This one does mention the club

FEMA Head Tours Iowa City Hit by Flooding
Disaster Relief Request Still to Be Reviewed

 By William Claiborne
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, April 27, 2001; Page A21

DAVENPORT, Iowa, April 26 -- Joseph Allbaugh, the new head of the
Federal
Emergency Management Agency, arrived in this flood-soaked city today to
see
the damage caused by the Mississippi River. But for most of the tour, he

did not leave the bus he had boarded with local and state officials, and

often his view of the swollen river was from blocks away.

After reporters repeatedly questioned his plan not to leave the bus,
Allbaugh and his party, which included Davenport Mayor Phil Yerington
and
Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack (D), made two brief stops and surveyed the
devastation from the ground. One stop was at a critical section of the
1,200-foot-long sandbag dike protecting the downtown business district,
and
the other was at a community health center in the middle of the flood
plain.

At a news conference after the nearly hour-long tour, Allbaugh refused
to
be drawn into the controversy that has surrounded his remarks earlier
this
week in which he questioned whether river towns such as Davenport should

continue to receive federal bailouts if they refuse to build huge flood
walls. City officials say the walls would destroy the beauty of the
riverfront and hurt tourism.

Asked if he thought Davenport should build such a wall, Allbaugh, whose
background is in farming and state government in Oklahoma, said, "I
don't
believe now is the time and place to discuss that. I'm here to listen
and
learn."

Yerington, who on Tuesday called Allbaugh "insensitive" and ignorant
about
Davenport's historical relationship with the Mississippi, warmly shook
his
hand and thanked him for coming.

The mayor said federal and local officials were "still smiling, although
at
times the smiles may be a bit thin." Yerington said it was "comforting"
to
know the federal government was monitoring the flood conditions.

Allbaugh congratulated residents of Davenport and the surrounding areas
for
their disaster management efforts, saying, "I am here at the direction
of
the president to listen, learn and report back . . . and I am prepared
to
go back and report to the president that these people have done a great
job."

He refused to say whether he would recommend flood relief funds for the
area, saying he must first review the requests from the governors of
Illinois and Iowa.

City Public Works Director Dee Bruemmer said there still is no estimate
of
flood damage, but the cost to the city of protecting its downtown
already
has exceeded $1 million. The city spent $3 million during the massive
flood
of 1993. Vilsack said 1,500 homes and 300 business in Iowa had been
affected by this year's flood.

Before the touring emergency management officials reversed the decision
about getting off the bus, FEMA spokesman Don Jacks defended the
original
plan, saying Allbaugh had scheduled a briefing and a lunch with local
and
state officials, "so he's being fully briefed. . . . A lot of times you
can
[assess] the amount of damage by not even getting out and looking at one

location. So they decided to see as much as they can by not getting
out."

The bus route went through downtown Davenport, where multi-story
buildings
obscure much of the Mississippi River and its water-covered banks,
making
it difficult to see much. Jacks said the no-stopping decision apparently

was made because of time constraints, but he emphasized that "he's not
going to walk away from here without any information."

Allbaugh arrived by helicopter after flying over Keithsburg, Ill., which

was devastated by the 1993 floods but is holding its own this year
against
the swelling banks of the Mississippi.

He was greeted by a handful of protesters, led by the local Sierra Club,

who object to President Bush's flood control policy. Some carried signs
saying, "President Bush Flood Plan: Sink or Swim."

Jerry Neff, chairman of the Quad Cities Sierra Club, said, "He [Bush]
wants
to cut funds for voluntary buyouts for property owners who want to get
out
of the flood plain. Everyone thinks just another flood wall is the
answer.
Moline [Ill.] doesn't have a wall, and if we build a wall, it will just
make Moline have to build a wall, and when does it stop?"

Jeff Stein, Mississippi representative of the American Rivers
organization,
said his impression of the new FEMA head "wasn't a good impression
because
his solution is old news. We need to focus on non-structural solutions,
including buyouts of people who live on the flood plain, and not on
building more walls."

"Hopefully, he'll learn," Stein added, "but not if he doesn't get out of

the bus."

After the Mississippi tour, Allbaugh flew to Hoisington, Kan., to
inspect
tornado damage from the weekend.

© 2001 The Washington Post Company

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
To get off the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to:
[log in to unmask]