{"id":2347581,"date":"2024-09-30T13:20:01","date_gmt":"2024-09-30T17:20:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fema-website-admits-keeping-you-alive-isnt-its-top-priority\/"},"modified":"2024-09-30T13:22:44","modified_gmt":"2024-09-30T17:22:44","slug":"fema-website-admits-keeping-you-alive-isnt-its-top-priority","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fema-website-admits-keeping-you-alive-isnt-its-top-priority\/","title":{"rendered":"FEMA Website Admits Keeping You Alive Isn&#8217;t Its Top Priority"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffema-website-admits-keeping-you-alive-isnt-its-top-priority%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2347581&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Following a\u2064 Category 4 hurricane that devastated\u2062 communities in Appalachia, residents \u200care struggling to\u200b cope with substantial flooding and have had\u2064 to depend on charity and local first responders for aid, as federal \u200cassistance has been\u200d notably delayed. The storm has claimed over \u2064100\u200c lives, and\u200c locals have been utilizing private resources instead of the Federal Emergency Management Agency \u2064(FEMA). Despite FEMA\u2019s typical \u2062preparations for disaster responses, \u2063they were not effectively mobilized in this instance, leading to \u200ccriticism of the \u2062agency\u2019s prioritization\u200b of equity and climate\u2063 resilience over\u200c immediate emergency preparedness. During an NPR interview, FEMA\u200c Administrator Deanne Criswell acknowledged the need for more resources but did not clarify \u200cwhy\u2063 they were not pre-positioned before the storm. The agency\u2019s strategic plan reflects that their focus on emergency management is secondary to other priorities, which has raised concerns about the \u200bfederal government&#8217;s effectiveness in disaster response \u2063amidst this catastrophe.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Residents of flooded out towns across Appalachia have been forced to rely on charity relief efforts days after a Category 4 hurricane brought &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/09\/29\/biden-lounged-at-the-beach-while-floods-wreaked-biblical-devastation-on-appalachia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">biblical devastation<\/a>&rdquo; to communities seemingly abandoned by the federal government. While Hurricane Helene brewed over the Atlantic, the nation&rsquo;s pre-eminent disaster agency was apparently distracted by concerns of &ldquo;equity&rdquo; and &ldquo;climate resilience&rdquo; over emergency preparedness.<\/p>\n<p>The storm-related death toll eclipsed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/hurricane-helene-path-florida\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">100<\/a> on Monday morning as Americans desperate for resources depend on local first responders and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bpr.org\/live-updates\/live-blog-hurricane-helene-wnc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">private<\/a> helicopters rather than the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). While FEMA routinely <a href=\"https:\/\/www.army.mil\/article\/277408\/national_guard_us_army_north_fema_train_for_hurricane_response\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">prepares<\/a> for colossal rescue operations in the days leading up to major storms, such pre-staged support was clearly not available to residents in the Appalachian towns washed away by the torrential downpour from last week&rsquo;s hurricane.<\/p>\n<p>In an interview <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2024\/09\/29\/nx-s1-5132108\/fema-administrator-addresses-the-damage-done-by-hurricane-helene\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">published<\/a> with NPR on Sunday, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, who visited where the hurricane made landfall in Florida this weekend, was asked about the devastation in Tennessee and North Carolina.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I believe it&rsquo;s nine search-and-rescue teams in North Carolina,&rdquo; Criswell said, with &ldquo;more that are coming in today.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re sending in more resources,&rdquo; the FEMA chief added, &ldquo;to make sure we can get to everybody that&rsquo;s been impacted by this, people that are still isolated from the effects of the storm.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>But moving resources in days after the storm does not mean resources were nearby and ready for deployment. The agency&rsquo;s lack of proactive measures might be explained by the federal government&rsquo;s listed values. <\/p>\n<p>According to FEMA&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fema.gov\/about\/strategic-plan\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">website<\/a>, storm preparation doesn&rsquo;t even rank among the top two priorities of the federal relief agency. FEMA&rsquo;s stated goals include, first, instilling &ldquo;equity as a foundation of emergency management,&rdquo; and second, to &ldquo;lead whole of community in climate resilience.&rdquo; The goal to &ldquo;promote and sustain a ready FEMA and prepared nation&rdquo; ranks third under an administration obsessed with promoting identity politics at every level of the federal bureaucracy. When President Joe Biden was sworn into office, one of his first appointments was former White House National Security Adviser Susan Rice to lead the Domestic Policy Council. She was tasked with requiring agencies <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2021\/01\/20\/biden-race-equity-justice-orders\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">make<\/a> &ldquo;rooting out systemic racism&rdquo; a focal point of their mission.<\/p>\n<p>On Sunday, President Biden declined to pledge additional resources to Americans drowning in what officials are calling &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=0a6wp0T9iyQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">unprecedented<\/a>&rdquo; destruction. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve given everything that we have,&rdquo; Biden told reporters as he boarded a plane back to Washington.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Are there any more resources the federal government could be giving them?&rdquo; a reporter asked. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;No,&rdquo; the president said. <\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<div lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\n<p>Reporter: &#8220;Do you have any words to the victims of the hurricane?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Biden: &#8220;We&#8217;ve given everything that we have.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Reporter &#8220;Are there any more resources the federal government could be giving them?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Biden: &#8220;No.&#8221;<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/AETCVjcZM1\">pic.twitter.com\/AETCVjcZM1<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&mdash; Greg Price (@greg_price11) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/greg_price11\/status\/1840581539421110589?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 30, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<hr>\n<p>   Tristan Justice is the western correspondent for The Federalist and the author of Social Justice Redux, a conservative newsletter on culture, health, and wellness. He has also written for The Washington Examiner and The Daily Signal. His work has also been featured in Real Clear Politics and Fox News. Tristan graduated from George Washington University where he majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow him on Twitter at @JusticeTristan or contact him at Tristan@thefederalist.com. Sign up for Tristan&#8217;s email newsletter <a href=\"https:\/\/socialjusticeredux.substack.com\/about\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Appalachian flood victims depend on charity after hurricane devastation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":494,"featured_media":2347583,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/FEMA.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2347581","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/FEMA.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2347581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/494"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2347581"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2347581\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2347583"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2347581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2347581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2347581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}