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Tag Archives: FEMA
Paul Bedard/U.S. News: Ridge book makes additional assertions
Former DHS head Tom Ridge’s new book has made headlines with the assertion that h was pressured to raise the national threat level prior to the 2004 elections.
His credibility on this point can be questioned since the matter has come up before, to which he’s responded “We don’t do politics” at the Department of Homeland Security. The standard question on cross-examination, as any third-year law student should be able to tell you, would be: Were you lyingthen, or are you lyingnow?
Either way, not a favorable impression of Secretary Ridge’s credibility. Let’s then put aside the question of the 2004 pre-election threat levels.
Paul Bedard at U.S. New & World Report reports that the book also contains the following assertions:
- Ridge was never invited to sit in on National Security Council meetings;
- was “blindsided” by the FBI in morning Oval Office meetings because the agency withheld critical information from him
- found his urgings to block Michael Brown from being named head of the emergency agency blamed for the Hurricane Katrina disaster ignored
Mr. Bedard is the author/editor of a feature at USN&WR called Washington Whispers, which we’ll be adding to our RSS feeds.
Assume what one wants about the 2004 elections and the threat levels. Bedard has spotted more troubling issues – (1) and (2) supra suggest that creating the Departmen of Homeland Security may have been a meaningless gesture, and that protestations of interagency cooperation were disingenuous; (3) suggests that someone may actually have spotted the problems with employing someone as FEMA head without any qualifications other than English fluency.
makes assertions
Craig Fugate Confirmed as Head of FEMA
We like Craig Fugate as head of FEMA, and was confirmed by the Senate late today after Senator Vitter (R, LA) released his hold. Choice to Head FEMA is Confirmed
(Associated Press via NY Times).
We believe that Mr. Fugate is responsible for the best definition of a “disaster” – an emergency is a bad situation in which responders outnumber sufferers; in a disaster – the responders are outnumber by those in need. In my dealings with him – mostly by email, he’s been friendly, well-informed and unpretentious. He’s got a tough job – let’s hope the Administration lets him do it. Via Disaster Accountability
See also Fugate’s personal Blog, DisastersRUS
State to State comparisons – CERT team numbers by population
Our first experiment at displaying data in this way. NB: ((Nota Bene, or “take note” – Lat.))
- This is data reported to FEMA by the states – or directly by local administrators;
- We know nothing from this data of size, effectiveness, equipment, capabilities of CERT teams
- Other volunteer organizations – volunteer ambulance corps, fire departments, and other groups, like The 3 Steps – wouldn’t be reported here anyway.
With those caveats – based on current FEMA data:
State | Population served per team |
New Jersey | 20,437 |
Wyoming | 29,046 |
Mississippi | 31,726 |
North Dakota | 31,986 |
Rhode Island | 36,477 |
Maine | 36,589 |
Utah | 37,790 |
South Dakota | 39,811 |
Missouri | 41,108 |
Massachusetts | 46,401 |
Vermont | 47,789 |
Total | 31,161 |
Idaho | 55,533 |
Texas | 57,325 |
New Hampshire | 69,254 |
Oregon | 76,479 |
Kansas | 81,647 |
Iowa | 85,373 |
North Carolina | 87,971 |
Florida | 89,030 |
Kentucky | 90,244 |
Washington | 95,124 |
Connecticut | 103,009 |
Oklahoma | 106,392 |
Montana | 106,429 |
Tennessee | 111,940 |
West Virginia | 113,252 |
Louisiana | 116,033 |
Ohio | 118,216 |
South Carolina | 119,127 |
Michigan | 122,827 |
Arkansas | 123,252 |
Indiana | 129,496 |
Arizona | 132,057 |
Alaska | 136,696 |
California | 145,052 |
Minnesota | 157,504 |
Alabama | 159,581 |
Nebraska | 161,325 |
Virginia | 175,275 |
Georgia | 207,495 |
Colorado | 231,501 |
Maryland | 255,379 |
New Mexico | 281,416 |
Nevada | 285,042 |
Illinois | 313,477 |
Hawaii | 427,796 |
New York | 438,585 |
District of Columbia | 588,292 |
Pennsylvania | 592,038 |
Puerto Rico | 657,063 |
Wisconsin | 800,234 |
Delaware | 864,764 |
Many thanks to Dannny Sanchez and his excellent table-to-html tool, Tableizer.
FEMA Gives Away $85 Million of Supplies Intended for Katrina Victims
More on how NOT to respond to a disaster. CNN reported that FEMA gave away $85 million in household supplies intended for Katrina victims. Click here for the Article on CNN.
Urgent Request to Sign Petition Objecting to FEMA decision – no ice in disasters
SIGN THIS PETITION:
FEMA has decided that it’s not going to deliver ice in disasters, except in narrowly defined “medical” or “life-threatening” circumstances. Ice, of course, is a staple in disasters. The Disaster Accountability Project has coverage of the FEMA decision here
.
And DAP has also organized a petition drive – sign the petition at this link .