The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has abandoned its new hurricane response plan and will continue to use the 2024 program. However, the agency has lost a large number of employees, which makes people wonder how it will respond. Just the day before, the FEMA head also said: "I didn't expect it to be hurricane season."
As the hurricane season approaches, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) issued a warning to cancel new plans formulated by new leaders and restore last year's strategy.
Federal Emergency Administration Director David Richardson told staff Monday that although new hurricane response plans are being discussed, the guidelines for this year will be the same as last year, according to the Washington Post.
However, after a large number of employees left, staff were reportedly unsure how to implement the old plan this year, which included going door to door to rescue areas for rescue. President Trump has particularly criticized the agency and tried to undermine the role of the Federal Emergency Administration, saying it has failed to fully respond to the disaster and believes states will do better in that regard.
Richardson said that developing a disaster response plan is a challenge given Trump's uncertainty about the agency's plans.
The news came out, Richardson said at the same meeting: "It is known that yesterday was the first day of hurricane season. I didn't expect it to be a hurricane season." A spokesman said Richardson was just kidding, but this did not calm criticism of his comments. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer responded on social media: "I don't know why he hasn't been fired."
There were 27 weather and climate disasters last year, including hurricanes, and each caused more than $1 billion in damage. The total losses caused by the hurricane are about $124 billion, while some areas such as Asheville, North Carolina are still working to return to normal.
Forecasters said the 2025 hurricane season will be an active season and the Atlantic Ocean will be more active than normal. The 2025 hurricane season begins on June 1.
