"What Happened to FEMA?" by Buz Cormany

September 8, 2005

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina's devastation of the Gulf region we began to hear of the very agonizingly inept response of our federal government to the cries of the victims.  It was at this time I first learned of FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency), an agency developed in 1979 to lead the response to natural or nuclear disasters.

After Hurricane Andrew hit Flordia in 1992, FEMA was elevated to a cabinate level agency.  It was very instrumental in protecting the Puget Sound area and western Washington state from a 2001 earthquake by retro-fitting homes and protecting schools from high impact hazards.

Then came 9-11-01 and FEMA became part of the Department of Homeland Security.  I close by using direct quotes from Mr. Holdeman: "This year it was announced that FEMA was to lose the disaster preparedness function that it has had since its creation." "FEMA employees have been directed not to become involved in disaster preparedness functions." "That's because the focus of the national effort remains terrorism even if the Department of Homeland Security still talks about 'all-hazards preparedness'."

Buz Cormany
Medina, OH

Note:  Information for this letter was taken from a Washington Post Article that appeared in the Medina Gazette on August 31.  The author was Eric Holdeman, Director of the King County, Washington, Office of Emergency Management.