1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,520 JUDY WOODRUFF: And now we explore Washington's response to the devastation 2 00:00:03,520 --> 00:00:08,520 caused by Hurricane Ida with David Bibo of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. 3 00:00:09,280 --> 00:00:13,360 He is the acting associate administrator for response and recovery, 4 00:00:13,360 --> 00:00:18,360 and he is just back from Louisiana, where he saw areas hit hardest by the storm. 5 00:00:18,640 --> 00:00:21,280 He joins us now from the FEMA headquarters. 6 00:00:22,080 --> 00:00:24,000 Mr. Bibo, how would you say 7 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:28,160 this aftermath compares with what we have seen after other hurricanes? 8 00:00:28,160 --> 00:00:29,600 DAVID BIBO, Federal Emergency Management Agency: 9 00:00:29,600 --> 00:00:33,120 Well, Judy, no question the devastation is heartbreaking. 10 00:00:33,120 --> 00:00:36,000 I joined the FEMA administrator yesterday with the governor, 11 00:00:36,800 --> 00:00:40,240 saw the degenerate in Lafourche, Terrebonne, St. John the Baptist, 12 00:00:40,800 --> 00:00:45,800 and Jefferson parishes. Some of the reporting from your correspondent there was in those same places. 13 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:50,960 And they're going to need a lot of help. And recovery is going to take a lot of time. 14 00:00:51,680 --> 00:00:54,080 (CROSSTALK) JUDY WOODRUFF: I'm sorry. 15 00:00:54,080 --> 00:00:58,320 So, what is FEMA's principal role at this point? We see there is 16 00:00:58,320 --> 00:01:02,320 enormous effort at the local level. But what is it that the federal government can do? 17 00:01:02,320 --> 00:01:03,760 DAVID BIBO: Right. 18 00:01:03,760 --> 00:01:07,920 So, we have been involved since several days before landfall, 19 00:01:08,480 --> 00:01:13,480 pre-positioning meals, water, tarps, blankets, cots, specialized teams. We were able to 20 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:19,000 participate and support the search-and-rescue mission that has still been under way today, and 21 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:24,360 some of the National Guard distribution, points of distribution that you saw there in your reporting. 22 00:01:24,800 --> 00:01:28,960 We have established a flow of commodities to make sure that that can continued 23 00:01:28,960 --> 00:01:33,680 in the days ahead. Also, importantly, with the persistent power outages, 24 00:01:33,680 --> 00:01:36,720 we provided hundreds of generators, as well as 25 00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:41,440 folks from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to help install those at critical facilities, 26 00:01:41,440 --> 00:01:46,440 like water treatment plants, sewage plants, as well as hospitals and other critical facilities. 27 00:01:47,440 --> 00:01:49,760 And that's the important work that is under way right now. 28 00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:53,360 JUDY WOODRUFF: And what's your understanding of how long it's going to take to get the power 29 00:01:53,360 --> 00:01:57,280 back? I mean, we have seen estimates of going into weeks and a month. 30 00:01:57,280 --> 00:02:02,000 DAVID BIBO: And we know that, with 150-mile-an-hour winds and 31 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:04,960 the extent of the damage, that it could be a while. 32 00:02:05,520 --> 00:02:10,520 Entergy, the primary power provider, has more than 20,000 personnel that they are bringing 33 00:02:11,440 --> 00:02:16,440 into the state to expedite the return of power. Importantly, the president the other day approved 34 00:02:17,600 --> 00:02:22,600 a major disaster declaration, which authorizes assistance for individuals and communities. 35 00:02:23,680 --> 00:02:28,680 So people who have been affected by Ida can go on FEMA's Web site or DisasterAssistance.gov, 36 00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:35,720 download the FEMA app, or call 1-800-621-FEMA to take advantage of that assistance. We have already 37 00:02:37,120 --> 00:02:42,120 approved more than $25 million in assistance for affected Louisianians in the past day. 38 00:02:42,880 --> 00:02:47,600 JUDY WOODRUFF: You mentioned the very basic needs that people have. We heard that from our own 39 00:02:47,600 --> 00:02:51,200 reporter, food, water, power shelter. 40 00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:56,840 Is FEMA and are other agencies going to be able to get people the help that they need? 41 00:02:57,600 --> 00:03:02,080 DAVID BIBO: Well, providing that support in such a degraded environment 42 00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:05,840 is extremely challenging. And that's why we're seeing the parish presidents, 43 00:03:05,840 --> 00:03:10,320 the mayors encourage their residents, if they did evacuate, to wait to return. 44 00:03:10,320 --> 00:03:12,960 And it's really critical that Louisianians 45 00:03:12,960 --> 00:03:17,960 who left town in advance in response to those mandatory evacuation orders, which probably 46 00:03:18,240 --> 00:03:23,240 saved lives, heed those continued directions from local and state officials about when to return, 47 00:03:24,720 --> 00:03:29,680 because we don't want folks returning to a place where essential services have yet to be restored. 48 00:03:29,680 --> 00:03:33,520 JUDY WOODRUFF: What -- if people are watching this and they want to help, 49 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:37,600 what can people in the -- who don't live in the area do to be of help? 50 00:03:37,600 --> 00:03:40,560 DAVID BIBO: There are two things I would suggest. 51 00:03:40,560 --> 00:03:45,560 First, you can visit NVOAD.org and find a charity that is active in disasters and donate to provide 52 00:03:48,240 --> 00:03:53,240 support. It's always better to donate money than it is to donate supplies in kind. And the other 53 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:58,960 thing it's really important to note is that the remnants of Ida are not done with us. We have 54 00:03:58,960 --> 00:04:03,920 flash flood warnings, we have tornado warnings across the Northeast tonight, into tomorrow. 55 00:04:03,920 --> 00:04:08,920 So it's critical that folks pay very close attention in the Northeast, because there is 56 00:04:09,040 --> 00:04:14,040 still a very life-threatening weather situation unfolding from the remnants of Ida right now. 57 00:04:14,240 --> 00:04:16,720 JUDY WOODRUFF: And we have seen that reporting of flooding in 58 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:19,280 Pennsylvania and Maryland and other states. 59 00:04:19,280 --> 00:04:22,160 But just finally, back to Louisiana, 60 00:04:22,160 --> 00:04:26,560 how concerned are you that we could be headed for a real humanitarian 61 00:04:27,120 --> 00:04:32,120 crisis, with so many people now out of power and, again, out of water and out of food, gasoline? 62 00:04:33,840 --> 00:04:37,760 DAVID BIBO: Being out of power presents challenges, no question. 63 00:04:37,760 --> 00:04:40,960 Our focus in support of the state of Louisiana 64 00:04:40,960 --> 00:04:45,040 is to get those generators attached to those critical facilities, so that we can have as many 65 00:04:45,040 --> 00:04:49,120 essential, absolutely essential services available as possible. 66 00:04:49,120 --> 00:04:54,120 The city of New Orleans opened cooling centers today, as well as points of distribution that 67 00:04:54,240 --> 00:04:59,240 are unfolding across the affected parishes. And folks can find information about those 68 00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:02,720 in their neighborhoods. There are folks going around to make sure 69 00:05:02,720 --> 00:05:06,160 that the message is getting out about the availability of those services. 70 00:05:06,160 --> 00:05:10,320 And we're going to keep the flow going of those meals, the water, 71 00:05:10,320 --> 00:05:13,440 and the essential support items in the days ahead. 72 00:05:13,440 --> 00:05:18,240 JUDY WOODRUFF: David Bibo is the acting associate administrator of FEMA. 73 00:05:18,240 --> 00:05:20,880 Thank you very much. And we, of course, wish you and 74 00:05:20,880 --> 00:05:23,840 all your colleagues the best with all this important work. 75 00:05:26,880 --> 00:05:31,880 And we will talk with the mayor of New Orleans a little later in the program.