In Case Of Emergency, Read Blog

President Obama has announced his intention to nominate Craig Fugate as the next Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA). It is excellent pick. Fugate has distinguished himself as Director of Florida’s Division of Emergency Management.

Fugate understands the importance of the public in disaster preparedness and response and has made citizen outreach a focus of his work in Florida. I expect that public readiness and engagement will be a FEMA priority under the new Administrator. As Amanda Ripley points out in her The Unthinkable blog, Fugate “calls people ’survivors’ instead of ‘victims.’ He is stone-cold honest about how little the feds can do in big disasters–and how much depends on the training, attitude and expectations of regular people.” 

A couple other Fugate statements about the role of the public that Amanda highlights:

“We have created a nation of victims. We have disempowered people to take responsibility for their own survival. They expect someone to save them….”

“…I believe in an open society. If citizens know they have toxic chemicals downtown, they’re more likely to say, ‘Why don’t you move the chemicals?’”

Fugate also grasps the great potential of social media in disasters. In fact, he has his own informative Twitter feed, DisastersRUs which is worth checking out.

FEMA Administrator-Designate Craig Fugate