FEMA

After the July 4 flash flood that hit upper Guadalupe River, how well did FEMA perform? Critics say the slow response cost lives.

This week on Texas Matters: How did FEMA actually perform after the July 4th Hill Country flood? Texas Rangers continue to search for flood victims. And investigating how pregnant women in labor are ignored while in jail.

David Richardson, who had no background in emergency management when he was appointed in May, served just six months in the job.

But other FEMA operations will continue after deadly July flooding

The government's colossal failure to respond after Hurricane Katrina led to major reforms at the nation's top disaster agency. Now, the Trump administration has reversed some of those changes.

Funding for FEMA's disaster survivor hotline lapsed the day after the Texas floods, federal records show. It took DHS Secretary Kristi Noem five days to approve more money.

When the flooding hit the upper Guadalupe River, FEMA arrived and is providing essential financial assistance and recovery support. However, the agency ‘s response is facing serious criticism for delays in rescue deployment, a dysfunctional call center, and the fact that only a fraction of the FEMA staff was deployed—compared with responses under previous administrations.  All this while the Trump administration is calling for the dismantling of FEMA. Has FEMA been watered down?

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has guidance for survivors of natural disasters whose applications for financial assistance were rejected or the aid they received was not as much as they needed.

The tips include how to replace certificates, driver licenses, Social Security cards, Medicare cards, permanent residency cards, passports, federal tax returns, and military records.

The Legislature will look at proposals for emergency preparedness in a special session that was already planned over hemp laws. A bill to help build emergency systems failed in the spring.