FEMA 101: How America handles disasters, and why that’s now in question

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - A person sits at a desk inside of a mobile FEMA command centre in downtown Dawson Springs, Kentucky, the US on December 14, 2021 after tornadoes ripped through several states. — Reuters pic

WASHINGTON, June 4 — Staff of the Federal Emergency Management Agency were left baffled on Monday after David Richardson, the head of the US disaster agency, said he had not been aware the country had a hurricane season, according to four sources familiar with the situation.

President Donald Trump has suggested closing the agency and has previously established a review council for FEMA, whose resources are strained following multiple weather-related disasters. It has also been burdened by past failures in handling massive storms.

What is FEMA?

The federal agency’s mission is to help people before, during and after disasters, including hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes and floods. FEMA brings in emergency personnel, supplies and equipment to stricken areas.

Its reputation was battered by its poor handling of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and the agency has struggled to recover. Trump criticized FEMA on the campaign trail and since taking office, suggesting states should take on a greater role in disaster planning and response.

FEMA has 10 regional offices and the capacity to coordinate resources from across the federal government. Officially created in 1979, it became part of the Department of Homeland Security in 2004. The agency is currently supporting 10 emergency declarations, according to its website.

Trump criticism

Trump has accused FEMA of bungling emergency relief efforts in North Carolina and said he preferred that states be given federal money to handle disasters themselves.

“FEMA has turned out to be a disaster,” he said during a tour in January of a North Carolina neighborhood destroyed by September’s Hurricane Helene. “I think we recommend that FEMA go away.”

Trump also criticized California’s response to January wildfires that devastated Los Angeles, but pledged to work with California Governor Gavin Newsom and offered help to LA Mayor Karen Bass.

FEMA staffing

Cam Hamilton, a former Navy SEAL Trump appointed to temporarily lead the agency after the Republican president took office, was fired last month, a day after he told lawmakers in a hearing that he did not support FEMA’s closure.

He was replaced by Richardson, who told staff he would “run right over” anyone who resisted changes and that all decisions had to go through him.

Soon after, FEMA announced the departure of 16 senior executives, a significant shakeup of its leadership ranks.

Some 2,000 FEMA employees – or about a third of full-time staff – have been fired or accepted incentives to quit since Trump took office.

FEMA says it maintains more than 4,000 reservists to deploy to disaster zones, in addition to thousands of surge capacity force members from other federal agencies who can be called on to help in the response if necessary.

FEMA funding

Funding for the agency has soared in recent years as extreme weather events boosted the need for its services. The agency received US$29 billion from Congress in December to fund ongoing relief efforts.

A FEMA spokesperson told Reuters in January the agency had not received additional funding to reimburse states for ongoing recovery efforts after Hurricane Helene devastated North Carolina and the US Southeast in late September.

In April, the Trump administration said FEMA had made more than US$2.2 billion in payments to a group of states over the past three weeks, after a judge blocked an earlier sweeping freeze of federal grants, loans and other financial aid.

Richardson has said states would in the future bear half the costs for responding to natural disasters, up from 25 per cent under existing cost-sharing arrangements.

Disinformation campaign

While responding to real-life disasters, FEMA has also battled a slew of false rumors about how its funds have been used. Before his re-election, Trump and his Republican allies accused former President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate for president, of using federal emergency money to help people who were in the country illegally.

US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene went as far as to say government officials controlled the weather.

FEMA has been the target of so many falsehoods it has set up a rumor response page on its website.

One entry addresses the accusation that FEMA diverted funds to the border.“This is false. No money is being diverted from disaster-response needs. FEMA’s disaster-response efforts and individual assistance is funded through the Disaster Relief Fund, which is a dedicated fund for disaster efforts. Disaster Relief Fund money has not been diverted to other, non-disaster related efforts.”

FEMA failures

The agency has been criticized for emergency responses to hurricanes that fell short, including Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico in 2017. Residents accused Trump, who was then in his first term, of being slow to dispatch aid after Maria and clumsy in his public remarks once it was clear the US territory had been devastated.

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina battered New Orleans and flooded parts of the city as residents crowded into ill-prepared shelters.

Katrina devastated the Gulf of Mexico coast and caused more than 1,800 deaths. It also shattered the reputation of FEMA, which was sharply criticized for its response. — Reuters