- FEMA has dropped plans for a new hurricane response plan and will use the same one it used in 2024. The agency, however, has lost a large number of employees, making some wonder how it will do this. The news comes a day after FEMA’s head said I didn’t realize it was a [hurricane] season.”
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is calling an audible as hurricane season gets underway, scrapping a new plan from its new leader and reverting to the same playbook as last year.
The Washington Postreports that FEMA leader David Richardson told staff on Monday the guidance would be the same as last year’s, despite talk of developing a new hurricane response plan.
Staffers, though, reportedly are unsure about how the old plan, which includes going door to door in affected areas, can be carried out this year following sizable staff departures. President Trump has been especially critical of the agency and has worked to diminish FEMA’s role, saying it fails to adequately respond to disasters and believes states would do a better job of doing so.
Richardson has said it has been challenging to put together a disaster-response plan given the uncertainty about Trump’s plans for the agency.
The news comes as Richardson, in that same meeting, said: “Yesterday, as everybody knows, [was the] first day of hurricane season. I didn’t realize it was a season.”
A spokesperson has said Richardson was joking, but that hasn’t quelled criticism for the comment. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer replied on social media: “And I’m unaware of why he hasn’t been fired yet.”
Last year saw 27 weather and climate disasters, including hurricanes, with losses exceeding $1 billion each. All totaled, hurricanes caused an estimated $124 billion in damages—and some areas, like Asheville, N.C., are still struggling to get back to normal.
Forecasters say the 2025 hurricane season will be an active one, with above-normal activity in the Atlantic. The 2025 hurricane season began on June 1.