Two days after the deadly floods ravaged Central Texas, on July 6, two-thirds of the 2,063 calls to FEMA’s disaster assistance line went unanswered. Compare that to Day 1, when 99.7% of the 3,027 calls were answered. The difference in the two days, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) fired hundreds of contractors at numerous different call centers that day.
It got even worse. On July 7, three days after the flooding started, only 16% of the 2,613 calls were answered. The call center workers’ contracts were not renewed until five days after they expired. What caused this horrible breakdown at such a critical time for the rescue and recovery operations in Texas?
Texas Gets No Answers
It turns out the problem was caused by a familiar name. As mentioned earlier, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem recently established a “cost-cutting” rule at DHS (FEMA is an agency within DHS) that states that every contract and grant over $100,000 will require her personal sign-off before any funds can be disbursed. Noem forgot about this rule change and failed to renew the contractor’s contract, causing it to lapse.
The criticism is starting to come in from emergency preparedness experts. Jeffrey Schlegelmilch, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University, gave this perspective.
“Responding to less than half of the inquiries is pretty horrific. Put yourself in the shoes of a survivor: You’ve lost everything, you’re trying to find out what’s insured and what’s not, and you’re navigating multiple aid programs.”
After natural disasters, such as the Texas floods, survivors can contact FEMA to apply for financial assistance to receive $750 to help cover immediate needs such as food, water, and medicine. As survivors’ applications go through the review process, they may receive additional assistance for other short-long term needs such as support for temporary housing, personal property, and home repair costs.
More FEMA Trouble in Texas
And this is not the first time the new rule change has affected relief efforts in Texas. Because of the change, there was a delay in getting agreements signed with various contractors, such as search and rescue teams, to help with disaster relief.
These teams were not deployed until three days after the flooding started. And the acting administrator of FEMA, David Richardson, has not been seen or heard from since the disaster began. In fact, Mr. Richardson (who had no prior emergency management experience) has not made any public appearances since his May 8 appointment.
And in a move that has contributed to the intense scrutiny focused on the troubled agency since the flood crisis in Texas started, it was announced last month that the Trump administration halted FEMA’s practice of going door-to-door in disaster zones. Geoff Harbaugh, FEMA’s associate administrator for the Office of External Affairs, expressed the policy change like this.
“Door-to-door canvassing is another example of a wasteful and ineffective FEMA program. Under the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Noem, FEMA is changing how it operates and reforming its policies to better support disaster survivors and the American people. President Trump’s recent executive orders empower states to effectively respond to natural disasters and provide resources at the community level.”
Another Flood-Related Issue and Optics
And to add insult to injury, it was reported by USA Today that the State of Texas’ Division of Emergency Management denied requests from the hardest-hit region of Kerr County for a $1 million grant to improve its flood warning system. Casting a pall over all of this is Trump’s stated desire to shut FEMA down and return the emergency management responsibilities to other branches of the federal government and the states. There is great fear in the US as deadly storms have continued, and we are also not even halfway through hurricane season.
