Many Maui survivors say the federal response has been inadequate and slow, a mark of the steep challenge FEMA faces in responding amid escalating climate crises.
Those demands are coming as FEMA already is stretched thin by staff shortages amid costly and overlapping disasters fueled by climate change and financial shortfalls as its disaster relief fund nears a deficit by September. With full appropriations threatened by political fights in Congress
FEMA spokesman Jeremy Edwards said in an email that the agency “is working closely with the Administration to ensure adequate resources to meet all obligations to states, tribes, territories and households impacted by disasters.
As the community waited for government help to arrive, it relied on its own distribution networks for supplies, lodging, medical checks and other support. That escalating federal response has largely been on target, given the extensive challenges, some involved in the efforts said. FEMA officials said this week they have adequate resources to continue a full recovery effort in Hawaii amid Biden’s vow to give the islands everything they need for long-term recovery. But the response is highlighting the mounting challenges facing an agency that must constantly prepare for the next calamity.
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