then of course, fema was here and you can apply to fema by getting a registration number. judgment on your own. don't say you're not eligible. get your fema number. they will determine whether or not you have all the qualifications. that is helpful for the sba witches here that may help you as well. -- that is helpful for the sba, that may help you as well. we are glad to see you out here. let us know how we can be of help. thank you. how are you? all right. thank you. all right. you are going to be all right. >> thank you in let me just acknowledge c-span which is just joining us now. but if you are viewing us on c-span, we have commissioner alyssa naeher and we have people here representing the federal government including fema and the sba. we have been answering questions concerning the flood and many of the questions people have. i see one that was left available for us to respond to. she would like to know about cars that have been flooded. is there any assistance available for persons who had their cars flooded. can you give us some information? >> yes. i am assuming

fema is right here. we think are very much, double-team and make it up to $33,000 if you're eligible for home and/or apartment and it's still going. now, if you don't have a fema registration number, you're in the dark and we are asking for it to be extended because i've come across people who have not got it. get your fema registration number. and if you get that number, you're in the system and you can get more and more information about how they can be helpful. they can be helpful in more ways than just money. everybody should get the fema tracking. i call a tracking number. it's not tracking it. it is registration. again, we thank you very much for opening up his home to all of us. we had the greatest of generosity that he does. thank you for that. we will head out. help us serve. not doing anything right now. it's not working inside right now. [inaudible] >> and congressman sheila jackson lee for taking the time to come out and address us today and it's very important initiative that we have. thank

we got ourive lee: fema number. we got our fema number. right here? >> [indiscernible] ok, so youive lee: have already served. thank you. thank you. >> [indiscernible] representative lee: you know, i appreciate you all greatly. coming through this way. >> we appreciate you giving us the opportunity to help. representative lee: thank you so you have helped me more than once. you have seen the devastation. thank you very much. where we looking? thank you. >> thank you. thank you. representative lee: thank you so very much. >> may i have a quick teacher? -- picture? representative lee: where are we looking? thank you. >> thank you for what you do. representative lee: thank you. >> are you wanting to go inside? representative lee: i want them to announce to come out when they are finished with you all. >> they have classes going on inside. representative lee: here he is. he knows when i come, i do what i want to do. >> they are trying to get their down payment certificate. representative lee: i am not going to intrude on that. i'm going to speak generally

fema was here, and you can apply to fema by getting a registration number. don't make a judgment on your own. don't say that you are not eligible. get your fema number. they will determine whether you have the qualifications. the $400 is for an immediate emergency. thisross online starting thursday. we are glad to see you here. but us know how we can be of help. thank you. you are are going to be all right. >> let me acknowledge c-span which is joining us now. for those of us giving us on c-span, we have two commissioners here. we have persons representing the federal government including fema. we have been answering questions concerning the flood and the many concerns people have. i see one available to us to respond to. she would like to know about cars that have been flooded. for peoplesistance who have had their cars flooded? i will start for fema. can you give us information on this? i'm assuming you don't have comprehensive coverage on your car, is that correct? bere could potentially coverage assistance available through fema, but that would be if you

we have our fema number. >> while. i'm glad. >> we have our fema number. [inaudible conversations] >> i appreciate you all greatly. >> we appreciate you giving us the opportunity to help. >> you have helped me more than once and you seen the devastation and we are very grateful to you. thank you very much. [inaudible conversations] >> can i take a picture? >> where my looking? >> thank you for what you do. >> thank you. >> i want to announce for them when they come out with you all. [inaudible conversations] he knows when i come, i do what i want to do. i don't want them to leave on that. i'm going to go in and speak generally and then come out. senator recognized. ms. warren: mr. president, 12 days ago equifax, one of the nation's largest credit reporting agencies, disclosed that hackers had breached a system and stolen highly on

host: you can follow fema on twitter @fema. caller: everything i'm hearing so far sounds very reactive, and i understand just a minute ago, he said that the way that texas develops its land is entirely up to the state. fema would have to engage for disaster relief and recovery, if it might not make more sense to think about how to present -- prevent this kind of flooding in the way that the dutch do. guest: i appreciate this from the caller. we have been focused on the flood insurance side of the situation, but there's a beautiful fabric that was woven together 49 years ago when congress created the national flood insurance program. first of all, there has to be an understanding and backing of the risk. icondly, communities -- mentioned earlier, more than 22,000 communities, almost 98% of the nation's population are in communities who adopt ordinances to say now that we development will be built at least as high as that flood area. in the community must adopt that ordinance if they are going to participate in the national flood

fema support going to forget about this community. fema support going to forget about the needs that they have and we are going to work with our people pack at the field office in san juan about what we're going to do. >> the people here could sure use some more help. >> so my question here, anderson, i've never covered a hurricane in the state of florida, but i just wonder after one of these monster storms has come through, would it take nine days for fema to reach a town in the state of florida like it took nine days to reach the town of florida here in puerto rico. >> when fema says, look, it's harder to reposition supplies on an island, there's concern about the equipment getting destroyed and it's not florida where you can just drive trucks. the florida town you were in in puerto rico, that's only about an hour from san juan. >> yeah. >> it's not like you took a helicopter to get there because the roads are impassable. >> you take a highway and take an exit off it. and what is remarkable is all the roads i have traveled on is the

nobody saw no fema or trucks coming in. what i saw today was private organizations, disaster relief and hope particularly going out and doing things. we've been talking to these doctors asking what do you need. one doctor was telling us what she needed specifically. and also came up with a plan to sort of have and address those needs. >> we're tied up here because we don't have anti-biotics to give the patients and we have no place to get them. >> i kept thinking to myself how difficult this would be. if these life saving supplies are on the island why aren't that getting to the people that need it. what's standing in the way? first i want to draw the disaster management assistance team, hhs, this is the federal government and see what they have to offer. i was with the doctors yesterday volunteering and this is what they're asking more. we've been waiting outside for 40 minutes outside the hhs tent. we know they have communication, they have to run it up through two lines of kplands and they'll get back to us. but it's bee

and fema is running low on cash. nbc's tom costello is at fema headquarters in washington to tell us more about it. tom, good evening. >> reporter: lester, good evening. to put it bluntly, fema is right now burning through cash. a billion dollars in a week. that is half of what was in its disaster fund. now with irma bearing down, that burn rate is likely to accelerate. with 30,000 people on the ground in texas alone, fema and its budget are maxed out. from search and rescue to delivering food, water and generators for those who have lost everything. >> there's no savings. there's no insurance. we don't know where to go. we're depending on assistance from the federal government. >> reporter: now facing hurricane irma, at fema headquarters in washington, employees are working round the clock seven days a week. fema chief brock long has been on the job since june after a career in disaster management at the state and federal levels. >> the important thing for the american public to understand is that nobody in the unit

how long will fema stay here? >> the short answer is we'll be here as long as the state needs us here and wants us here. as we start looking at programs, people will see shifts in staffing. as we roll through a disaster, the recovery process is different. now are efforts are focused primarily on individuals. as long as that application is here, those type of staff will be here. they'll be here after that to close that process out. after that we start looking at damage to infrastructure and state and local government. it is a different people to look in. we start talking about mitigation. it is different parts of our partner agencies that will roll through over the course of a disaster. we don't need search and rescue teams here anymore. we've shifted to another aspect. as we roll through different types of staff will come in. >> and live now here on cspan 3, a discussion on ways to increase racial diversity and education and improving educational eck quity. it's part of the congressional black caucus foundation's

how long is it before they are denied or get assistance from fema? >> right now, but the backup to the next up after the register is for an expected to contact angela to the damage. we need to make sure the damage they sustain is from the storm. we also need to make sure they captured everything accurately. i'm not a structural engineer. most people don't know enough about the damages so we'll sent an inspector to make sure they're capturing everything. the wait time for inspectors is up three days because of the sheer volume of people in the disaster. on average most disasters what we're doing is about ten days. we got 750,000 applications right now. although we've already approved i think 240,000 applications. still a long way to go. 2100 inspectors on the ground, that's still a longtime friend. so for people registry right now that weight is about 30 days. it's while we encourage people not to wait to start the cleanup process. take pictures of sir cleaning up. you know how quickly mold can grow. >> you were saying the amount, the highest amount t

what congress needs to do is step up to the plate and realize that fema has two buckets of money. they have their daily operational money just to do their day-to-day business, and then you have the disaster relief money, which is the money that goes to state and local governments to rebuild infrastructure, to help individuals. and what congress ought to do is get off their rear ends and understand that the disaster relief fund ought to be fully funded. i would argue, 20, $25 billion on an ongoing basis and if that means putting in-- let's say we only spend, 20-- or $5 billion in one fiscal year there's 20 in there and still put another 25 in, and start a rainy day fund. we put reserves aside, why don't we do that for the disaster relief fund? congress, pay attention and do it. neil: that's a good idea. i'm going to take that as my idea and not credit you. >> have at it. neil: thank you very, very much. let's say you're not in the path of this thing is, a lot of people aren't. you're still going to play for it at the pump. >> usa -- we are usaa members for life. 's list for free. w

that appointment followed a call just an hour or so ago with all of the representatives including fema, department of defense, other federal agencies and the red cross. where i urged that our united states military demobilized, much as we would in responding to a natural disaster in connecticut -- that it be mobilized. or texas or florida, or other places in this country, on the mainland where we have seen these kinds of storms. the three point 4 million people in puerto rico are almost exactly the same number as the population of connecticut. that thend believe response would be better in connecticut if we faced the same kind of natural disaster. disaster, isade the failure to move food, fuel, medicine, water and other necessities as well as medication equipment from ports and airports to the interior of the country, even to major cities, where currently, apparently, the lack of drivers and passage makes it difficult. whether this supplies of food, fuel, medicine and water, are or need on the island to be increased on an emergency basis, whether there are shipments, the simple fact is

so fema can walk and chew gum at the same time. they're responding to florida right now and they are also engaged in those on going recovery efforts in texas and louisiana. >> and, of course, those fires out west. >> absolutely. >> our support for and thanks to the people of fema who are helping with all of these emergency responses. daniel watson, former fema spokesperson. all right. one of the greatest dangers in a hurricane of this size is storm surges. it's not just the wind. storm surjts are massive walls of water that cause devastating coastal flooding. and today the national weather service has issued storm surge warnings throughout the southeast coast where they could see life-threatening flooding within the next day and a half. it's not too hard to understand life-threatening flooding when you understand that these storm surges are eight to 12 feet. a guy who stands very tall in my eyes is wnbc's dave price who is lowsel tracking irma's path. we've got to look out for massive wind damage and water damage. >> absolutely. th

word is that fema is hiring. we will verify. >>> more animals from texas are headed to shelters here. all this as another powerful hurricane gets fired up. the news at 11:00 starts now. >>> here are the headlines in harvey'ser since he left work: the death toll has gone up again, now at 37. more than 13,000 people have been rescued as door-to-door checks are almost over, and it appears harvey could be the worst natural disaster in u.s. history. with an estimated cost of $190 billion, that is billion dollars with a b . even though the worst is gone, dramatic rescues are still happening in the danger zone at this hour. houston firefighters plan to wrap up those door-to-door checks tomorrow. and get out or die, a blunt warning from a tyler county judge to constituents north of beaumont. people there were told to evacuate after the flood gates were opened on the natchez river. the fire -- a fire caused danger for -- with explosions and fire rocking the plant this morning. they are still keeping an eye out because the

actually fema aid. these are commercial products that would otherwise be on store shelves. they made it very clear to us that there are no fema tanks like these that are held up anywhere in puerto rico, whether the port or airport, wolf. >> boris sanchez, thank you. we'll get back to you. i want to bring in republican congressman will herd of texas, a member of the homeland security committees. congressman, let me get your reaction to the statement from the acting homeland acting security elaine duke. listen to what she said earlier today. >> i am very satisfied. i know it's a hard storm to recover from but the amount of progress that's been made and i really would appreciate any support that we get. i know it is really a good news story in terms of our ability to reach people and the limited number of deaths that have taken place in such a devastating hurricane. >> do you agree with her assessment, congressman, that this is a, quote, good news story? >> well, it's unfortunate that there are so many pue

fema and first responders are amazing. fema. governor said great job. all true. but there seems to be a disconnect between what you're hearing in washington about it all being good news and what the obvious reality is on the ground. bill weir has been there all week since the destruction firsthand, telling us stories to help us connect to it. he joins us now live with san juan. bill, as you know, and you have seen it before, two things can be true at once. they can be doing a good job, getting a lot of resources trying damn hard as only americans can. and the situation on the ground can still be a crisis of epic proportion. >> absolutely. but when you call 911, you don't want to hear a cascade of excuses. you want to hear, we hear you. we feel for you. and we're coming as fast as we can. this administration tries every day to shoot the messenger. it doesn't ultimately hurt us. it helps the people we're trying to help by sounding the alarm down here. this is epic for fema. after irma. we have fantastic military. but they have to worry about north korea and afghani

the bill contains $7.4 billion for fema's disaster relief fund which will allow fema to continue its efforts related to harvey, as well as any additional disasters that may strike. the bill also includes $450 million to support the small business administration's disaster loan program that will small businesses small busines homeowners come back from the disasters. we have been working closely with the texas, louisiana members, our leadership, and the appropriations committee has done its due diligence to garne teeth fund will go make best use of taxpayers' dollars. i want to thank all of our federal agencies, first responders around the nation and the thousands of volunteers who immediately responded and all those who have been working tirelessly to make sure that we meet the needs of the people of texas and louisiana. mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves his time. for what purpose does the gentlelady from new york seek recognition? . mrs. lowey: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore:

and fema is ready. fema is set up in a regional system that people in fema region 6 that were handling harvey and there are people in region 4 that are ready to take care of what's needed in florida to support the governor, support the cities and the counties in florida, as well as the folks in region 2 that are going to be -- that are already supporting the people in the virgin islands and puerto rico as we continue to move forward. >> when we think about assets that are already in place for what's going to be needed here in south florida, does fema have the staff that they need to have those resources in place to be able to juggle what they're already doing in texas for what the needs will be here in florida? >> well, one thing i think it's important to realize is it is not just fema. fema helps coordinate the federal response, including the department of defense, health and human service, the assistant secretary of preparedness and response in health and human services, the department of transportati

fema has been spending $9 million an hour. the $8 billion approved by the house today is likely fema won't run out of money this week but it's a fraction that it could cost to recover from hurricane harvey alone and hurricane season doesn't end until november. >> we don't just hand out billions of dollars. what we have to do in the aftermath or harvey or irma is work with our partners to identify what the are recovery goals, how do we get them back to a new normal. >> and the country needs to fund fema. nbc news at fema headquarters in washington. >> count on nbc 10 for continuing coverage. we do have a team of reporters in florida right now. p we have two following the greatest developments as the storm nears the u.s. >> and you can get the latest track of the storm with the nbc 10 app and you can get instant alerts sent right to your phone. >>> and new, a man is in critical condition after being hit by a car there. it happened on brown street overnight. the driver said he never saw the man. it wasn't until he felt something

---desde la sede de "fema" en washington dc, "juliana monsalve" informa. roll open under take juliana lot :01 :19 :37 1:00 1:37 usted se imagina gastar unos 9- millones de dlares por hora?! eso es aproximadamente lo que est gastando fema en sus esfuerzos de recuperacin tras el huracn harvey y ahora en preparacin para el huracn irma, que ya azot puerto rico y otras islas que son territorio estadounidense. s/ cong. darren soto (d-fl) "estamos haciendo doble los fondos para preparar para irma tambin" este viernes el congreso aprob $15-mil millones de dlares para asistencia para desastres naturales. pero eso no ser suficiente. nat - solamente para harvey se estima un gasto de $180-mil millones! s/ cong. ral grijalva (d-ar) "eso es parte de lo que tiene que hacer el gobierno responder a esta crisis y a este desastre y algo apropiado. tenemos que reconocer que estos eventos merecen el apoyo del congreso" los trabajadores de fema realizan operaciones de bsqueda y rescate; y entregan comida, agua y generadores para aquellos que lo han perdido todo. el administrado

it's activated from fema. it goes to the american bar association, the young lawyer division, to the state bar of texas then comes to the legal aids in the local area where you are. it's important the number gets out. it's 1-800-504-7030. there are free lawyers, legal aid and pro bono lawyers here ready to help people to find out what the law is. >> that's horrible to hear landlords would be doing that to people particularly during this horrible time. some people are getting to their homes and apartments for their first time and they want to move everything out. they have either filed claims or will be filing claims to get that kind of aid. what should they be doing? we see some who have put piles of debris at the curbside but we're also hearing reporting they need to hold on to some of that debris so they can get their full claim. which is it? >> you have to document, document, document. you should verify with your claims adjuster, get permission, confirm that in writing. if they tell you it's okay to throw i

it's not just fema. fema is basically designed to secure the immediate needs of the survivors. and then help with the rebuilding. but the response is larger than just one federal agency. it's going to be a whole government response. >> yeah. no matter which way you cut it, being challenged with the three hurricanes within the last two months or so. marsha thank you for joining us this morning. >>> let's turn to politics far moment. former president barack obama made public comments about effort to repeal the healthcare law he passed. he said the fight to keep our leaders from inflicting real human suffering was aggravating? >> the legislation we passed was full of things that still need to be fixed. it wasn't perfect. but it was better. and so oh when i see people trying to undo that progress for the 50th or 60th time with bills that would raise costs or reduce coverage or roll back protections for older americans or people with preexisting conditions, the cancer survivor, the expecting mom, or the child with autism, or asthma, for whom coverage once again would be almost unatt

local fema task force crews is in the u.s. virgin islands assisting residents trapped in the devastation. melanie alnwick tracking all this live from fema headquarters. mel. >> reporter: good morning, guys. yesterday president trump signed a major disaster declaration for florida and puerto rico and i think as the sun comes up and as the winds and the rains start to clear, that's when we're going get a better picture of the extent of the damage especially in the florida keys and some of those gulf islands, on the eastern side, western side, the marco islands, sanibel islands, some of those areas a little less protected. so, let's take you to some of the fema response that we already know that they're doing in the u.s. virgin islands and puerto rico. they are providing water, incident management teams and three urban search and rescue teams, two of those are from virginia. fairfax's task force one and task force two from virginia beach are now in saint thomas to begin their rescue work using their specialized training tools and

we will ask a fema official next. >>> also, the price is not right. the health and human secretary spending big on flights that go beyond the u.s. on the taxpayer dime, and he went on international planes with his wife along for the ride. >>> and then facebook accounts linked to russia, and the mission is to cause racial tension in the country. and i ge. ♪ the toothpaste that helps prevent bleeding gums. if you spit blood when you brush or floss you may have gum problems and could be on the journey to much worse. help stop the journey of gum disease. try parodontax toothpaste. it's clinically proven to remove plaque, the main cause of bleeding gums. for healthy gums, and strong teeth. leave bleeding gums behind. with parodontax toothpaste. ♪ >>> general jeffrey buchanan, let's listen in. >> we are helping to organize the supply effort and the distribution with the supplies with fuel, food and water. >> there's only one question per media outlet. >> can i answer that question from the haiti aspect. i think it's important to understand the whole com

brad kieserman was the new head of fema's flood program, when we first spoke to him. he'd been on the job just three weeks, and he'd already had to answer to allegations of fraud and criminal activity at the expense of some of sandy's hardest-hit families. >> brad kieserman: i'm not going to sit here and conceal the fact that it happened. because in the last three weeks, i've seen evidence of it. >> alfonsi: you say you've seen evidence of these fraudulent reports. >> kieserman: yes. >> alfonsi: you've seen evidence of what could be criminal activity by using unlicensed engineers? >> kieserman: yes, which is why i referred it to the inspector general. >> alfonsi: when did fema learn that there may be a problem here, that fraudulent reports may be used to deny claims? >> kieserman: i think that there were signals. based on what i've seen, if you will, signals in late 2013, early 2014 that there were problems that our survivors were experiencing with engineering, with the claims process, with appeals. but those were signals. and i think those signals got louder, if you

carolina: fema se centra en atender la emergencia puerto rico. javier: puede conectarte con nosotros a@carolina sarassa y la mÍa, @javier olivares. son las noticias como nunca antes las diste. -- viste. never ending pasta bowl está de vuelta en olive garden. desde $9.99. ven por más de 100 combinaciones de pastas, salsas e toppings. como el favorito de todos, chicken alfredo... más ensaldada y pan ilimitados. solo por tiempo limitado, en olive garden. ♪ carolina: se hablÓ de puerto rico hoy en la casa blanca, despuÉs de dÍas de críticasa presidente donald trump por su falta de aparente interÉs por la isla. se pronunciÓ frente al panorama de los puertorriqueÑos y la ayuda que requiere la isla, tras el azote de los huracanes. donald trump: [habla en inglÉs] hemos enviado una enorme cantidad de comida, agua y suministros a puerto rico. continuaremos haciÉndolo, seguiremosevaluando frecuentemente, fue azotada devastadoramente. una semana antes en la isla fue golpeada por otro huracÁn que ocasionÓ grandes daÑos. javier: el presidente

through disasterassistance.gov or 1-800-621-fema, which is 3362. a big secret in the disaster world is fema will provide the grant assistance initially and they refer home owners and businesses to sba so we can make them a low interest long-term loan >> when you look at some of the projections for storms, some of the studies that look at rising sea levels, and then couple that with the news we've gotten about, say, fema's budget for the year and the constraints on that just this week alone, is there some point at which sba or fema distance ends or just becomes cost prohibitive to provide? >> no. i mean, i can speak on behalf of the small business administration, we're an independent agency we have currently $3 billion in loan authority and then congress is in the process of putting a supplemental through, which will provide us with another $2 billion. congress and the administration have been very friendly to disaster survivors, so funding usually hasn't been a big issue from the type of assistance that we're providing, the low interest long-term l

it's a good thing, but with new technology, fema is moving money faster than ever before. that's why there's a sense of urgency to get this relief package done. right now, we're thinking about everybody in irma's path and this hurricane, 185 miles per hour. our thoughts and prayers are with the people who are in the path of this current hurricane. this morning, we had another productive meeting, that's why i was a little late. we had a productive meeting between the house and senate in the tax reform. we are working on the details, this is our number one priority this fall. as you may have heard me say earlier, we want americans to begin the new year with a new tax system, it's high time. we haven't done this since 1986 and the rest of the world has passed our country on. it's time we get back in the game of being competitive and we will get economic growth when we do this. it's about growth. it's about fairness. it's about finally giving american families tax breaks. lastly, i want to highlight a new report from the commission on evidence-based policymaking. this is on th

it gets sticky fema has a budge tote sfik to. last week congress would have happened? they don't have went into debt. brock long said he would have kept spending money anyway and i guess give ious to the government. but, yeah, 15 billion they'll probably need to spend more money. tom boss ert said today actually he thinks it will be 3 or 4 more supplemental appropriate rations to aid. >> after sand dwri a lot was said about the ted cruz of world who voted against funding after sandy and then last week when we had that volt we had 90 members of gop opposed the bill. though we should point out it's because of the debt ceel ago taxed as well not just about funding but from a political standpoint has this been a very political process is? do you think there's going be to be a lotle political hurdles to getting fema back to where they need to be. >> i don't think so with that. i think with fema everyone is mainly in support of funding and it's depending how they get it. there i think there are political things that maybe the governmen

, fema approves the plans. we have plans that are out of theyor ineffectual because are generazed, not localized to the local hazard, tha because local community lacks expertise to write the plan themsves and do for the plan.red th contract that out to contractors to do cookie-cutter plans, ere a contractor may get money to newest plan for a cnt virginia and use the same level of analysis throughout the same florida andounty in obviously the risks are different from west virginia than they are in florida. is a better approach, taylor-made approach costsh locality, but that money. guest: that costs more money and local expertise is sent. happen, we get external contractor to write the fema, it checks the box, allows funng to come into the count and he we move down the on the put the plan shelf until something happens and obvusly it is the right time to review the plan and know you have good plan is not when dealing with disaster. that, i was going to ask somebody at fema has to check the box off. ow does that ha

according to fema, there is not a single container at the port that contains fema aid that is not being moved. fema has 11 supply points across the island, it is moving water and food as well. when you talk to crowley and when you talk to the puerto rican government, they will tell you, there are thousands of containers at this port, right now, with aid, that is not being moved. so, a little bit of a discrepancy when it comes to what is happening at the port. let me tell you what i saw, i did not see much movement of containers while i was at the port today. a minimal amount of trucks moving containers. when i stopped some of them, they were commercial trucks, furniture stores and drivers that were not aware there was a need for drivers to get relief aid across the island. that is what the government is saying. the government in puerto rico say the aid supply, the aid coming in is stuck at this port because they haven't been able to find the drivers. if they could find the drivers, they don't have the diesel. that is the complexity of what we are seeing at the port. let me tell you what

fema have gone after sandy survivors in court, accusing them of fraud. bob kaible, who took the photo of his altered engineering report, was accused in court of stealing the report done on his own home, which he denies. we have homeowners who went through the appeals process, and the attorneys, who are being paid for by fema, called them thieves, said they were trying to conduct fraud. those are your dogs at the end of the leash. do you take any responsibility for that? >> kieserman: yes, i take responsibility for the fact that when fema funds activities, the people who are getting paid by those funds need to behave in a professional, ethical manner. >> alfonsi: so, are you going to make it right? >> kieserman: i am. as you know, i'm doing everything i can in the midst of negotiations-- to try to make that right. let's face it, i don't have unlimited authority. i can't wave a magic wand and make all of this right for everyone. >> alfonsi: since we first reported this story, fema created a review process and has settled many of the sandy flood cases. brad

that's not the job of fema. fema's job is to provide temporary assistance so that you can get your feet back on the ground as kind of a jumpstart. so when people hear $150 billion in damages expected from hurricane irma, that doesn't mean that fema is going to spend $150 billion to put everybody back where they were. >> all right. michael brown, former fema director under president george w. bush. mr. brown, stay close, if you can. we would like to, of course, be able to use you as a resource over the next few days. >> any time. >> and draw on your expertise. thank you. >>> mayor of miami beach now, phillip levine, joins me now. mayor, thank you. i know you're very busy. i appreciate your time. you said earlier today that your biggest challenge is trying to convince people to get out. to leave the evacuation area. have we made progress on that front? are they getting out? >> i think we've made progress, craig. i mean, i've been all over this city. we're seeing people getting on our buses, taking them to -- i thi

fema says this will cause so many tens of billions of dollars. but they will get the resources they need. live in southwest washington. jeff goldberg, abc7 news. jonathan: they will need them. jeff, thanks. irma did smash the islands in the caribbea five storm. look at the tv and some of the devastation left. those were homes on the shoreline. expressive homes. people take vacation there. they are torn down to the foundations. buildings flattened. boats lifted out of the water and tossed around like toys and people are believed to be trapped there. power is out. water and phone service is not working. 20 people were killed because of irma. this morning the virginia task force one from fairfax county released orders to go assist with the search and rescue operations. it will be some time before they figure out how many people were killed by the storm. michelle: we have breaking news now. breaking hurricane updates around the clock at wjla.com. you can always get the latest there and sign up for breaking news text alerts at wjla.com. now to some ot

robust, long-term funding for fema. senator flores: thank you. thonly thing i'd add specifically to the question of the cost. i think from the state perspective we know particularly in the florida keys the overwhelming majority of the residents are insured by citins insurance company. citizens insurance is backed the state of florida. what we heard very initially is that citizens is still of course trying to fure out how muchhis will cost as far as the people that will have to make the- will be making claims. we have to ensure is citizens have the fundingecessary to be able to pay tho claims. i thinkhat people to have morehan anything at this moment is patience to make sure the citizens' adjusters will have time to go out there directly. we feel this storm is not as bad it could have been, that citizens will not have to go into actual assessment mode into asssing people who are not citizens propertyholders s something that could be paid for within the reserves they ha right now. citizens' reserves is approximately $9 billion. so the question that

but fema assures us they're working as fast as they can. and the first step toward recovery is filing a claim. they are already working on housing plans and other types of long-term help. >> we will begin to help people the minute we talk to them. get them into the system. after that, the timeline is dependent upon their needs. >> reporter: sue has a lot of needs like so many of her neighbors and friends. >> you think it only happens to someone else until it happens to you. >> reporter: tom abrams, 15 eyewitness news. >> they stress that fema is for individuals. if you have a business that you need help with, contact the small business administration. >> fema's there to help. so that. >>> coming up, the popcorn is popping. i can hear it. >> we have "insomniac theater" left. and the stiff meister is back with some slapstick sports. i'm only in my 60's. i've got a nice long life ahead. big plans. so when i found out medicare doesn't pay all my medical expenses, i looked at my options. then i got a medicare supplement insurance plan. [ male