Topline
Officials with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, tasked with responding to widespread disasters like the recent flash flooding in central Texas, have said the implementation of red tape by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem hampered the agency’s response to the disaster late last week and delayed the deployment of federal search and rescue crews by 72 hours.
Boerne search and rescue team members prepare their Zodiac boat for operations on the flooded … More
Key Facts
Unnamed sources inside FEMA reportedly told CNN and the New York Times that new policies, including one that requires Noem personally sign off on any spending request over $100,000, slowed responses and removed autonomy from agency employees.
In the case of the central Texas floods, search and rescue crews specially trained to respond to catastrophic floods couldn’t be deployed until Noem personally gave her stamp of approval, which didn’t come until “more than 72 hours after the flooding began,” according to CNN.
Also reportedly delayed: A request from Texas first responders for aerial imagery from FEMA to help in the state’s search and rescue operations, which also needed Noem’s personal approval.
Callers are also facing longer wait times at a disaster call center staffed by FEMA employees because the agency is awaiting the OK from Noem to bring in additional support staff, CNN reported.
A disaster on the scale of the Texas floods, the death toll for which had risen to at least 120 as of Thursday, would have traditionally triggered a faster and bigger response, sources told the Times, but Noem has consistently pushed for states to take control of their own disaster response with FEMA playing only a supporting role.
Texas has a robust emergency management response system of its own—the state has deployed more than 1,750 personnel versus about 70 search-and-rescue workers sent from FEMA as of Tuesday—and has managed the disaster largely alone and with the help of other states’ resources, like those dispatched from Arkansas and Louisiana.
On Wednesday, Texas Gov. Abbott announced a special legislative session to start later this month that will include 18 items, many of which will look at how to strengthen the state’s future response to flooding including items on flood warning systems and communications, natural disaster preparedness and relief funding.
FEMA representatives did not respond to Forbes’ request for comment Thursday morning.
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U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem.
Key Background
Central Texas was hit with devastating flash floods on July 4th when rapid rain fall caused the waters of the Guadalupe River to quickly rise. The river surged almost 30 feet in some areas and sparked the deadliest inland flooding event in Texas in almost 50 years. As of Thursday, the death toll had reached 120 and included 36 children, many from a Christian girls summer camp called Camp Mystic that has been open for generations, while 173 people remained unaccounted for. In the wake of the disaster, questions have been raised about emergency alerts issued by the National Weather Service——and if staffing shortages at local offices contributed to a failure to predict the severity of the storm—and a lack of warning sirens in local towns. Noem has since praised the NWS, but did say President Donald Trump wanted to improve the agency’s warning system and “renew this ancient system that has been left in place with the federal government for many, many years.”
What To Watch For
If FEMA survives. Trump has pushed to entirely eliminate the agency by the end of November, saying he prefers to shift the responsibility and cost of emergency management to the states. At a Wednesday meeting of a council established to decide FEMA’s fate, Noem also called for the agency to be cut and on Tuesday said, “We, as a federal government, don’t manage these disasters. The state does. We come in and support them, and that’s exactly what we did in this situation.” Noem has said she would like to see states receive lump sum payments to assist with large disaster recovery—as opposed to smaller, tailored reimbursements—and W. Nim Kidd, Texas’ top emergency official, agreed that it’s time to simplify the distribution of disaster-related federal money.
Further Reading
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2025/07/10/why-kristi-noem-is-under-fire-for-delayed-fema-response-to-texas-floods/