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June 23, 2011

Former FEMA Director: "FEMA will not save you"

Former FEMA Director urges Book Rap audience to be prepared | The National Press Club

 

“FEMA will not save you,” said Michael Brown, former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Brown, who served as the first undersecretary of the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA director from 2003 to 2005, was forced to resign in the wake the federal government’s poor response to Hurricane Katrina. He presented his book, “Deadly Indifference: The Perfect (Political) Storm: Hurricane Katrina, the Bush White House and Beyond,” at a National Press Club Book Rap June 21.

The government will not always be there, Brown warned. “There needs to be an understanding of the role of government and the role of the individual,” he said. It is the individual’s responsibility to be prepared for disasters, he said.

 

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  • Anonymous

    As a tourist who couldn’t get out of town because they closed the New Orleans Airport, Amtrak, and Greyhound prior to the evacuation I think I’d find Brown’s take on this debacle as especially poignant.                      

    Paul Harris                        
    Author, “Diary From the Dome, Reflections on Fear and Privilege During Katrina”         

  • Prt1231

    Brown’s a clown.  He failed as director of FEMA and has an axe to grind.  N.O. problem was lack of leadership at the local level.

  • Rescuesurvey

    I’m in NC and we know not to count on the goverment for help. There were still people in downeast NC waiting for help when everyone was whining about Katrina and the goverment help (or the lack of). Oh and please tell Brown that bush-basing is out of style now.