In an article for The Conversation, Ming Xie breaks down what the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is and how it operates, gives a brief history of its establishment in 1979 and an overview of its operation since, before going on to discuss what emergency response would look like in the US were it to be dismantled.
Xie concludes that though the agency draws criticism, it also fills a vital role in the face of the complexities of coordinating disaster response. Without it, states with less financial resources would suffer the most, and coordinating support between states would become more challenging.
States that often face disasters on a yearly basis, like Florida and Louisiana, would also face recurring funding challenges other states would not.
Read on to learn more.
