Gannett Co. Inc. newspapers and television stations in Florida launched a searchable database of more than 2 million files about the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s response to the 2004 hurricanes that raked the Sunshine State.
The posting ended months of legal wrangling over the files.
The database spans the four hurricanes that struck Florida in 2004 — Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne. It includes applicants’ addresses, how much an applicant requested and how much FEMA paid to satisfy each claim.
The News-Press in Fort Myers, Fla., and Pensacola News Journal filed a lawsuit in 2005 asking for information about public and individual assistance distributed by FEMA.
The information became public record on June 22, 2007, when the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the release of the information was essential for the public to evaluate FEMA’s responsiveness. The News-Press received the record Aug. 27.
The searchable database is available at:
www.news-press.com/fema
www.pensacolanewsjournal.com
www.floridatoday.com
www.tallahassee.com
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment