Thousands of calls to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, just two days after deadly floods tore through central Texas, went unanswered because hundreds of call center contractors were let go the previous day, according to a new report in The New York Times.
Catastrophic flooding struck the Hill Country and Kerr County, beginning in the early hours of July 4. Torrential rains caused the Guadalupe River to rise 26 feet in just 45 minutes, creating a historic flash flood emergency.
At least 121 people died, many of them children, and more than 170 people remain missing.
As floodwaters receded on July 5, FEMA answered over 99% of the 3,027 calls from disaster survivors, according to documents obtained by the Times. But that evening, Kristi Noem, the secretary of Homeland Security, didn't renew contracts with four companies, resulting in hundreds of contractors being fired, the Times reported, citing the documents and one person briefed on the matter.
The following day, FEMA answered just 36 percent of the 2,363 calls it received, according to the report.
The calls often come from disaster survivors seeking to apply for financial assistance. People who've lost their homes can obtain an immediate payment of $750 to cover food and other needs.
FEMA's failure to take about two-thirds of calls so soon after a disaster left experts taken aback.
“Responding to less than half of the inquiries is pretty horrific,” Jeffrey Schlegelmilch, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University, told the Times.
“Put yourself in the shoes of a survivor: You’ve lost everything, you’re trying to find out what’s insured and what’s not, and you’re navigating multiple aid programs,” he added. “One of the most important services in disaster recovery is being able to call someone and walk through these processes and paperwork.”
The report comes amid revelations that Noem waited three days to send FEMA rescuers to the area, insisting she had to personally authorize expenses topping $100,000.
David Richardson, the acting administrator of FEMA, has also drawn criticism for being noticeably absent.