Sources have said FEMA wasn’t authorized to launch search and rescue teams until 72 hours after flooding began.
Key Facts
Unnamed sources inside FEMA reportedly told CNN and the New York Times that new policies, including one that requires Noem personally sign off on any spending request over $100,000, slowed responses and removed autonomy from agency employees.
In the case of the central Texas floods, search and rescue crews specially trained to respond to catastrophic floods couldn’t be deployed until Noem personally gave her stamp of approval, which didn’t come until “more than 72 hours after the flooding began,” according to CNN.
Also reportedly delayed: A request from Texas first responders for aerial imagery from FEMA to help in the state’s search and rescue operations, which also needed Noem’s personal approval.
Callers are also facing longer wait times at a disaster call center staffed by FEMA employees because the agency is awaiting the OK from Noem to bring in additional support staff, CNN reported.
A disaster on the scale of the Texas floods, the death toll for which had risen to at least 120 as of Thursday, would have traditionally triggered a faster and bigger response, sources told the Times, but Noem has consistently pushed for states to take control of their own disaster response with FEMA playing only a supporting role.
