Thank you for your e-mail to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.  

We may not be able to respond to you individually as quickly as we would
like, so in the meantime, here is information that we hope will answer your
questions or get you to a source that can meet your needs.

You may wish to view the U.S. Government's Official web portal for Hurricane
Katrina recovery information:
http://www.firstgov.gov/Citizen/Topics/PublicSafety/Hurricane_Katrina_Recove
ry.shtml
<http://www.firstgov.gov/Citizen/Topics/PublicSafety/Hurricane_Katrina_Recov
ery.shtml> .  In addition, the USA Freedom Corps's website provides useful
information and links regarding the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts:
http://www.usafreedomcorps.gov/ <http://www.usafreedomcorps.gov/> .

DONATIONS

FEMA has activated the National Emergency Relief Registry, a web-based
platform allowing citizens wishing to donate goods or services to register
their offers online.  This will allow FEMA and its State and local partners
to better organize these resources and facilitate delivery to those in need.
You can access the Registry at www.swern.gov <www.swern.gov> .  If you
prefer, you can call FEMA's donation center toll-free at (800) 440-6728.
For a list of organizations accepting donations, please view
http://www.fema.gov/press/2005/katrinadonations.shtm#organize
<http://www.fema.gov/press/2005/katrinadonations.shtm#organize> .

VOLUNTEERS

Please note that volunteers should not report directly to the affected areas
unless directed to do so by a voluntary agency.  Self-dispatched volunteers
can put themselves and others in harm's way and hamper rescue efforts.

*	Firefighters:
	The U.S. Fire Administration is calling on the Nation's fire
service, both career 
	and volunteer, to aid the affected citizens and communities.  Please
view 
	http://www.usfa.fema.gov/about/media/katrina.shtm
<http://www.usfa.fema.gov/about/media/katrina.shtm>  for additional
information 
	and to download applications. 

*	Police Officers:
	Police officers interested in assisting with the disaster relief
effort, please read the 
	statement of the International Association of Chiefs of Police: 
	
http://www.theiacp.org/documents/index.cfm?fuseaction=document&document_id=7
32
<http://www.theiacp.org/documents/index.cfm?fuseaction=document&document_id=
732> .

*	Medical Professionals:
	The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is managing the
national medical 
	relief effort.  To learn more, medical professionals can visit the
Health Care Professionals 
	and Relief Personnel Volunteer page at
https://volunteer.ccrf.hhs.gov <https://volunteer.ccrf.hhs.gov> .  Trained
medical 
	professionals may also call 866-KATMEDI (866-528-6334) to volunteer
their services.  

*	Other Volunteers:
	For additional volunteer opportunities, please visit the National
Voluntary Organizations 
	Active in Disaster's website at:
http://www.nvoad.org/membersdb.php?members=National
<http://www.nvoad.org/membersdb.php?members=National> .  

LOUISIANA
If you are in need of emergency information in the State of Louisiana,
please check the two following links for possible resources:  State of
Louisiana Homeland Security and Emergency Management at
http://www.ohsep.louisiana.gov/ <http://www.ohsep.louisiana.gov/> , and
Louisiana State Police at  <http://www.lsp.org/emergency.html>
http://www.lsp.org/emergency.html#road.  For New Orleans information, please
check:  http://www.nola.com/ <http://www.nola.com/> .  
MISSISSIPPI
The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency is providing information on
current conditions, including shelter and evacuation information, at
http://www.msema.org/index.htm <http://www.msema.org/index.htm> .  You can
view the Mississippi Highway Patrol's website at
http://www.dps.state.ms.us/dps/dps.nsf/divpages/hp3districts?OpenDocument
<http://www.dps.state.ms.us/dps/dps.nsf/divpages/hp3districts?OpenDocument>
for information on current road conditions.  Also in Mississippi, you may
wish to check The Sun Herald's website at:
http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/
<http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/> .
ALABAMA
In Alabama, road closures, links to county emergency management offices, and
other Hurricane Katrina information is available at the Alabama Emergency
Management website: http://www.ema.alabama.gov/
<http://www.ema.alabama.gov/> .  Newspaper reports from Mobile and
Birmingham, and much other disaster information concerning Alabama, is
available at http://www.al.com/ <http://www.al.com/> . 

SEARCH AND RESCUE
In order to assist the U.S. Coast Guard in Hurricane Katrina search and
rescue efforts, you may submit a missing person recovery assistance request
at: http://homeport.uscg.mil/mycg/portal/ep/home.do
<http://homeport.uscg.mil/mycg/portal/ep/home.do> .
In Mississippi, to report missing persons, please go to www.mema.ms.gov
<http://www.mema.ms.gov> .

LOCATING FAMILY OR FRIENDS

Contact the Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network (SATERN).  This
network takes inquiries and sends them to the disaster area, where SATERN
personnel will attempt to locate the person or persons about whom you are
inquiring.  You may submit a Health and Welfare Information Request online
at  <http://www.satern.org/> http://www.satern.org.  

The American Red Cross (ARC) is mobilizing its resources in the area, and
will be taking inquiries from those outside the disaster area.  The
Southeast Louisiana Chapter of the ARC can be reached toll free at
1-800-229-8191.  To submit a welfare inquiry to the ARC, you may call (866)
GET-INFO (438-4636).  You can also call this number for information on
shelters that have been set up.  ARC's Family Links Registry can be accessed
at www.familylinks.icrc.org/katrina
<http://www.familylinks.icrc.org/katrina> , or by calling 1-877-568-3317.
The National Next of Kin Registry can be viewed at
http://nokr.org/nok/restricted/home.htm
<http://nokr.org/nok/restricted/home.htm> .

PRESCRIPTIONS:

Katrina evacuees can go to any Wal-Mart, CVS, Rite-Aid, Walgreens or Krogers
pharmacy in the United States and have their prescriptions refilled based on
victims' emergency need.  This service is available if the medication is
life-sustaining and the victim is an evacuee.  Disaster victims should bring
an old prescription bottle, if available, and must have proof of their
damaged dwelling address.  This service is free of charge.

REGISTERING FOR FEMA ASSISTANCE

You may register for FEMA assistance online by going to http://www.fema.gov
<http://www.fema.gov>  and clicking on the box toward the upper right corner
of the screen that says "Register for Disaster Assistance Online."  If you
have difficulty completing your online application, please call our
Technical Helpdesk at (800) 745-0243.  If you prefer, you may telephone our
Registration Intake line at (800) 621-3362.  The phone lines are open 24
hours a day, 7 days a week until further notice.  Please have your Social
Security number available, as well as a mailing address and telephone number
where you can be reached currently.

GENERATOR REIMBURSEMENT

Generator reimbursement policy is set in coordination with each state for
each disaster.  In general, if you are a resident of a county declared for
Individual Assistance, you will be considered for reimbursement of a
generator purchase that was made on or after the onset of the hurricane and
was required because you lost power.  You will need a receipt that includes
the date of purchase, the price paid, and the name and contact address or
telephone number for the store or vendor, and that specifies that a
generator was purchased.  Go ahead and register now for FEMA assistance as
noted above so that your generator reimbursement application can be
processed promptly when all details are in place.

BUSINESS OFFERINGS

Most purchases of disaster recovery services and products are made by local
and State governments.  At this point, we do not have Katrina-specific
contact points at the State level.  You may check the emergency management
or other appropriate websites of the affected states for latest information
as follows:

Alabama:  http://www.ema.alabama.gov/
<http://www.fema.gov/goodbye/goodbye.jsp?url=http://www.ema.alabama.gov/>  
Florida:  Disaster Contractors Network at http://www.dcnonline.org/
<http://www.dcnonline.org/> .
Louisiana:  http://www.ohsep.louisiana.gov
<http://www.fema.gov/goodbye/goodbye.jsp?url=http://www.ohsep.louisiana.gov>
http://www.ohsep.louisiana.gov
<http://www.fema.gov/goodbye/goodbye.jsp?url=http://www.ohsep.louisiana.gov>
. 
Mississippi:  http://www.mema.state.ms.us
<http://www.fema.gov/goodbye/goodbye.jsp?url=http://www.mema.state.ms.us> 

In general, proposals must include the following information:
*	Company name
*	Business address
*	Contact information
*	Type of service or product offered
*	Type of equipment
*	Number of workers being provided
*	Cost for service or product
*	Whether the company is volunteering services

You may also contact County offices of emergency management, especially to
offer clean-up services.

FEMA acquires the services of independent contractors in accordance with the
Federal Acquisition Regulation, through sealed bidding or negotiations.
FEMA also accepts unsolicited proposals for product and services.  You may
call FEMA's acquisition voice message system at (202) 646-4006 for more
information concerning business solicitations.  Our website,
www.fema.gov/ofm <http://www.fema.gov/ofm>  can give you a brief summary
about doing business with FEMA.

FEMA locates qualified small businesses through the U.S. Small Business
Administration's Pro-net.  You may register with Pro-Net on the SBA's
website (www.sba.gov <www.sba.gov> ).

EVACUATION EXPENSES

You may be eligible for your evacuation lodging expenses for up to 30 days
if your primary residence has sustained damages such that you cannot live
there until repairs are made.

Even if your evacuation was mandatory, however, FEMA does not reimburse if
your primary residence is not damaged to the extent that you cannot return.


Food, gasoline and other miscellaneous evacuation expenses other than
lodging are not reimbursable, regardless of whether your home is damaged or
not. 


If the above information was not responsive to your inquiry, we will contact
you as soon as we are able.  Thank you.

Sincerely,

Correspondence Unit
Recovery Division
Federal Emergency Management Agency