FEMA: The Rise and Fall of a Great Idea

Apparently FEMA officials forgot something while they were preparing for a rapidly organized news conference on Friday, October 26, 2007. One tiny, but important detail was overlooked it seems; the reporters.

The agency had called the news conference with only 15 minutes notice as FEMA officials headed to California to assist with firefighting and rescue efforts during the rampant wildfires. Reporters were given a phone number where they could listen in but not ask questions or respond.

With the cameras ready to roll, live news feeds, and no reporters handy FEMA employees stepped up to the plate and stood in for reporters, asking questions of the deputy administrator, Harvey Johnson, as if they were indeed reporters.

"Are you satisfied with FEMA's response?" queried one pseudo-reporter.

Johnson replied that he was, and how the leadership was so much better than with hurricane Katrina.

Johnson later stated that the intent was to provide useful information and answer the many questions that the department had received.

Well they answered one question. FEMA is a great idea gone bad.

FEMA stands for Federal Emergency Management Agency. It is an agency that has been around a long time but has recently come under controversy for it's less than honest and straightforward dealings with the public. FEMA's motto is, " A Nation Prepared", although the question may be asked, "What exactly are they preparing us for?"

FEMA was the brainchild of the Carter Administration, who was asked to streamline the nations emergency preparedness agencies into one mega-agency. In 1979 the executive order was issued to replace the other agencies with this one, new agency that would take over the responsibilities of numerous other disaster management organizations from Civil Defense to Federal Insurance programs. In 2003 the Department of Homeland Security absorbed FEMA and other agencies into it making an even larger Mega-agency.

The purpose of FEMA is to step in during times of national disaster and provide the proper response to the disaster, what ever it may be. Assisting residents in evacuation, procuring shelter, food, and a long term plan for recovery are all part of FEMA's responsibility.

The question is whether or not FEMA is too large an organization to be able to function effectively. During hurricane Katrina there were criticisms that FEMA was not prompt, was not doing it's job effectively, was not providing the help that the hurricane victims so desperately needed. FEMA director Micheal Brown was removed from New Orleans and his responsibilities turned over to the Coast Guard. During the Ohio floods residents in Ottowa were doing clean up and repair themselves, without help from FEMA or other government agencies because there was not the funding or the man power to care for them.

I found, during a flood in my area which flooded my own property and was declared a national disaster, that FEMA was largely undependable and unhelpful to the general population. Because of the bureaucracy and red tape it could take months to get help, if you even were lucky enough to get it. Many people were turned down for help because they did not meet certain criteria, and there was not enough "loss of life" in our area to warrant more help than we got. There was not enough devastation over all, we were told.

That was encouraging.

With FEMA trying to polish it's tarnished image, the news conference that wasn't certainly put officials on the defensive. Spokeswoman Laura Kheener says that they will be looking into the possibility of a reprimand of those involved.

During times of national crisis it is important be be able to trust those that are in charge. It is impossible to obey and follow directives from organizations that you do not feel have your well being foremost in their mind. FEMA seems to be doing a good job of spreading chaos and havoc where-ever they are found. This may take a bit more than a reprimand, perhaps the downsizing of the department and moving it back into smaller, easier to manage departments would be wise.

As always, we are ultimately responsible for our own welfare and that of our families during a crisis of any sort. Don't plan on getting help from government agencies but have a plan of your own ..just in case. Your life may depend on it.