Is DT's administration ready for a major disaster? No, it is not.
He hasn't even nominated anyone to head FEMA, and his response to the recent tornadoes in the southeast has been lackadaisical.
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/homeland-security/315761-is-the-trump-administration-ready-for-the-worst
A decade ago, the Federal Emergency Management Agency was in shambles. Created merely by executive order in 1979, the agency had no Congressional authorization and no clear mission. FEMA was inadequately funded and hindered by a sprawling DHS bureaucracy that buried the agency’s ability to coordinate disaster response directly with the White House. Making matters worse, there was no requirement that the FEMA Administrator have experience in emergency management. The failure of the agency to operate properly — among many other factors — was made painfully clear for all to see after Hurricane Katrina made landfall in 2005.
Today, thanks to the leadership of President Obama and former FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, there has been a paradigm shift at FEMA. Their hard work, coupled with post-Katrina congressional reforms supported by members of Congress from both parties, have changed the culture at the FEMA, transforming the agency into a model of effectiveness, service to disaster survivors, and good governance. During the Obama administration, hundreds of disasters have been competently handled, including devastating events like Hurricanes Sandy, Matthew, and the catastrophic tornado that tore apart Joplin, Mo., in 2011. Now, the Trump administration has a responsibility to preserve this legacy and take action to make sure the nation is prepared for the worst. Here’s a good place to start:
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Second, the Trump Administration needs to understand that managing disasters is not like running a business. FEMA succeeded during the Obama era in large part because it applied Fugate’s simple, guiding philosophy to disaster response: Think Big, Go Big, Go Fast, Be Smart About It.This meant surging resources — including people and supplies — to potentially affected areas even before we knew for sure they would be needed. We often didn’t wait for post damage assessments. Sometimes, this meant pulling back resources we never used when they weren’t needed. And yes, this cost money. Fugate noted that the consequence for dedicating too many resources for a disaster was having to testify before Congress. The consequence for doing too little? Getting fired.
Unfortunately, Fugate’s approach appears antithetical to the way Trump ran his campaign for president, which was famously lean and run on the cheap. While that might have been enough to win the White House, it won’t square with the reality of how government should respond to disasters.
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