Thousands of calls to FEMA went unanswered following Texas floods after contracts weren't renewed

Daily Mail​

14 hours ago

Thousands of Federal Emergency Management Agency calls went unanswered following the deadly Texas floods after Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem allegedly failed to renew call center contracts.
Nearly two-thirds of calls to the disaster assistance line went unanswered in the two days after the floods, which have so far claimed the lives of at least 121, a source told the New York Times.
It came after hundreds of contractors at call centers were fired on July 5 after their contracts lapsed and weren't extended, according to documents obtained by the outlet.
The agency received 3,027 calls from survivors as flood waters receded on July 5. Roughly 3,018 calls were answered, the NYT reported.
But the next day, as contracts expired and hundreds of contractors were fired, FEMA received 2,363 calls and only 846 were answered, according to the documents.
On Monday, 16,419 calls were made by survivors with only 2,613 answered by the agency.
It was five days after the contracts expired before they were renewed by Noem, according to the NYT source who added she has also recently instituted a new requirement for her personal approval of any expenses over $100,000.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security told the NYT: 'When a natural disaster strikes, phone calls surge, and wait times can subsequently increase.
'Despite this expected influx, FEMA's disaster call center responded to every caller swiftly and efficiently, ensuring no one was left without assistance.'
The devastating floods hit at a time when FEMA was already facing large amounts of scrutiny, as Donald Trump has also called for its eradication.
The alleged contract renewal delays caused frustration within the agency, and by July 8 an email from a FEMA official said: 'We still do not have a decision, waiver or signature from the DHS Secretary', per the NYT.
Jeffrey Schlegelmilch, who directs the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University, told the outlet: 'Responding to less than half of the inquiries is pretty horrific.
'Put yourself in the shoes of a survivor: You've lost everything, you're trying to find out what's insured and what's not, and you're navigating multiple aid programs.
'One of the most important services in disaster recovery is being able to call someone and walk through these processes and paperwork.'
Democratic lawmakers also expressed concern on Friday that Noem's new expenses requirement would continue to stall the deployment of search-and-rescue teams to Texas.
A letter obtained by the NYT to David Richardson, FEMA's acting administrator, from the Democrats on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform detailed that Noem had not approved teams to be deployed until July 7, three days from the beginning of the floods.
Texas's Fourth of July weekend saw devastation as the raging waters swept through the state and claimed the lives of at least 121 people, including dozens of children at Christian summer camp Camp Mystic.
The toll of missing persons sat at around 160 people ahead of Trump's visit to the devastated state.
Friday evening, about 300 people showed up at the memorial for a vigil with speakers that included faith leaders and some who told harrowing tales of narrowly escaping the flood.
FEMA lamented that it ran into bureaucratic obstacles that, four insiders told CNN, prevented them from more swiftly responding to the disaster.
But Noem is pushing back on this claim.
DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said the secretary did not need to initially authorize additional FEMA resources to help respond to the floods because it used other DHS search and rescue assets – including tapping assistance from the U.S. Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection.
She said as more need for FEMA resources came up, the requests then immediately received Noem's approval.
'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,' McLaughlin said.
'The old processes are being replaced because they failed Americans in real emergencies for decades,' she added.
The FEMA insiders who spoke with CNN said that the recent changes have stripped the agency of its autonomy – especially under emergency situations where every moment can make a difference.
The White House also has pushed back at criticism that FEMA and the National Weather Service was understaffed, making early warning efforts more difficult.
' Blaming President Trump for these floods is a depraved lie, and it serves no purpose during this time of national mourning,' White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at her briefing on Monday.
And, in a Cabinet meeting this week, Trump praised Noem for her department's handling of the response.
The Department of Homeland Security oversees the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
'You had people there as fast as anybody's ever seen,' the president told Noem.
Trump, unlike in other disasters, has not cast blame on anyone for the tragedy, calling it a horrible accident.
'I would just say this is a hundred-year catastrophe, and it's just so horrible to watch,' the president said on Sunday.
Trump also signed a disaster declaration for Texas on Sunday to unlock federal aid for those affected.
'The president immediately delivered the dollars, Texas already has that money in their hands, and Governor Abbott is the lead decision-maker when it comes to the Texas floods,' a White House official told the Washington Post.