Exclusive-FEMA staff confused after head said he was unaware of US hurricane season, sources say
Leah Douglas, Ted Hesson and Nathan Layne
Mon, June 2, 2025 at 3:49 PM CDT
FILE PHOTO: Devastating tornadoes rip through several U.S. states
By Leah Douglas, Ted Hesson and Nathan Layne
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Staff of the Federal Emergency Management Agency were left baffled on Monday after the head of the U.S. disaster agency 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 David 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.
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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.
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 spokesperson said under Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Richardson "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."
Richardson said during the briefing that there would be no changes to the agency's disaster response plans despite having told staff to expect a new plan in May, the sources told Reuters.
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Richardson's comments come amid widespread concern that the departures of a raft of top FEMA officials, staff cuts and reductions in hurricane preparations will leave the agency ill-prepared for a storm season forecast to be above normal.
Democrats criticized Richardson following the Reuters report.
Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer posted the Reuters headline about Richardson on X and said he was "unaware of why he hasn't been fired yet."
Representative Bennie Thompson, the senior Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee with oversight of FEMA, issued a statement to Reuters that read:
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"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.”
Exclusive-FEMA staff confused after head said he was unaware of US hurricane season, sources say |
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