i don t know. yesterday was the first time i was reporter: the head of the epa michael regan toured the derailment site and met with a resident overcome by what has happened. we need help. we do. we need president biden. we need fema housing. people are getting sick. we should not have been let back into town until all of this was done. reporter: regan vowed to stay the course. we will be here for as long as it takes to see this process through. i want to assure the people i just want to say when you say as long as it takes i think the question is long term is someone going to be here a year from now, two years from now they ll come back, test the water, test the soil? i m very clear when i say as long as it takes. we will go through this process
once this is over with, you ll find out a lot of people s lives that were saved by people who live to the left and the right to helped each other crawl out of the rubble. but it is a search and rescue mission until it s declared complete and they ll go to some of the response tasks of finding temporary housing, holtz, trailers, and individual assistance that fema is well practiced at. but we re going to have to move with speed, because unlike the hurricane we had a few months ago, ida, it was warm weather and people literally camped out in tents on their property. they will not be able to do that in kentucky and survive. so they ll need a massive influx of temporary housing and housing approval by fema in the coming hours so people can seek shelter in safe places. as you just said, right now
where i am in mayfield, kentucky, this town is decimated. how long do you think the recovery will be and in a place like where i am right now? we know that the devastation from these storms is getting more intense and the recovery can take a long time. but the federal government, fema, is going to be there working with the commonwealth of kentucky as we start to rebuild and talk about how we can rebuild more resilient, perhaps, in the future. reporter: yes, recovery can take a long time, but how long? last week the new york times published an article on how victims of hurricane ida in louisiana last august are still waiting for aid from fema. the authors write, quote, as climate change contribute ts more punishing natural disasters aacross the country, federal agencies have repeatedly failed to provide temporary housing swiftly in their wake, exposing wide gaps in disaster policy.
the response is local. it s neighbors helping neighbors. but a federal response is needed fast. so how fast can fema and other federal agencies provide help to these devastated communities? well, as of tonight, three hours ago, i listened to a fema administrator, who is doing a good job, but they had not approved individual assistance. that is where people can call a fema number, get cash into their bank account so they take care of themselves, and go to a hotel area that s designated, or any hotel, and use a fema voucher. because people are going to need temporary housing. the grid is broken in most places where this tornado went through. so people that homes may have survived, they re going to have to evacuate because they can t live in the town because of the