Federal Government Takes Control of Motel Emergency-Housing Program Post-Hurricane Katrina

Strategic Insights -

The federal government has assumed management of a motel emergency-housing program established by the Red Cross in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, aiming to relocate the estimated 220,000 people in temporary housing by December 1. As of the shift on Tuesday, approximately 75,000 hotel or motel rooms, mainly in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, and Florida, were still occupied by hurricane victims, according to the Red Cross. The program has already cost the charity up to $250 million, with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) agreeing to cover the financial obligation. Red Cross and FEMA officials stated that the transfer of management was planned before the error in estimating the hotel population, which was initially thought to be around 600,000 people, was discovered.

Key Takeaways:

  • The federal government has taken control of a motel emergency-housing program set up by the Red Cross in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
  • The program aims to relocate an estimated 220,000 people in temporary housing by December 1.
  • As of the shift on Tuesday, approximately 75,000 hotel or motel rooms were still occupied by hurricane victims, mainly in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, and Florida.
  • The program has already cost the Red Cross up to $250 million, which FEMA has agreed to cover.
  • FEMA plans to announce a program to help find more permanent housing for displaced families, including those in hotels, travel trailers, or mobile homes.
  • Apartment owners are still concerned that FEMA has not worked closely enough with them to speed the movement of evacuees into empty apartments throughout the South.
  • Jim Arbury, a vice president for government affairs at the National Multi Housing Council, predicts that FEMA will not meet the December 1 deadline.

Statistics:

  • Estimated 220,000 people in temporary housing to be moved by December 1
  • Approximately 75,000 hotel or motel rooms still occupied by hurricane victims as of Tuesday
  • $250 million in costs for the motel emergency-housing program so far
  • 14,666 travel trailers or mobile homes set up for displaced families
  • $786 per month in rental assistance being offered to families
  • 600,000 estimated hotel population initially thought by the Red Cross and FEMA

Sources:

  • The New York Times, [Source not provided in the format requirements, but assumed to be a possible daily newspaper]
  • The Red Cross [unreferenced in the source material]