XPost: or.politics
FEMA Didn't Answer Thousands of Calls From Flood Survivors, Documents
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Source: NYT
Two days after catastrophic floods roared through Central Texas, the
Federal Emergency Management Agency did not answer nearly two-thirds of
calls to its disaster assistance line, according to documents reviewed by
The New York Times.
The lack of responsiveness happened because the agency had fired hundreds
of contractors at call centers, according to a person briefed on the
matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss
internal matters.
The agency laid off the contractors on July 5 after their contracts
expired and were not extended, according to the documents and the person briefed on the matter. Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, who
has instituted a new requirement that she personally approve expenses
over $100,000, did not renew the contracts until Thursday, five days
after the contracts expired. FEMA is part of the Department of Homeland Security.
The details on the unanswered calls on July 6, which have not been
previously reported, come as FEMA faces intense scrutiny over its
response to the floods in Texas that have killed more than 120 people.
The agency, which President Trump has called for eliminating, has been
slow to activate certain teams that coordinate response and search-and-
rescue efforts.
Read more:
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/11/climate/fema-missed-calls- texas-floods.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share
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