That's because the local authorities are supposed to tell him where to send the personnel and supplies.
Does that preclude someone within the Dep't of Homeland Security and/or FEMA bureaucracy from, say, watching the media, seeing the problem, and saying, hey, Boss - you need to see this and do something about it?
The "we didn't know" is like "the dog ate my homework" - a lame excuse. And it is one thing in this whole episode where, in my opinion, the Feds could have done a better job.