Olympia, WA, April 17, 2001 -- FEMA Director Joe M. Allbaugh greets a FEMA staffer at the Disaster Field Office that has been assisting victims of the February 28th earthquake. FEMA News Photo. Olympia, WA, April 17, 2001 -- FEMA Director Joe M. Allbaugh greets FEMA staffers at the Disaster Field Office that has been assisting victims of the February 28th earthquake. FEMA News Photo. Olympia, WA, April 17, 2001 -- FEMA Joe M. Allbaugh thanks FEMA staffers at the Disaster Field Office for their hard work on behalf of the victims of the February 28th earthquake. FEMA News Photo.

Olympia, WA, April 17, 2001 - After touring flood-affected areas along the Red River in North Dakota on Monday, FEMA Director Joe M. Allbaugh arrived in Olympia, Wash., today to take a look at the rebuilding currently underway in earthquake-damaged Washington state.

Director Allbaugh toured the Disaster Field Office, set up after the Nisqually earthquake struck the area on Feb. 28, and thanked federal and state disaster employees for their work.

"I wanted all of you to know how proud the President is of the work you are doing," Allbaugh said in an all-hands meeting at the DFO. "You have set a precedent here for responding to disasters in this country."

Director Allbaugh is scheduled to visit the construction site at the Fourth Avenue Bridge in Olympia, with U.S. Rep. Brian Baird, Olympia Mayor Stan Biles and representatives of the Olympia business community.