Front page feature in WashPost today: As Texas flooded, key staff say FEMA’s leader could not be reached

“The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s acting administrator, David Richardson, is often inaccessible, several current and former officials say, raising concerns within the agency.”

This is a devastatingly critical article about the ability and behavior of the current FEMA Administrator.

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From Gov Exec: GAO: Trump violated law for sixth time in withholding FEMA funds.

“A new Government Accountability Office report says the Trump administration delayed funding for federal programs that provide food, shelter, and temporary housing, raising questions about compliance with federal law and the timing of aid.”

New Report from the GAO: FEMA Staffing Shortages Could Mean Disaster for Future Response Efforts

“FEMA plays a crucial role in responding to natural disasters. But back-to-back disasters nearly exhausted the agency’s staffing capabilities last fall.

Workforce issues have long raised concerns about FEMA’s ability to respond to more frequent and severe disasters—not just hurricanes, but wildfires, flash flooding, earthquakes, and more.

What’s going on at FEMA and what impact could it have on the federal response? Today’s WatchBlog post looks at our first in a series of reports on FEMA’s response challenges.“

From Notus: FEMA’s Top Counsel Has Quit. He’s the Third to Leave in Six Months.

“Your work is never easy, rarely appreciated and often misunderstood or mischaracterized, but it is essential,” Colt Hagmaier, FEMA’s acting chief counsel, wrote to staff announcing his departure.

From Issues in Science and Technology: The Case for a National Disaster Research Strategy

“An integrated, interdisciplinary national research strategy is urgently needed to strengthen the country’s efforts to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters.”

From ABC News: It is now peak hurricane season: What to expect for storms in the Atlantic

“Above-normal activity is expected for the rest of the season.”

From the National Academy of Sciences: Two Decades Later, the Experience of Katrina Continues to Shape How the Nation Prepares for and Responds to Disasters

“It has been 20 years since Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, submerged a major American city, killed nearly 1,400 people, and displaced 1 million more. Two decades is a long enough period for an event to fade from memory, and for those of us who remember how the flooding transfixed a nation, it is startling to realize that for many younger Americans, Katrina is now primarily an event from the history books. But for Gulf residents no matter their age, the experience of Katrina remains fresh, even if all its lasting impacts are not obvious to the naked eye.

The hurricane and its aftermath exposed profound gaps in multiple systems, including flood protection, emergency response, health care, and housing. It marked a turning point in the way we understand the impacts of natural disasters, the catastrophic flooding of a major American city driving home how severe the risks from extreme weather can be as well as the dangers of complacency and failing to adequately prepare. And it showed the unacceptable risks faced by the most vulnerable among us.”

From the WashPost: The Trump administration is moving staff into jobs they know nothing about.

The reassignments are often said to fill vacancies after waves of firings and resignations. Staffers also say the moves target civil rights work.

From The Atlantic: Goodbye, FEMA. Hello, Disaster Consultants.

” Pushing more responsibility for disaster response onto the states will mean depending more on private contractors.”