National

FEMA Criticized For Slow Response In Houston

By Mandalit del Barco

Published September 15, 2008 at 3:00 AM PDT

This story was published more than 16 years ago.

Power is still out Monday for millions of people along the Gulf Coast of Texas — 48 hours after Hurricane Ike's winds tore apart seaside communities and its rains flooded Houston. Emergency workers struggled through the weekend to rescue thousands of people who ignored evacuation orders. People who didn't leave say help was slow to come after the storm passed.

National

Mandalit del Barco

As an arts correspondent based at NPR West, Mandalit del Barco reports and produces stories about film, television, music, visual arts, dance and other topics. Over the years, she has also covered everything from street gangs to Hollywood, police and prisons, marijuana, immigration, race relations, natural disasters, Latino arts and urban street culture (including hip hop dance, music, and art). Every year, she covers the Oscars and the Grammy awards for NPR, as well as the Sundance Film Festival and other events. Her news reports, feature stories and photos, filed from Los Angeles and abroad, can be heard on All Things Considered, Morning Edition, Weekend Edition, Alt.latino, and npr.org.