Workers say FEMA is not ready for the disaster season
Less than two Months before the official start of the storm season, the main agency responding to the country’s disaster faces an uncertain future. Employees working across the Federal Emergency Management Agency tell Wired that the rapid erosion of tools, foreign partnerships and practices – as well as the threat that reduces employees and the departure of senior employees – is bad news for the country that goes to summer, even if the agency is somewhat intact. FEMA employees who were talking to Wired were given anonymity because they were not allowed to talk to the press.
This agency has not yet seen extensive changes, but the full wrapping of it is not fully [disaster] An employee says, answer. “We’re set for a really bad situation.”
FEMA was established in 1979 with the executive order signed by President Jimmy Carter as an independent agency. After September 11, he transferred it under the Ministry of Security. In recent years, expensive disasters such as Ian, Ida, and Helen, as well as the Coveid-19 epidemic have increased the costs of the agency.
The agency has long been the target of conspiracy theorists. But last year, after the Storm of Helen, in parts of North Carolina, Donald Trump, encouraged by the right -wing influence, reinforced the wrong information about the agency’s response to the storm and put a political bull on FEMA that led to his second presidency.
During his first week, Trump signed an executive order to establish a council for reviewing past disasters run by FEMA and signing its current ability to respond to events by ordering “effectiveness, priorities and agency competence”. In late March, Homeland Security Minister Christie Norm publicly said at the cabinet meeting that DHS “destroyed FEMA”. The next day, according to Politico and Washington Post reports, NOEM presented a plan to reduce the agency to the immediate response to the disaster until October and transferred it under the supervision of the White House.
“Contrary to the ready -made, disgraceful and inadequate government response to natural disasters such as the Storm of Helen, the Trump administration is committed to ensuring Americans’ impact [sic] In emergencies, it receives the aid it needs quickly and efficiently. Emergency management is the best when directing local and state officials. “
Exactly who is in the review council appointed by the White House – except Noem and the Minister of Defense Pete Hegst, Cochairs, which is appointed by executive order – is a mystery. Some lawmakers claim to be employed for service, but no public list has been released. While the January executive guidelines require the council until April 24, it seems that the only council action is so far requested public opinion “To understand [the public’s] Experience with FEMA during disaster. “At the end of March, CNN reported that NOEM and other officials discussed the possibility of canceling the executive order that had established the Council in general.
