Bonnie Rubble: Not As Bad As Fran?

Early indications are that it will take much less money to help rebuild in the path of Tropical Storm Bonnie that it did with Hurricane Fran, because Bonnie has caused less damage so far, according to James Lee Witt, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Witt has been monitoring and assessing storm damage with the help of state and local emergency managers, he tells CBS 'This Morning' Co-Anchor Mark McEwen.

CLICK HERE

The city of Wilmington, N.C., already has been helped by Project Impact, which is designed to help prepare communities for disasters like Bonnie. Wilmington is among more than 50 communities that are participating in the program.

Says Witt, "I think you can see the difference in Wilmington from Hurricane Fran and what they have done in preventionÂ… You can see they are building better, taking the prevention measures and putting them in place.

"I think it's very clear [that] with Bonnie, you're not going to have as much damage [as with Fran], but still it will be quite a bit," he adds.

FEMA has spent $20 billion in the past 10 years to help people repair and rebuild their communities after natural disasters.

Witt also said FEMA will be setting up an 800 number to allow hurricane victims to apply for aid by phone.

More from CBS News