HARTFORD, CT — United States Sen. Richard Blumenthal is ringing the alarm bell over the closure of regional offices of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
On Tuesday the Connecticut Democrat was joined by Ronnell Higgins, the commissioner of the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection. Higgins works with FEMA when a situation arises in Connecticut like the extreme flooding last year in parts of New Haven County.
Blumenthal said when a disaster occurs it really is a partnership between local, state, and federal authorities.
“ We know from disasters that have occurred in the past that the feds are a vital part of the response effort,” he said. “FEMA has been on the ground literally within hours of every major natural disaster in our recent history.”
Blumenthal said having a regional FEMA office in nearby Boston serving not only Connecticut but the whole of the northeast has repeatedly shown its effectiveness.
“The Boston Regional Office has been on the ground and that responsiveness is about to be lost,” he said.
He added that closing a regional office may sound like a bureaucratic technical change of no consequence, but it can make a difference to the outcome of a disaster and how quickly and effectively relief is provided.
Although the Boston FEMA Office hasn’t shut yet, Blumenthal says a large number of its staff have been cut by the federal government.
“FEMA says it’s closing the office, and the president has hinted that he’s closing FEMA,” Blumenthal said.
He added that the prospect of this happening is, “literally one of our worst nightmares” and said what were once hundred-year storms have “become the new normal.”
“They’re every 10 years or maybe even every five years now,” he said.
But it’s not just FEMA’s response during a natural disaster, the agency also manages the BRIC – Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Program, which is also being ended Blumenthal said.
Flooding on Route 67 in Seymour. Credit: Contributed photo / via Valley Independent Sentinal
“ It’s not just rebuilding in the wake of a natural disaster, as we saw in Southbury, in Oxford and Naugatuck most recently,” he said. “We want to build back those roads, so they are more resilient, stronger than they were before.”
He said Bridgeport will now miss out on almost $50 million of BRIC money for its waterfront reliance program and elsewhere in the state a total of $116 million in BRIC funds will be ended.
Blumenthal points out that natural disasters happen in Blue and Red States and says they will be enlisting bipartisan support to fight the FEMA closures.
Higgins said with all the uncertainty coming out of Washington, his department and other state agencies are continuing to prepare for possible future events, but they’re thinking about how they do that a little differently now.
“ All of that is weighing on the minds of my staff and local emergency managers,” he said. “This as we creep towards hurricane season that begins in June.”
Higgins said the statewide emergency response framework is solid and the department has the capability to respond but he is concerned.
If the Trump administration goes ahead with its plans for FEMA, what is left of that agency will be based in Washington D.C., Blumenthal said. That means the states would have to bear the costs of dealing with a natural disaster when it happens and even though there are delays now with the current system, this would make for longer delays in getting emergency funding and services, he said.
Discover more from InnerCity News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
