Federal Emergency Management Agency

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), agency of the United States government that helps anticipate, prepare for, and respond to disasters and major civil emergencies. FEMA’s main function is to coordinate federal disaster relief activities for events such as hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, wildfires, and terrorist attacks. It also coordinates disaster preparedness programs with state and local authorities and with nonprofit organizations such as the American Red Cross (see Red Cross). FEMA’s headquarters is in Washington, D.C.

FEMA was created in 1979 by executive order of President Jimmy Carter. It consolidated agencies from several departments: the Defense Civil Preparedness Agency from the Department of Defense; the Federal Disaster Assistance Administration and flood, riot, and crime insurance programs from the Department of Housing and Urban Development; the United States Fire Administration and National Academy for Fire Prevention from the Department of Commerce; and the Federal Preparedness Agency from the General Services Administration. In 2003 FEMA became part of the Department of Homeland Security, an agency created in response to the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001 (September 11 Attacks).

FEMA came under heavy criticism following Hurricane Katrina, which struck the Gulf Coast of Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi and devastated the city of New Orleans in August 2005. The agency’s slow response to the severe flooding in the hurricane’s wake raised questions about its professionalism. FEMA drew criticism for failing to deliver needed relief in the days and weeks after the disaster and later on for mishandling and wasting relief funds. FEMA director Michael Brown, who had no previous disaster management experience, resigned in September 2005 in response to the criticism.