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Head of FEMA command quits as Trump calls for agency phase-out

(NYT) — The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster command center, who coordinates the national response to earthquakes, floods and other disasters, has submitted his resignation, according to two people familiar with the matter.

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Jeremy Greenberg resigned as the top official at FEMA’s National Response Coordination Center on Wednesday, according to the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

His resignation came after other senior staff members have left and a day after President Donald Trump said he would wind down the federal agency by November.

“We want to wean off of FEMA and we want to bring it down to the state level,” Trump said Tuesday during a news briefing in the Oval Office. “We think after the hurricane season we’ll start phasing it out.”

Trump also warned states to expect “less money” from the federal government for disaster recovery.

If a state gets hit by a hurricane or other extreme weather, “the governor should be able to handle it,” Trump said. “And frankly, if they can’t handle it, the aftermath, then maybe they shouldn’t be governor.”

The National Response Coordination Center is considered FEMA’s 24-hour war room, where planning for responses to disasters occurs. It coordinates the federal, state and local responses, handling things such as the deployment of search and rescue teams, assisting hospitals that have to evacuate, and shipping food and water to emergency sites.

The center’s management is particularly critical now during Atlantic hurricane season, which began June 1 and is expected to be above average, with a prediction of 17 named storms. Summer and fall are the most challenging seasons for FEMA because of hurricanes, wildfires and other threats.

Flash floods kill 4 in San Antonio

(NYT) — At least four people were killed in San Antonio as heavy rain lashed eastern Texas and sent flash floods sweeping through the city overnight, officials said Thursday.

A slow-moving thunderstorm began dumping rain on the area Wednesday evening. By daybreak Thursday, emergency workers had responded to dozens of calls as floodwaters overwhelmed low-lying roads and swept away several vehicles, according to a spokesperson for the San Antonio Fire Department.

Four bodies were recovered from floodwaters, the spokesperson said, and officials were still investigating the deaths. Ten people had been rescued from floodwaters, four of whom were taken to hospitals with injuries, and two more people were missing, he said.

According to radar-estimated amounts, about 7 inches of rain had fallen before sunrise in some parts of the region. San Antonio usually gets less than 6 inches of rainfall in June and July combined.

It was still raining in San Antonio as of about 10 a.m. Thursday. Eric Platt, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, warned that the flooding threat remained. A flash flood warning was in effect for the city until early afternoon.

More than 40 low water crossings were closed in several counties, and water surged up to 4 feet in some areas. Leon Creek, which snakes through western San Antonio, rose 13 feet, the weather service said on social media. By 8 a.m. on Thursday, the fire department had reported more than 65 high-water rescue calls.

Other parts of eastern Texas were also under flash flood warnings until the afternoon, and flood warnings were issued for rivers in the region.