10 Jul 2025

Noem Delayed FEMA Response to Texas Floods by 72 Hours

by Bonnie | | 0

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem delayed the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s response to deadly flash flooding in central Texas by 72 hours and sent only a fraction of the team size that would have been sent in previous years.

As a purported cost control measure, expenditures above $100,000 now require Noem’s personal approval. She withheld approval for more than three days after the floods began. FEMA was not allowed to pre-position people, supplies and equipment as it has in the past.

When FEMA did go to the flood zone, its team was less than a hundred people, orders of magnitude smaller than normal for such a disaster.

Acting FEMA Administrator David Richardson has been notably absent since the flooding began and has not been delegated much authority by Noem. Both Donald Trump and Noem have repeatedly said they want to eliminate FEMA.

Who showed up before FEMA?

Firefighters and response teams from Mexico
Salvation Army
World Central Kitchen
Equusearch
Cajun Navy
HEB (a Texas grocery chain with a fleet of trucks for disaster response)
Texas A&M Veterinary Emergency Team
Forest Service and county extension agents
state, county and city officials
Texas state agencies
law enforcement and first responders from Arkansas, California, Florida, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Click here for more details.

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