Hurricane helpers: few turn to feds for aid.

• Author: Krayewski, Ed
• Position: Citings - Brief article

LAST OCTOBER, Hurricane Sandy tore across the Eastern United States, killing more than 100 people and causing billions of dollars in damage. More than 1,500 personnel from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) were deployed along the East Coast to support disaster preparation and relief efforts. President Barack Obama toured the region, and governors such as New York's Andrew Cuomo and New Jersey's Chris Christie took the spotlight too, with Christie castigating House Republicans for "inaction and indifference" because they failed to pass a federal hurricane aid package quickly enough. New York and New Jersey residents, he said, could "no longer afford to wait while politicians in Washington play games."

But polling data suggest it was family and friends, not state or federal assistance, that storm-affected resident trusted most. In a survey of 2,000 residents in some of the hardest-hit...