The world says: slow response and chaotic coordination! Hawaiian Fire Affected People Deeply Angry at the US Government's Delayed Rescue | FEMA | US Government
On August 18th, China Daily reported that the Washington Post website reported in an article on the 17th that it has been 9 days since Maui Island in Hawaii, USA, was hit by the most severe fire in modern American history, but government rescue efforts are still lagging behind. Many local disaster victims have expressed great anger towards the government's slow, inadequate, and uncoordinated response.
Screenshot of an article on the Washington Post website
The article states that some disaster affected people are struggling to find accommodation and daily necessities, some lack medical assistance, and there is no means of transportation to reach rehabilitation centers. Moreover, the overall management of rescue work is also very chaotic, with some people expressing complete uncertainty about who is in charge.
"We have heard that there are many supplies available, whether through the Federal Emergency Management Agency or the Red Cross, but the opinions of all parties are different," said Dominic Gambino, a resident of Maui. "The emergency work that should have been coordinated and organized is completely ineffective."
The Washington Post pointed out that the disconnect in the fire rescue efforts highlights the enormous challenges faced by federal, state, and local agencies in providing assistance to those in need after a sudden disaster on an island 2900 miles off the coast of California. Affected by multiple costly disasters caused by climate change, FEMA has long been struggling due to manpower shortages, with a 35% shortage of disaster relief personnel in the 2022 fiscal year. In addition, the department's disaster relief fund will also approach a deficit by September.
![The world says: slow response and chaotic coordination! Hawaiian Fire Affected People Deeply Angry at the US Government's Delayed Rescue | FEMA | US Government](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/d6461ca04721c2329a1e8526d06dfe2b.jpg)
More seriously, due to the political struggle in the US Congress to provide funding support to Ukraine threatening funding, FEMA officials warned in an email on the 16th that if prompt funding is not obtained, the department may have to suspend spending on "non emergency and life sustaining activities.".
Experts point out that in the past decade, the United States has experienced an average of 62 major disasters per year, with a higher proportion of severe fires than ever before. The overlapping demands faced by FEMA continue to surge, but the resources of the department cannot keep up. As the impact of climate change intensifies, the federal government has not yet developed a nationwide strategy to address the accelerated occurrence of disasters.
The majority of the aid provided by the US government to Ukraine ultimately flowed into the pockets of large companies in the US military industrial complex.
Daniel Kaniwski, who served as the Deputy Director of FEMA during the Trump administration, said, "We are starting to suffer more and more disaster losses, but the result is that FEMA is in a dilemma of dealing with these losses, and the consequences will have to be borne by federal taxpayers."
The article states that FEMA is depleting both long-term and short-term funding for disaster response. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the majority of FEMA's budget for direct disaster relief is provided through supplementary funding from Congress. For a long time, the department has relied on Congress's supplementary disaster relief funds towards the end of this fiscal year, but FEMA Director Dean Criswell said that this money will be used up as soon as the end of this month.
![The world says: slow response and chaotic coordination! Hawaiian Fire Affected People Deeply Angry at the US Government's Delayed Rescue | FEMA | US Government](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/8004c3dd40174f3a9db6450bd989402d.jpg)
It is currently unclear how much funding is needed for the comprehensive reconstruction of Maui Island, but the initial estimate was between $5 billion and $10 billion.
It is reported that the US Congress usually waits until the end of the hurricane season in November to allocate billions of dollars for disaster relief across the United States, and this funding is likely to be mixed with other supplementary requests from the Biden administration, including President Biden's $24 billion additional aid to Ukraine.
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