Latest news with #DavidRichardson
Business Recorder
34 minutes ago
- Climate
- Business Recorder
Sustainable Switch: Deadly floods hit Nigeria, India and Bangladesh
Fatal floods have wreaked havoc across Nigeria, India and Bangladesh this week and Romania is dealing with the aftermath of one of its worst floods in 30 years. Meanwhile, in the United States – where hurricane season is underway – the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency left his staff baffled by saying he was unaware that the country has a hurricane season. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security later said the comment was a joke. Countries around the world are experiencing extreme weather events, including in Nigeria, where torrential rains have triggered deadly floods and widespread devastation. Flooding in Nigeria's Niger State this week has killed 151 people and forced several thousand from their homes, an emergency official told Reuters. Ibrahim Audu Hussaini, director of information at the Niger State Emergency Management Agency, said over 500 households had been impacted and more than 3,000 people displaced. Heavy rains in India and Bangladesh In India, at least 34 people have died in the nation's northeastern region after heavy floods caused landslides over the last four days, authorities and media said, and the weather department predicted more heavy rain. More than a thousand tourists trapped in the Himalayan state of Sikkim were being evacuated on Monday, a government statement said, and army rescue teams were pressed into service in Meghalaya state to rescue more than 500 people stranded in flooded areas. In neighbouring Bangladesh, at least four members of a family were killed in a landslide in the northeastern district of Sylhet, while hundreds of shelters have been opened across the hilly districts of Rangamati, Bandarban, and Khagrachhari. Authorities have warned of further landslides and flash floods, urging residents in vulnerable areas to remain alert. Romania's worst floods in 30 years Elsewhere, Romanian officials have been rerouting a stream in central Romania to prevent further flooding of the Praid salt mine, one of Europe's largest salt reserves and a popular tourist attraction, after parts of its floor caved in. Authorities evacuated 45 households near mine areas at risk of collapse after the worst floods in 30 years in the central Romanian county of Harghita. The floods are threatening to destroy the livelihoods of people in the town of Praid who have relied on tourism centred around the salt mine for decades, local authority officials said. FEMA's head unaware of hurricane season And finally, staff of the U.S. disaster agency FEMA were left baffled on Monday after its head David Richardson said he had not been aware the country has a hurricane season, according to four sources familiar with the situation. The remark was made during a briefing by Richardson, who has led FEMA since early May. It was not clear to staff whether he meant it literally, as a joke, or in some other context. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, FEMA's parent agency, said the comment was a joke and that FEMA is prepared for hurricane season. The U.S. hurricane season officially began on Sunday and lasts through November. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecast last week that this year's season is expected to bring as many as 10 hurricanes. Representative Bennie Thompson, the senior Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee with oversight of FEMA, issued a statement to Reuters that read: 'Suffice to say, disaster response is no joke. If you don't know what or when hurricane season is, you're not qualified to run FEMA. Get someone knowledgeable in there.'
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Climate
- Reuters
Sustainable Switch: Deadly floods hit Nigeria, India and Bangladesh
This is an excerpt of the Sustainable Switch newsletter, where we make sense of companies and governments grappling with climate change, diversity, and human rights on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. To receive the full newsletter in your inbox for free sign up here. Hello, Fatal floods have wreaked havoc across Nigeria, India and Bangladesh this week and Romania is dealing with the aftermath of one of its worst floods in 30 years. Meanwhile, in the United States – where hurricane season is underway – the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency left his staff baffled by saying he was unaware that the country has a hurricane season. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security later said the comment was a joke. Countries around the world are experiencing extreme weather events, including in Nigeria, where torrential rains have triggered deadly floods and widespread devastation. Flooding in Nigeria's Niger State this week has killed 151 people and forced several thousand from their homes, an emergency official told Reuters. Ibrahim Audu Hussaini, director of information at the Niger State Emergency Management Agency, said over 500 households had been impacted and more than 3,000 people displaced. Heavy rains in India and Bangladesh In India, at least 34 people have died in the nation's northeastern region after heavy floods caused landslides over the last four days, authorities and media said, and the weather department predicted more heavy rain. More than a thousand tourists trapped in the Himalayan state of Sikkim were being evacuated on Monday, a government statement said, and army rescue teams were pressed into service in Meghalaya state to rescue more than 500 people stranded in flooded areas. In neighbouring Bangladesh, at least four members of a family were killed in a landslide in the northeastern district of Sylhet, while hundreds of shelters have been opened across the hilly districts of Rangamati, Bandarban, and Khagrachhari. Authorities have warned of further landslides and flash floods, urging residents in vulnerable areas to remain alert. Romania's worst floods in 30 years Elsewhere, Romanian officials have been rerouting a stream in central Romania to prevent further flooding of the Praid salt mine, one of Europe's largest salt reserves and a popular tourist attraction, after parts of its floor caved in. Authorities evacuated 45 households near mine areas at risk of collapse after the worst floods in 30 years in the central Romanian county of Harghita. The floods are threatening to destroy the livelihoods of people in the town of Praid who have relied on tourism centred around the salt mine for decades, local authority officials said. FEMA's head unaware of hurricane season And finally, staff of the U.S. disaster agency FEMA were left baffled on Monday after its head David Richardson said he had not been aware the country has a hurricane season, according to four sources familiar with the situation. The remark was made during a briefing by Richardson, who has led FEMA since early May. It was not clear to staff whether he meant it literally, as a joke, or in some other context. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, FEMA's parent agency, said the comment was a joke and that FEMA is prepared for hurricane season. The U.S. hurricane season officially began on Sunday and lasts through November. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecast last week that this year's season is expected to bring as many as 10 hurricanes. Representative Bennie Thompson, the senior Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee with oversight of FEMA, issued a statement to Reuters that read: "Suffice to say, disaster response is no joke. If you don't know what or when hurricane season is, you're not qualified to run FEMA. Get someone knowledgeable in there.' ESG Lens Britain needs to cut industrial energy bills that are the highest among major advanced economies if its aspirations for a healthy manufacturing sector are to succeed, industry body Make UK, formerly the Engineering Employers' Federation, said. Britain had the highest industrial energy prices out of any International Energy Agency member country in 2023, reflecting its dependence on gas and its role in setting electricity prices. Today's Sustainable Switch was edited by Alexandra Hudson Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also subscribe here.
E&E News
5 hours ago
- Climate
- E&E News
White House defends FEMA chief's baffling hurricane comments
The White House on Tuesday played down news reports about the leader of the Federal Emergency Management Agency saying he didn't know the nation had a hurricane season — a remark that led Democrats to assail the agency chief. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that FEMA acting Administrator David Richardson was joking when he told agency staff Monday that he was unaware that the U.S. has an official time period in which hurricanes threaten coastal states, spanning from June 1 to Nov. 30. The season marks the period when hurricanes are most likely to hit the U.S. and when state and federal agencies take precautionary steps. It's FEMA's busiest time. Advertisement 'FEMA is taking this seriously, contrary to some of the reporting we have seen from jokes that were made and leaks from meetings,' Leavitt said in response to a question about hurricane season.
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Luján and Heinrich ask for FEMA reforms
Jun. 3—New Mexico's senators are urging the Federal Emergency Management Agency to improve its response to catastrophes in Western states. Democratic Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján called on Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and FEMA Acting Administrator David Richardson to improve FEMA's response to wildfires and the subsequent disasters, like flooding or mudslides, that so often follow. Richardson was appointed interim director in early May and made headlines Monday when he commented that he was not aware the country has a hurricane season, according to a report from Reuters. Spokespeople from the White House and the Department of Homeland Security, the agency overseeing FEMA, have said the comment was a joke. "Western states face a distinct and growing threat: namely, catastrophic wildfires followed by cascading disasters such as landslides, flooding, and water system failures that compound damage and slow recovery," the letter reads. "These cascading events — which can happen years after an initial fire — are devastating, and FEMA has repeatedly struggled to respond effectively." In January, President Donald Trump created a council to review FEMA and suggest changes, including whether "FEMA can serve its functions as a support agency, providing supplemental federal assistance," to states, and Trump has suggested eliminating the agency. More than 2,000 FEMA employees have left the agency or have been laid off since Trump began his second term. The senators urged the administration not to weaken FEMA's authority. "Weakening or eliminating federal disaster assistance when state and local resources across the West are overwhelmed and depleted would be a dangerous step backwards," the letter says. Northern New Mexico communities have struggled with flooding in years after the 2022 Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire destabilized watersheds and caused soil degradation and vegetation loss. The senators point to 2024 flooding in Las Vegas, which disrupted the city's annual Fiestas. The senators are calling for FEMA's reimbursement formulas to be updated to reflect that infrastructure like bridges being rebuilt after fires may need to be more robust, given the risk of post-fire floods. They're also calling for FEMA's policies to adapt to the reality that some people living in areas at high-risk of catastrophic natural disasters like wildfires or hurricanes are no longer able to acquire private insurance coverage, asking the agency to "meet the needs of those who fall into this widening gap."
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
FEMA Is Not Prepared
This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here. Who manages the disaster if the disaster managers are the disaster? That's a question that the people of the United States may have to answer soon. As hurricane season begins in the U.S., the Federal Emergency Management Agency is in disarray. Reuters reported yesterday that acting FEMA head David Richardson suggested during a meeting with employees that he was unaware of the very existence of a hurricane season. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security dismissed the report: 'Despite meanspirited attempts to falsely frame a joke as policy, there is no uncertainty about what FEMA will be doing this Hurricane Season.' The spokesperson added, 'FEMA is shifting from bloated, DC-centric dead weight to a lean, deployable disaster force that empowers state actors to provide relief for their citizens.' FEMA employees, and Americans at large, might be forgiven for having doubts. Richardson has only been on the job since early May, when his predecessor was abruptly fired after telling Congress he did not believe that FEMA should be eliminated, as President Donald Trump has contemplated. Richardson is a Marine veteran who had been leading the DHS office that seeks to prevent attacks on the U.S. involving weapons of mass destruction, but he has no experience with disaster management. The Wall Street Journal reported that he had expressed surprise at how broad FEMA's remit is. (The last time FEMA was led by an administrator whose profession was not emergency management was the mid-2000s, under Michael Brown. If you don't know how that turned out, I recommend my colleague Vann R. Newkirk II's award-winning podcast on Hurricane Katrina, Floodlines.) But Richardson surely is aware of hurricane season. In mid-May, CNN obtained an internal document warning that FEMA was badly behind schedule. 'As FEMA transforms to a smaller footprint, the intent for this hurricane season is not well understood, thus FEMA is not ready,' it read. (DHS, which oversees FEMA, said the information was 'grossly out of context.') To calm worries at the agency, Richardson held a conference call. 'I would say we're about 80 or 85 percent there,' he told staff, according to ABC News. 'The next week, we will close that gap and get to probably 97 to 98 percent of a plan. We'll never have 100 percent of a plan.' That was not the most reassuring answer, and it looks worse now. The Journal reports that in the same meeting yesterday where Richardson suggested unfamiliarity with hurricane season, he also said the agency would return to its 2024 hurricane-preparedness strategy. How that will work is anyone's guess, given that FEMA has already slashed programs and staff since last year's hurricane season. (FEMA responded to my request for comment with DHS's statement, but did not answer specific questions or make any official available for an interview.) FEMA is not a large part of the federal government by budget or staff, but it is an important one because it directly affects the lives of ordinary Americans in their worst moments. Washington can seem distant and abstract, but disasters are not, and as Hurricane Helene last year demonstrated, even people living in supposed 'climate havens' are susceptible to extreme weather. In the aftermath of Helene, Trump grasped the widespread public fury at FEMA, which storm victims felt was not responsive enough, fast enough. (Major disasters are major, and even the best-managed response is going to be slower than anyone wants, but no one seems to think this was the best-managed response.) As a candidate, he was quick to say that the Biden administration should do more, but since becoming president again, he has taken steps to ensure that FEMA can and will do less. FEMA is also making recovery harder for the victims of past disasters. In April, the agency declined to declare a major disaster in Washington State, which would free up funding for recovery from a bomb cyclone in November 2024; the state's entire congressional delegation pleaded with him to reconsider. DHS also denied North Carolina more funding for cleanup after Helene, which Governor Josh Stein estimated would cost state taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. The president also refused individual federal assistance to nine Arkansas counties struck by tornadoes in March, only reversing the decision after Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who served as press secretary in Trump's first administration, called the president directly. In the post-FEMA future that Trump has floated, states would be responsible for all disaster recovery. Some conservatives have long argued that states need to shoulder more responsibility for smaller disasters, but most states (and territories such as Puerto Rico) simply don't have the resources to respond to large-scale disasters like Helene. This is, after all, one reason the 13 colonies united in the first place: for mutual aid and protection. The federal government has much greater resources and, unlike most states, is not required to balance its budget annually. That makes it a crucial financial backstop. As Brock Long, who led FEMA during Trump's first term, told me last year, 'All disasters are locally executed, state managed, and federally supported.' FEMA has not, generally, been a partisan agency. Administrators may have different political views, but they try to provide help without consideration for politics. I've spoken with several administrators over the years, and they are consistently professional, don't take wildly differing approaches to their work, and are dedicated to emergency response. When an employee at FEMA was caught telling workers not to help people with Trump signs in their yards, it was rightly a scandal. Yet in his first term, Trump himself reportedly withheld or delayed disaster funds in multiple cases based on partisanship. His reversal on assistance for Arkansas residents raises the specter of a future in which only states whose governors are close to Trump can hope to obtain relief. And yet if FEMA isn't prepared for hurricane season, doesn't have sufficient staff, and is laboring under a president who would like to see it gone, the problem may not be that only the president's allies can get help from the federal government—but rather that no one can. Related: Hurricane Helene through the eyes of a former FEMA chief David Inserra: There are too many federal disasters. Here are three new stories from The Atlantic: Feudalism is our future. Ukraine's warning to the world's other military forces The GOP's new Medicaid denialism Today's News DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced that the family of the man accused of Sunday's attack at a Colorado demonstration for Israeli hostages has been taken into ICE custody. Elon Musk posted on X calling President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act a 'disgusting abomination.' Mount Etna, an active volcano in eastern Sicily, erupted. No injuries resulted. Dispatches Work in Progress: Derek Thompson explains the No. 1 rule for understanding Donald Trump. The Weekly Planet: Our diets are awful for the planet. But we can't simply abandon food, Michael Grunwald writes. Explore all of our newsletters here. More From The Atlantic Diddy's trial is revealing a conspiracy, but it's not the one people expected. Dear James: 'I'm not very punk rock' Evening Read Nutrition Science's Most Preposterous Result By David Merritt Johns From 2023 Last summer, I got a tip about a curious scientific finding. 'I'm sorry, it cracks me up every time I think about this,' my tipster said. Back in 2018, a Harvard doctoral student named Andres Ardisson Korat was presenting his research on the relationship between dairy foods and chronic disease to his thesis committee. One of his studies had led him to an unusual conclusion: Among diabetics, eating half a cup of ice cream a day was associated with a lower risk of heart problems. Needless to say, the idea that a dessert loaded with saturated fat and sugar might actually be good for you raised some eyebrows at the nation's most influential department of nutrition. Read the full article. Culture Break Watch. Our writers and editors recommend five movies they could watch over and over again. Read. Susan Choi's new book, Flashlight, considers the evolution of rage. Play our daily crossword. P.S. Professional emergency managers are some of the most impressive people I've interviewed. To succeed, they have to be extremely practical, very creative, and totally unflappable. In 2015, while reporting an article on 'maximums of maximums'—the biggest hypothetical catastrophes the nation could face—I asked some sources what their nightmare was. 'What keeps me up is another form of a pandemic, respiratory transmitted, highly lethal virus,' Anthony Fauci told me. (Good prediction, doc.) But when I asked Craig Fugate, then FEMA's administrator, what kept him up at night, he answered in the way that only a veteran of many disasters could: 'Nothing.' — David Isabel Fattal contributed to this newsletter. When you buy a book using a link in this newsletter, we receive a commission. Thank you for supporting The Atlantic. Article originally published at The Atlantic
