FEMA to move evacuees out of hotels

New from the National Multi Housing Council lobbying folks: FEMA is now promising to move the hurricane evacuees out of hotels and, at least in theory, into apartments, by December 1. NMHC is concerned about whether FEMA can live up to its promise on such a short timetable, but here's FEMA's press release on the plan, and NMHC has also obtained a FEMA guidance document explaining how the task is to be accomplished. Anyway looks like this will end the hotel contracts arranged by Kansas-based Corporate Lodging Consultants, which reportedly had booked some 230,000 hotel rooms for evacuees by late October.

The document is signed "David Garratt, Acting Director of Recovery," a name that has appeared relatively recently in news of the hurricane aftermath. Mr. Garratt is the primary federal official quoted in today's AP coverage.

The AP story, partly quoting NMHC's sister organization, the National Apartment Association, raises the question of whether the people asked to move out of hotel rooms will in fact be moving up to better housing or if they'll simply be moving... out. AP quotes the FEMA acting director, R. David Paulison, as saying, "Those affected by these storms should have the opportunity to become self-reliant again and reclaim some normalcy in their lives." Unclear however what becomes of those affected by the storms who find themselves unable to become self-reliant soon enough. How many rents will now be paid by KDHAP and the FEMA programs? Stay tuned.