HOUSTON -- Nearly two months after Hurricane Ike struck southeast Texas, local, state and federal leaders met to discuss disaster response and recovery in our area, KPRC Local 2 reported Monday.

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Video: Residents Speak Out At Ike Hearing: Rachel McNeill Reports

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Members of the public were allowed to let their opinions be voiced at the House select committee hearing held at the University of Houston.

"I want our voices to be heard and understood that we're real people with real problems," resident Carol Moore said.

Moore is still living with her daughter after a tree fell through her home during the storm on Sept. 13. She said communication was the biggest problem right after Ike hit.

Even if you have a POD, if I don't know where it is, I'm still hungry," she said.

Committee members called for testimony from all levels of government and agencies, as well as nonprofit organizations and citizens, to better prepare for future storms.

"There has been unacceptable bureaucratic delays on the federal level," Houston Mayor Bill White said.

Many expressed frustration with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

"I think FEMA needs to do a better job of getting the information out, using the local media, using neighborhood periodicals, using stations -- AM and FM -- that people will listen to. I don't think that was sufficient. We have to do a better job of that," U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee said.

A big concern was power outages and what it will take to strengthen the grid.

"We do not oppose hardening the grid nor have we in Austin. Our comments were we think a cost-benefit analysis of hardening the grid needs to be done because it is extremely expensive to do so," said Tom Standish with CenterPoint Energy.

Three more public hearings are planned. The next will focus on Galveston, Chambers, Matagorda and Brazoria counties. It will be held at 10 a.m. on Dec. 3 at the Johnnie Arolfo Civic Center in League City.