The efforts at issue were performed independently of the State to fulfill the organizations' own public service mission. In addition, an accurate valuation for much of these services cannot be determined given that the State did not accept a donation for which it tracked time spent and other costs.

The damage is not as serious as we had expected it to be. The evacuations worked.

This has to be a partnership, because ultimately the communities are entitled to take responsibility and empower themselves.

I believe it is a civic responsibility for Americans to prepare themselves to take care of their families for the first 72 hours.

If you did not evacuate, stay inside until everything is safe. Make sure the winds die down because we get more injuries after the storm than during the storm. We want you to just be careful.

These people in hotels and motels must take the next step to find a better housing solution.

It's difficult so far to get a total picture of the damage. But we do have a lot of people on the ground and people need to feel very secure down there that the state and FEMA are ready to respond with all those pre-positioned assets that we've been talking about.

This is not going to be easy folks, it's not going to be fast. Recovery is a slow, methodical process.

Dee brings a wealth of federal acquisition experience to this position and she will be a valuable asset to FEMA and the department.

Again, these are safety issues that are costing firefighters' lives. And Congress rightfully so set aside these grants for these particular things.