Red Tape Slowing Aid for Hurricane Area

Frustrated that desperately needed generators were sitting at an Army base three hours away while 75,000 residents in Charleston were without power, Sen. Ernest F. Hollings called the White House shortly before midnight on Sunday to demand more speedy help for South Carolina.

White House Chief of Staff John H. Sununu promised to cut through the red tape, and late Monday the Democratic senator’s aides were optimistic that the equipment would soon reach the suffering historic port town.

“It’s just incredibly difficult and time consuming to get anything done,” said Laura Morris, a Hollings aide. “It has taken us 48 hours just to get the authorization to move the generators. Things are incredibly slow.”

Four days after Hurricane Hugo moved across the Caribbean and plowed into Charleston, efforts to aid the tens of thousands of victims are still being hampered by poor communications and bureaucratic bottlenecks.

Phone lines were still down in many places, and, where they were working, it took hours to get through. But officials were encouraged by a rush of help from across the nation.

Loggers from Montana and Washington, electrical crews from New York, a firefighting crew and 40 traffic lights from Norfolk, Va., and light trucks from Babylon, N.Y., poured into the city as part of the mix of military and civil disaster workers helping in the aftermath of what the Red Cross called “one of the costliest storms in . . . relief history.”

The Marines also pitched in. Lt. Gen. E. T. Cook Jr., commander of the Atlantic Fleet Marine Forces, arrived in Charleston Monday. Marine engineers and units with electric-generating and water filtration equipment were already in the field. Cook said his men would also aid in search and rescue operations.

“Offers of help are pouring in,” Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. said. “They are coming in from all over. Now, the problem is organizing the donations, the contributions and personnel.”

But Riley said that, for many victims, basic needs are hard to meet.

“We have situations like 500 people in a housing project huddling in the rain with nothing left but the shirts or dresses they had on their backs when the hurricane hit,” he said. “We don’t have enough supplies and we need help.”

“We need heavy equipment and manpower desperately so we can push away trees,” said Linda Lombard, Charleston County’s top elected official. “We need big ticket items. We’re not talking about rebuilding, we’re talking about getting in and helping people.”

A 225-person team from the Federal Emergency Management Agency began accepting applications from residents for grants, low-cost loans and special unemployment benefits. But food and shelter still took up most of the agency’s efforts.

“One of our programs is providing temporary housing,” said a despondent-sounding Clem Shamus, surveying splintered houses and storm-tossed debris. “There isn’t any around to speak of.”

The entire regional Red Cross network of disaster trucks has been mobilized to transport medical supplies, food and clothing to Charleston and the surrounding areas. More than 200 workers from outside of the area also were sent in. The Red Cross sheltered about 13,000 people Sunday night.

Damaged airports and clogged harbors complicated the situation.

Brice Kenny, a Coast Guard spokesman in Charleston, said the Coast Guard has been working around the clock “exercising every mission short of ice-breaking.”

Farther south, the Caribbean islands hit by the storm are still suffering.

The Air Force is flying disaster relief supplies to the Caribbean daily. Deliveries have included 106 portable generators to Puerto Rico and seven to St. Croix. The Air Force has even delivered portable airport control towers to Puerto Rico and St. Croix.

About 150 tons of Red Cross supplies and 30 tons of medical supplies have been delivered to the Virgin Islands.

The Navy has sent six ships to the Caribbean, with more en route, loaded with telephone poles and generators. Private aid includes a Virginia firm’s offer to ship 20,000 gallons of bottled water to Puerto Rico.

Staff writers Larry Green and Paul Houston contributed to this story from Charleston, S.C.

PRIVATE SECTOR AID: Wealthy individuals and big corporations pitch in to help Charleston recover. Page 16