distribution that 04:54.240 --> 04:59.240 are unfolding across the affected parishes. And folks can find information about those 05:00.160 --> 05:02.720 in their neighborhoods. There are folks going around to make sure 05:02.720 --> 05:06.160 that the message is getting out about the availability of those services. 05:06.160 --> 05:10.320 And we're going to keep the flow going of those meals, the water, 05:10.320 --> 05:13.440 and the essential support items in the days ahead. 05:13.440 --> 05:18.240 JUDY WOODRUFF: David Bibo is the acting associate administrator of FEMA. 05:18.240 --> 05:20.880 Thank you very much. And we, of course, wish you and 05:20.880 --> 05:23.840 all your colleagues the best with all this important work. 05:26.880 --> 05:31.880 And we will talk with the mayor of New Orleans a little later in the program.