HOUSTON – With less than a month until the official start of hurricane season, a newly obtained internal review warns that the Federal Emergency Management Agency is “not ready” to respond to a major disaster, according to a report from CNN.
The internal assessment, prepared under the new acting Administrator David Richardson, highlights major gaps in FEMA’s readiness, including poor coordination with states, staff morale issues, and critical trainings that have been paused. The document paints a concerning picture as the agency braces for the June 1 start of hurricane season.
Recommended Videos
READ MORE: How prepared is Houston for hurricane season? New survey breaks it down
“As FEMA transforms to a smaller footprint, the intent for this hurricane season is not well understood. Thus FEMA is not ready,” the document states, according to CNN.
The report arrives as Houston faces its own challenges with disaster preparedness. A recent study from Rice University’s Kinder Institute found that only 8% of Houstonians feel adequately prepared for a hurricane or severe weather event. Just 32% of residents said they’ve created an emergency plan, and only 16% have practiced emergency drills with their families.
Those numbers are especially troubling for a city frequently in the path of Gulf storms. Over the past 40 years, Houston has experienced 52 federally declared disasters, with more than a third happening in the last decade.
In response to CNN’s reporting, the Department of Homeland Security issued a statement calling the report “grossly out of context” and insisting that FEMA is fully activated and engaged in readiness efforts.
Our Chief Meteorologist Anthony Yanez is also sounding the alarm ahead of hurricane season, urging Houstonians to rethink their readiness.
In a meeting earlier this month with fellow meteorologists and emergency officials, Yanez shared eye-opening results from a Rice University Kinder Institute study showing that only 8% of Houstonians feel adequately prepared for a disaster.
READ MORE: The truth is, more than 90% of Houston isn’t ready for a hurricane
Even more concerning, most residents who’ve lived through past storms aren’t any more likely to have an emergency plan in place. Yanez is encouraging everyone to treat hurricane prep like planning a trip, double-check the essentials, make a checklist, and be truly ready before a storm arrives, because when it matters, being “somewhat prepared” isn’t enough.