Home Depot Does What FEMA Dreams About

Matt Mayer / August 11, 2010

The fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, and all its attendant devastation, is a good reminder that the federalization of natural disasters by the Federal Emergency Management Agency continues uninterrupted. From January 20, 2010 to today, FEMA has issued 78 declarations, including for Hurricane Alex—a storm that never actually hit Texas (a little rain doesn’t count).

That figure puts FEMA on pace to issue 141 declarations by January 19, 2011, which would be the fifth most in FEMA history. With the 108 declarations issued in his first year, President Barack Obama would possess a two-year average of 124.5, which is just short of the record average of 129.5 set by George W. Bush over his eight years. Unlike during President Bush’s Administration, we have not had a single hurricane hit the United States and only one relatively minor earthquake, so the trend of defining disasters down also continues uninterrupted. (more…)