FEMA now runs the country

After the Flood of '93, the survivors repaired their damage and many received assistance either from the Red Cross (I did - about $50 in cleaning supplies) and from FEMA (I did not receive a dime). In 1993 the damage was minimal compared to many during the Flood of '08 [correction - I first labeled this '07, sorry].

At that time FEMA was just an agency that handed out checks to help those people to fix up damage from flooded homes. My neighbor received a check and a list of rules. He returned the check. A relative of mine, took the money. I, on the other hand, fixed what I could out of my own pocket and watched my property values drop along with my neighbors.

The picture of the helpful and friendly government worker lending a helping hand is gone. Replaced with a helpful and friendly dictator.
FEMA maps triggering frustration

A year later and across the river region, history is repeating itself.

Still recovering flood victims learned last week their world is literally changing and the levees designed to protect them offer only a provisional safety.

Looks like arbitrary decisions also apply to the levee protection.

And:
Father, Linn County spar over deceased son’s flood-damaged home

The hitch: a federal requirement that any structure sustaining damage equal to 50 percent or more of its value must be elevated out of the flood plain. If the Federal Emergency Management Agency decides the county isn’t fully enforcing the rule, it could disqualify any county landowner from receiving subsidized flood insurance.

“If we didn’t do it, we’d jeopardize our ability to get flood insurance for the county,” Van Horne said. [Linn County building official]

FEMA is running these communities, not county and local governments and their arbitrary and ever-changing rules cannot be questioned.