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3mo ago

FEMA Faces Leadership Crisis and Strategic Void Before Hurricane Season

As hurricane season looms, FEMA grapples with mass executive departures, rescinded plans, and concerns over its disaster readiness under new leadership.

Image
From left, Stevie Kara and Hunter Chandler search for personal items in the rubble of their destroyed home in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, on March 15, after tornadoes and severe storms passed through the area.
A member of FEMA urban search and rescue team New York Task Force One is assisted by a civilian search and rescue team member as they hike along the Broad River in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene near Chimney Rock, North Carolina, in October 2024.
Employees monitor maps and data at the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, in 2019.

Overview

  • Acting Administrator David Richardson has rescinded FEMA's 2022-2026 strategic plan, leaving the agency without guiding priorities until a new plan is developed this summer.
  • Sixteen senior FEMA executives, including key leaders in disaster response and finance, have departed, raising concerns about the agency's capacity to manage emergencies.
  • The Department of Homeland Security has embedded officials into FEMA’s leadership, many of whom lack disaster management experience, intensifying internal turmoil.
  • FEMA has lost 10% of its workforce since January and is projected to shrink by 30% by year-end, with critical training and collaboration efforts disrupted by funding cuts.
  • Lawmakers and internal assessments warn that FEMA is unprepared for catastrophic storms, while DHS insists the agency is fully activated for the upcoming hurricane season.