Helping the helpers

Disaster relief | FEMA officials are finding ways to get rid of the red tape and work with faith-based groups during emergencies | Zoe Sandvig

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When disaster strikes, Kansas native James Bond is on the ground. Increasingly, so is the federal government.

Last May, when a tornado ripped through Greensburg, Kan., wiping out 95 percent of the town, Bond, a disaster response coordinator for World Hope International (WHI), worked alongside a much more helpful version of FEMA than the one that gained notoriety during Hurricane Katrina.

Bond remembers the way the town looked when he used to travel there for high-school athletic events. The world's largest hand-dug well. Old Victorian homes. Mature trees. Quaint shops.

"When we rolled into town the afternoon after [the tornado], I had trouble referencing where I was," Bond told WORLD.