by Katie Fretland

With his sleeves rolled up, President Bush visited Iowa's flood zones, where he made a pledge to small town residents that the government would not forget them.

"I know a lot of farmers and cattlemen are hurting right now, along with the city people... We also got to worry about the little towns," the president said while meeting with emergency management and government officials. "A lot of folks are wondering whether or not the government hears about them, too, and I can assure you that I know the governor cares deeply about it, and so do we."

He also suggested ways the public can help -- by visiting volunteer.gov or donating to the Red Cross.

About 600 FEMA personnel are traveling throughout the state to provide aid and Congress plans to approve additional money to handle the disaster recovery, Bush said.

Storms tore through six states last week causing flooding that forced thousands of people to evacuate. Twenty-four people were killed in flooding and tornadoes. Heavy rains damaged millions of acres of farmland.

The president's trip brought back memories of the government's failures following Hurricane Katrina.

"I really don't have much of an opinion of his coming," Lashawn Baker, 33, a Cedar Rapids resident told The Associated Press. "It took him a long time to get to New Orleans and he didn't help any of those people, so I don't think he's going to do anything to help Cedar Rapids now that he's here."

FEMA Administrator R. David Paulison, who traveled with Bush, praised the cooperation of his agency with the Army Corps of Engineers in getting supplies such as food, water and sandbags to the people who need them.

They have distributed more than 3.3 million liters of fresh drinking water, 200,000 meals and 4,000 rolls of plastic sheeting.

"Another lesson learned from Katrina," he said.

by Frank James

Buildings and debris are seen floating in the Cedar River against a railroad bridge Saturday, June 14, 2008, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

FEMA recently sent out a press release with statistics on what it has delivered to the flood stricken areas of the Midwest -- 12.8 million sandbags, 3,222,000 liters of water, 213,120 meals ready-to-eat (MRE's) and so on.

But not on the list was trash receptacles, though the list does include 30 trucks for debris removal.

Now, anyone who has ever dealt with a flood of any size knows trash receptacles are crucial for disposing of ruined items. Cedar Rapids, Iowa Mayor Kay Halloran figured she could get FEMA to give her some large bins to corral the growing piles of debris in her waterlogged city. How hard could that be?

Well, she told the Des Moines Register, FEMA told her no. So when President Bush arrives in her city today, in addition to the federal disaster money she'll be asking for, she'll have a simple request for Bush, the most powerful man in the world: Can you get us some some garbage cans?

According to the DMR article:

"Halloran planned to ask Bush directly about a request she made to FEMA for 800 large, portable trash bins, which she said was denied. "We think we ought to have them, so I'm going to ask him," she said.

Bret Voorhees, spokesman for the Iowa Department of Homeland Security, said that officials had not seen Halloran's request and that FEMA, not city officials, is responsible for coordinating debris removal."

This could be a real test of a lame-duck president's remaining power. Can he cut through the bureaucracy of his own administration and get the poor mayor her garbage bins?

While FEMA isn't supposed to worry about presidential politics Bush, on the other hand, certainly would like to have as his legacy another Republican in the White House. And Iowa is viewed as an important swing state this year. Enough said.

Flood waters cover part of the small town of Oakville, Iowa, on Tuesday, June 17, 2008. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed)

by Frank James

FEMA wants to assure Americans, especially those in the flood-ravaged parts of the Midwest, that it's on the case, attending to the needs of those affected by what's being called the worst natural disaster to hit the U.S. since Hurricane Katrina.

To that end, FEMA put out a press release with what the agency, and its sister federal departments, are doing to respond to the crisis.

Among the highlights:

Joint Federal Activities: FEMA, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the U.S. General Services Administration and the Defense Logistics Agency have worked together to provide

Here's the rest of FEMA's press release

by Katie Fretland

The federal government has sent 2 million liters of fresh drinking water to flood-damaged areas in Iowa and is setting up a task force to help residents secure long-term housing, President Bush said in an address today. Bush plans to travel on Thursday to the flood zones to meet with residents and survey damage.

Storms tore through six states last week causing flooding and forcing thousands to evacuate. At least five people were killed in the flooding and 12 were killed by tornadoes.

Emergency crews are stacking sandbags on top of levees along the Mississippi River in Illinois, Missouri and Iowa to prepare for more bad weather. The government predicts that more than 25 levees along the river could overflow, The Associated Press reports.

There is no way to predict whether the levees will break, said Ron Fournier, a spokesman with the Army Corps of Engineers.

''That's a crystal ball that nobody has,'' he said.

Bush was briefed on the damage by Homeland Security Director Michael Chertoff, Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator David Paulison and Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer following Bush's week-long trip to Europe to meet with allies.

Bush said a disaster relief fund will provide enough money to take care of the disaster, but he is concerned about future disasters. Congress should make sure "there is enough but not too much money in the fund so we can say we have done our job," Bush said.

The federal government will provide aid for short-term housing and help for farmers and ranchers. For long-term housing, Chertoff is working on setting up a task force with local and state authorities.

by Frank James

As we view the images of the aftermath of the earthquake in China's Sichuan Province and the reports of an estimated 12,000 dead, it's impossible to escape the sense that not only could it happen here but it will.

And it's not just California that we should be concerned about. While the Golden State obviously has had the most experience with earthquakes because of the very active San Andreas Fault, which is overdue for the Big One, the Midwest is at risk too.

That's largely because of the New Madrid Fault, although that quake zone isn't the only one in the central part of the country to worry about. It was the Wabash Valley Fault, after all, that caused an earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter Scale in Southern Illinois.

The combination of April's Midwest earthquake and this week's calamity in Sichuan Province should remind federal, state and local officials, as well as individuals themselves, to do more to prepare for and respond to the inevitable earth shaking that most scientists say is only a matter of time.

People made homeless by cyclone Nargis shelter from the rain in Bogalay township area (Photo: EPA/STR.)

by Frank James

The military junta that leads Myanmar, also known as Burma, relented today and agreed to allow one U.S. cargo plane laden with relief supplies to land in the nation more than a week after a cyclone killed perhaps more than 100,000 people and made more than 1.5 million homeless.

White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe, speaking from Crawford, Texas where President Bush is preparing for his daughter Jenna's weekend wedding, admitted that one plane load wasn't much considering the staggering need in Myanmar. But at least it was something.

While the Myanmar government is allowing in supplies, it's still refusing to let U.S. relief workers into the nation.

Here's Johndroe's exchange with reporters:

Q Gordon, on Burma,/Myanmar, that first flight that gets in, that's scheduled to get in on Monday, can you say a little bit what that's going to be carrying, whether it's going to be -- what kind of materials are being sent?