Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is the federal government's disaster response system in the United States. The disaster response efforts conducted by FEMA are a crucial component of disaster [Page 202]response in the nation as a whole. The agency emerged from a history of disaster response in the United States in the late 1970s. FEMA is responsible for coordinating disaster response from federal agencies; helping tribal, state, and local level governments respond to disasters; and providing aid directly to affected individuals. The agency also works with disaster prevention and mitigation work. Over the course of the agency's history, however, it has also faced critiques regarding its responses, particularly to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which was met with broadly publicized media criticism.