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Double-barreled hurricane crisis exposes FEMA’s chronic leadership, staffing problems
Just the News ^ | 10/9/24 | Steven Richards & John Solomon

Posted on 10/10/2024 8:46:42 AM PDT by CFW

On the eve of Hurricane Milton’s landfall on a disaster-weary Florida, FEMA, the nation’s disaster relief agency reported a stark shortage of frontline workers available to be deployed: just 8% of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s vaunted Incident Management personnel were still available for deployment.

The stunning declaration in Wednesday’s Daily Operations Briefing exposed the longtime impact of FEMA’s expanding work on unrelated missions like COVID funerals and illegal immigrant services, a crisis created by a worker shortage, a workforce morale issue and the reality of burnout from a increasingly frenetic natural disaster pace.

Just seven months earlier, the Government Accountability Office, the auditing arm of Congress, warned that FEMA was in an increasingly weak position to handle multiple major crises at once.

“Increasingly complex and severe natural disasters coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic and responsibilities at the southern border have created an unprecedented demand for FEMA’s disaster workforce,” the GAO concluded.

“In May 2023, we reported that as of the beginning of fiscal year 2022, FEMA had approximately 11,400 disaster employees on board and a staffing goal of 17,670, creating an overall staffing gap of approximately 6,200 staff (35 percent) across different positions. This means that FEMA’s disaster workforce was operating at 65 percent force capacity during the pandemic,” it added.

You can read the GAO report below:

(Excerpt) Read more at justthenews.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Government; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: bidenharris; desantis; disaster; fema; hurricanes
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If you want to see competence in both Hurricane preparedness and response, look to DeSantis and his team. If you want to see incompetence and waste, look to any federal agency, but especially FEMA.

DeSantis surrounds himself with competent people, gives them the needed resources, and expects them to get the job done. FEMA is still worried about their DIE goals.

1 posted on 10/10/2024 8:46:42 AM PDT by CFW
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To: CFW
FEMA folks are only paper pushers. Last I heard, only 9% of their force was available.

My buddy signed on to FEMA. He was called on 9-11 because he is a chemist...His pay was like 10x what his normal pay is.

2 posted on 10/10/2024 8:52:19 AM PDT by Sacajaweau (mY)
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To: CFW

Public view, FEMA is an agency. Swamp view, FEMA is one of the many [socialist] “government branches” the are cast in stone as institutions.

Public: We need things.

Swamp: We bring expanded institutionalization.

Suggestion to Public: STOP ASKING / STOP COMPLAINING


3 posted on 10/10/2024 8:53:37 AM PDT by linMcHlp
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To: CFW

But their pronouns are correct.


4 posted on 10/10/2024 8:54:32 AM PDT by Billthedrill
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To: CFW

They wouldn’t have “responsibilities at the southern border” if they let Border Patrol do its job.


5 posted on 10/10/2024 8:56:05 AM PDT by marron
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To: CFW

just get rid of FEMA. Its bloated, its useless, its woke.

Create regional groupings / councils of STATE emergency response units

for example, have a Southeast State emergency response council, where 4-5 SE governors can coordinate their own response and take resources from each other.


6 posted on 10/10/2024 8:57:58 AM PDT by PGR88
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To: CFW

By “responsibilities at the southern border” they mean spending their budget spreading 20 million migrants all across the US.


7 posted on 10/10/2024 8:58:19 AM PDT by marron
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To: CFW

Because, the Swamp is determined to insert - not supplies - but DEI.


8 posted on 10/10/2024 8:59:11 AM PDT by linMcHlp
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To: CFW

DEI is not just a system to enable future hires of not-merit-worthy people.

It is also a cover-up for their long-standing pattern of hiring incompetents, fiefdom-building non-contributors, LGBTQ+ friends, and overpaid hires from whom they seek sexual favors.


9 posted on 10/10/2024 9:02:06 AM PDT by rx
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To: CFW

When you dummy down US schools and campaign on demonizing American exceptionalism...this is what you get, MEDIOCRITY


10 posted on 10/10/2024 9:06:33 AM PDT by SMARTY (In politics, stupidity is not a handicap. Napoleon Bonaparte I)
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To: CFW

Leadership? Huh? Where does the buck stop these days?


11 posted on 10/10/2024 9:07:01 AM PDT by rktman (Destroy America from withinE? Check! WTH? Enlisted USN 1967 to end up with this💩? 🚫💉! 🇮🇱👍!)
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To: CFW
It's the federal government. It's designs are always to serve itself thru failure. Think about it.

How do you explain anything to a person or group of persons who's livelihood and power is perpetuated by not understanding?

12 posted on 10/10/2024 9:08:06 AM PDT by blackdog ((Z28.310) Be careful what you say. Your refrigerator may be listening & reporting you.)
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To: rx

“DEI is not just a system to enable future hires of not-merit-worthy people.

It is also a cover-up for their long-standing pattern of hiring incompetents, fiefdom-building non-contributors, LGBTQ+ friends, and overpaid hires from whom they seek sexual favors.”


I agree on that point. Any time you hear of embezzlement or mishandling of funds, if you look closely, you will find see spouse, significant other, or family member receiving a cut of the ill-gotten goods. They will hire or appoint someone to a high-paying position that has absolutely no qualifications for the job. See Biden family, et al. And, Fani Willis and lover.


13 posted on 10/10/2024 9:10:45 AM PDT by CFW
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To: CFW
the reality of burnout from a increasingly frenetic natural disaster pace.…

Let that sink in.

Very disappointing piece by Solomon softening critique of the beleaguered agency.

14 posted on 10/10/2024 9:10:54 AM PDT by logi_cal869 (-cynicus the "concern troll" a/o 10/03/2018 /!i!! &@$%&*(@ -)
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To: CFW
chronic leadership, staffing problems corruption
15 posted on 10/10/2024 9:12:44 AM PDT by SpaceBar
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To: CFW

;Money for me. No money for thee; is the dems way.


16 posted on 10/10/2024 9:16:40 AM PDT by Beowulf9
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To: CFW

Yep. Cooper in NC is MIA. He disappeared.


17 posted on 10/10/2024 9:43:33 AM PDT by DeplorablePaul
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To: CFW

I am not coming to defend the “bureaucratic” aspect of FEMA; but expecting them to have enough staff to handle two disasters in the same region seems to be a little much.

It is easy to forget that we are at the last month of Hurricane season and up to this point, it had been very tame. Having additional staff on duty for all of that time would not be efficient.

I think FEMA does a crap job communicating what they DO in a situation. People have an expectation that they are going to send in people to go door to door and hand out cash and food. That is NOT their role.

Florida does it well because Florida does it a lot. Their state and local teams are exceptional. They developed systems over decades and they are the gold standard in responses.

One would think North Carolina would be better at this. Their state level response was lousy.

FEMA is a government agency and that comes with all of the bad stuff. But expecting them to do anything for individuals is a bad expectation and no one should think that is their job.


18 posted on 10/10/2024 9:44:32 AM PDT by Vermont Lt (Don’t vote for anyone over 70 years old. Get rid of the geriatric politicians.)
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To: CFW

https://babylonbee.com/news/what-a-jerk-kamala-harris-wants-to-help-with-hurricane-relief-but-ron-desantis-refuses-to-tell-her-where-florida-is


19 posted on 10/10/2024 10:11:00 AM PDT by DFG
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To: Vermont Lt

Spot on post. People complain about FEMA not doing things they are not supposed to be doing in the first place. FEMA actually does a decent job in overall disaster management between states and material support to first responders. It also has done a good job in the past during recovery efforts by getting emergency housing to people who needed it.

I’ll tell you one area where FEMA has gone off track and that is they are deployed way too much. Originally this agency was only supposed to work significant operations beyond the scope of individual states. Now they are being called in to manage relatively small disasters because states want to get those Federal disaster dollars. Right now FEMA has personnel deployed to almost 100 active disaster in the US and possessions. That is ridiculous.


20 posted on 10/10/2024 11:02:43 AM PDT by XRdsRev (Justice for Bernell Trammell, black Trump supporter, executed in the street in broad daylight 2020.)
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