FEMA Will Fix Assistance Web Site

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), criticized earlier this week for blocking access to its assistance Web site to all but Microsoft's Internet Explorer, now says it is working on opening registration via other browsers.

On FEMA's Individual Assistance Center, a new notice has been posted that reads "Currently to complete your application online you must be using Microsoft's Internet Explorer 6.0 or above. We are in the process of modifying the application so that it will be available to additional browsers."

As of mid-day Friday, the site was still not accepting non-IE browsers. TechWeb's quick test with Firefox 1.0.6 running under Windows, for instance, again resulted in a final message of "In order to use this site, you must have JavaScript Enabled and Internet Explorer version 6" on the page that in IE begins the registration process.

Those without access to Windows and Internet Explorer can register by phone, said FEMA. Operators are available 24/7 at 800-621-3362.

FEMA boasted on Friday that it had already distributed $460 million in the last 48 hours to some 230,000 households affected by the Katrina disaster and subsequent flooding.