FEMA

WASHINGTON (AP) — More than a quarter of employees at the Federal Emergency Management Agency said they were harassed or discriminated against based on their gender or race, according to a survey released Wednesday as part of the fallout from allegations of sexual harassment by a senior official at the organization. The survey by the […]

PONCE, Puerto Rico (AP) — The Antonetti family sat in the shade of a tree eating orange slices while contemplating the long day ahead of them in a dusty parking lot in southern Puerto Rico. Behind them stood their temporary home: a four-door compact car whose back seat is reserved for 89-year-old Luis Antonetti and […]

Pamela Taylor, the West Virginia official who called First Lady Michelle Obama “an ape in heels” was sentenced to prison after defrauding the government of 18,000 in FEMA disaster benefits following June 2016 floods that claimed lives and delivered significant property damage. Taylor was sentenced to 10 months in prison and ordered to pay a $10,000 […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The former head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency said Thursday that what’s happening on the U.S. southern border is no emergency. Craig Fugate, who ran the national disaster agency for nearly eight years under President Barack Obama and was head of Florida’s disaster agency under a Republican governor, said the push […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Electronic devices across the United States sounded off Wednesday as the Federal Emergency Management Agency conducted its first-ever national wireless emergency alert test. The tone went off at 2:18 p.m. EDT. The subject of the alert read: “Presidential Alert” and text said: “THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert […]

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — As the floodwaters recede and the recovery begins, communities swamped by Hurricane Florence soon will be facing deadlines to document the billions of dollars in damage it caused if they want to be reimbursed by the federal government. A missed deadline could be costly, even if it’s not directly the […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The former head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s personnel office had improper sexual relationships with subordinates and created a “toxic” work environment that included giving preferential treatment to his fraternity brothers, according to a summary of an internal investigation obtained Monday by The Associated Press. FEMA officials said Corey Coleman resigned […]

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The administrator of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency said Friday it will take up to an estimated $50 billion to help rebuild Puerto Rico from Hurricane Maria and warned that the U.S. territory is not ready for another disaster. Brock Long said his agency aims to make the […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — As hundreds of people stood in line for food and many went hungry during the days and weeks after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, Walmart Inc. and local supermarkets threw out tons of spoiled meat, dairy and produce. Emails and text messages made public Tuesday in a letter sent by the top […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — After Hurricane Maria damaged tens of thousands of homes in Puerto Rico, a newly created Florida company with an unproven record won more than $30 million in contracts from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide emergency tarps and plastic sheeting for repairs. Bronze Star LLC never delivered those urgently needed supplies, […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is spending more than $200 million a day responding to recent hurricanes and wildfires, the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency told Congress Tuesday in testimony that also slammed the $300 million Whitefish contract in Puerto Rico. FEMA Administrator Brock Long told a Senate panel that about 25 million […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Emergency Management Agency said Friday it had no involvement in the decision to award a $300 million contract to help restore Puerto Rico’s power grid to a tiny Montana company in Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s hometown. FEMA said in a statement that any language in the controversial contract saying the […]