Latest news with #disastermanagement
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Fema director defends Texas flood response as ‘model' for disasters
David Richardson, the acting director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema), on Wednesday defended his agency's handling of recent deadly floods in Texas, claiming the response was a 'model' for 'how disasters should be handled'. The comment came as Richardson faced accusations that the response to the floods was botched, characterized by ignorance and carelessness. 'This wasn't just incompetence. It wasn't just indifference. It was both,' Greg Stanton, a Democratic representative from Arizona, told Richardson at the House transportation and infrastructure committee hearing. 'And that deadly combination likely cost lives.' The hearing followed a slew of reports saying Richardson was nowhere to be found during the flood. Earlier, the acting director, who has no previous experience in disaster management, reportedly said he was unaware that hurricane season exists in the US – something the White House later said was a 'joke'. Richardson denied any agency wrongdoing in the Texas floods. 'What happened in Texas was an absolute tragedy,' he said. He and other officials under Donald Trump were aiming to restore the agency to its original goals, he said, encouraging states to take on more financial and logistical responsibility for disasters. 'Fema has lost sight of its original intent,' he said. 'Under the leadership of the President and the Secretary we are returning to this mission focus moving forward.' Anticipating this argument, Rick Larsen, a US representative and ranking member of the House committee, came to the hearing armed with the Congressional Research Service's list of the 518 actions that Fema is mandated to follow. 'Currently, Fema doesn't follow all these laws,' he said. In response, Richardson said the agency had done it 'own mission analysis'. 'What we did, and I can commit to, is that we developed eight mission-essential tasks that we have to do by statute,' he said. At the hearing, Larsen also announced a bipartisan bill to reform the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which he is co-leading with Sam Graves, the House transportation and infrastructure chair and a Republican from Missouri, that proposes centralizing disaster assistance funding information. 'As disasters become more frequent and severe, leaving more lives, homes and livelihoods at risk, maintaining Fema's core functions remains critically important,' said Will McDow, an associate vice-president at the Environmental Defense Fund, which is backing the bill. During his first week in office, Trump floated the idea of getting rid of Fema altogether, something the homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, repeated in March. John Raymond Garamendi, a Democratic representative from California, asked Richardson if he can 'commit to us today that Fema will exist in the future, will be able to carry out its functions under the law and under the needs of this nation'. Richardson provided a vague response. 'The president wants better emergency management for the American people, and that's a noble goal,' he said. In the days after the recent floods ravaged central Texas, reports showed that Fema did not answer nearly two-thirds of calls to its disaster assistance hotline, something Noem dismissed as 'fake news'. Richardson also denied the reporting. 'The vast majority of phone calls were answered, the questions were addressed,' he said. He said a key goal for Fema under his leadership is 'cutting through red tape and ensuring that when federal assistance is warranted we deliver assistance to survivors rapidly'. But Noem in recent weeks has enacted a new rule requiring any department contract or grant over $100,000 to be personally signed off by her before funds can be allocated, anonymous Fema officials told NBC News. 'To me, having someone, one person only, having to sign off on every contract of $100,000 or more is the definition of bureaucracy,' said Dina Titus, a Democratic representative from Nevada. This week, Ken Pagurek, Fema's urban search and rescue branch head, resigned, CNN first reported, after more than a decade at the agency, reportedly citing concerns about major cuts Trump has made to the agency and the result on disaster management. Study after study shows that flooding like this summer's in Texas is becoming more severe and more common amid the climate crisis. Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Democratic delegate from Washington DC, asked Richardson if he believes fossil fuels are the primary cause of the climate crisis, and if he thinks extreme weather is increasing. Richardson was noncommittal in his answer. 'What I believe is that we will address disasters regardless of their origin,' he said. Asked if he thought the agency had made any mistakes during the floods, Richardson said: 'I can't see anything that we did wrong. 'Nothing is perfect. However, I will say that it was a model, particularly at Fema, the region and the state level,' he said. 'It was a model how disasters should be handled.'
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Fema director defends Texas flood response as ‘model' for disasters
David Richardson, the acting director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema), on Wednesday defended his agency's handling of recent deadly floods in Texas, claiming the response was a 'model' for 'how disasters should be handled'. The comment came as Richardson faced accusations that the response to the floods was botched, characterized by ignorance and carelessness. 'This wasn't just incompetence. It wasn't just indifference. It was both,' Greg Stanton, a Democratic representative from Arizona, told Richardson at the House transportation and infrastructure committee hearing. 'And that deadly combination likely cost lives.' The hearing followed a slew of reports saying Richardson was nowhere to be found during the flood. Earlier, the acting director, who has no previous experience in disaster management, reportedly said he was unaware that hurricane season exists in the US – something the White House later said was a 'joke'. Richardson denied any agency wrongdoing in the Texas floods. 'What happened in Texas was an absolute tragedy,' he said. He and other officials under Donald Trump are aiming to restore the agency to its original goals, he said, encouraging states to take on more financial and logistical responsibility for disasters. 'Fema has lost sight of its original intent,' he said. 'Under the leadership of the President and the Secretary we are returning to this mission focus moving forward.' Anticipating this argument, Rick Larsen, a US representative and ranking member of the House committee, came to the hearing armed with the Congressional Research Service's list of the 518 actions that Fema is mandated to follow. 'Currently, Fema doesn't follow all these laws,' he said. In response, Richardson said the agency had done it 'own mission analysis'. 'What we did, and I can commit to, is that we developed eight mission essential tasks that we have to do by statute,' he said. During his first week in office, Trump floated the idea of getting rid of Fema altogether, something homeland security secretary Kristi Noem repeated in March. John Raymond Garamendi, a Democratic representative from California, asked Richardson if he can 'commit to us today that Fema will exist in the future, will be able to carry out its functions under the law and under the needs of this nation'. Richardson provided a vague response. 'The president wants better emergency management for the American people, and that's a noble goal,' he said. In the days after the recent floods ravaged central Texas, reports showed that Fema did not answer nearly two-thirds of calls to its disaster assistance hotline, something Noem dismissed as 'fake news'. Richardson also denied the reporting. 'The vast majority of phone calls were answered the questions were addressed,' he said. He said a key goal for Fema under his leadership is 'cutting through red tape and ensuring that when federal assistance is warranted we deliver assistance to survivors rapidly'. But Noem in recent weeks has enacted a new rule requiring any department contract or grant over $100,000 to be personally signed off by her before funds can be allocated, anonymous Fema officials told NBC News. 'To me, having someone, one person only, having to sign off on every contract of $100,000 or more is the definition of bureaucracy,' said Dina Titus, a Democratic representative from Nevada. Study after study shows that flooding like this summer's in Texas is becoming more severe and more common amid the climate crisis. Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Democratic delegate from Washington, DC, asked Richardson if he believes fossil fuels are the primary cause of the climate crisis, and if he thinks extreme weather is increasing. Richardson was noncommittal in his answer. 'What I believe is that we will address disasters regardless of their origin,' he said. Asked if he thought the agency had made any mistakes during the floods, Richardson said: 'I can't see anything that we did wrong.' 'Nothing is perfect. However, I will say that it was a model, particularly at Fema, the region and the state level,' he said. 'It was a model how disasters should be handled.'
South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
South Korean, Filipino officials rebuked for poor flood response and misjudgment
As floods devastate communities across South Korea and the Philippines, their presidents have rebuked officials for indulging in merrymaking and political publicity instead of focusing on disaster management. South Korean President Lee Jae-myung on Tuesday ordered a 'strict crackdown on the careless public officials who went about drinking and dancing or acted thoughtlessly' during a recent devastating rainfall, which claimed at least 19 lives nationwide. Lee said it was important to punish misconduct by civil servants during a cabinet meeting, referring to incidents involving Guri Mayor Baek Kyung-hyeon and North Chungcheong Governor Kim Young-hwan. Baek had been filmed singing at a restaurant in Hongcheon while neighbouring areas in northern Gyeonggi were battling flood damage. Kim came under fire for drinking with councillors on the second anniversary of the 2023 Osong underpass flooding in Cheongju, which killed 14. On the other hand, Lee has praised frontline responders, urging ministries to 'identify and promote exemplary cases to serve as models', according to a report by the Korea JoongAng Daily. He has also directed agencies to prioritise efforts on search for the missing, designate special disaster zones and swiftly distribute grants to flood-hit communities, including Sancheong county in South Gyeongsang, which reported 10 fatalities.
LBCI
3 days ago
- Climate
- LBCI
221 monsoon-related deaths in Pakistan since late June: disaster agency
Pakistan's disaster agency on Tuesday said 221 people have been killed and more than 500 others injured in incidents linked to nearly a month of heavy monsoon rains. "Since June 26 up to July 21, 221 people have lost their lives, including 104 children and 40 women," a spokesperson from the national disaster management agency told AFP.
New York Times
4 days ago
- Climate
- New York Times
Landslides and Floods Kill 18 in South Korea
At least 18 people have died in South Korea as landslides and floods triggered by torrential rains buried homes and swept away people, cars and livestock, the government said on Monday. The death toll was expected to rise as rescuers removed debris and searched rain-swollen streams for nine people who were still missing, according to the country's disaster management office. Up to 31 inches of torrential rain have poured onto South Korea's southern and western provinces since last Wednesday. The hardest hit was Sancheong, a county near the central south coast, where 10 people were reported dead and four others were missing. Nearly 12 inches of rain fell there on Saturday alone, forcing the authorities to advise all 33,000 residents to look out for floods and landslides. Photos and video footage from the region showed large stretches of strawberry greenhouses destroyed by floods, with cars tossed upside down among the debris. Aging villagers sat dejectedly, gazing at boulders that had been swept in by the rain and were now occupying their front yards. Residents complained of power and water shortages, according to officials and local media. In Gapyeong County, northeast of Seoul, a family of four was camping near a stream when a landslide and flood hit their tent early Sunday. The son was rescued, but the father was found dead four miles downstream. Rescuers were still searching for the mother and an 11-year-old daughter, while using ropes and rappelling gear to move other stranded campers across streams roaring with dark-brown floodwater. The home ministry said 14,000 people had been evacuated, with their homes and farms lost or damaged. Fields growing rice, watermelon and other produce, equivalent to 40,000 soccer fields, had been damaged, the ministry of agriculture said. Nearly 1.5 million heads of livestock, including 1.4 million chickens, died, it said. President Lee Jae Myung promised to grant special disaster zone status to the worst-hit villages, which would allow the government to provide tax exemptions and other relief measures. By Monday, most of the evacuated villagers had returned to their homes, as the rain eased off and the sun came out. They faced the daunting task of rebuilding their houses. Soldiers were mobilized to help them haul rain-ravaged furniture. Workers used heavy equipment to clear roads and remove debris from under bridges. By Sunday afternoon, weather officials had downgraded their heavy rain alert. However, their forecasts indicated more rain for central and northern areas of the country on Monday. They also warned of a heat wave in the south, where officials sent vehicles weaving through villages, spraying chemicals to prevent outbreaks of disease in the aftermath of the floods.
