Every June, like clockwork, the United States ushers in hurricane season—a months-long stretch prominently marked on weather maps, news reports, and the particularly cursed section of the Farmer’s Almanac. You might reasonably expect that the head of FEMA, the agency tasked with disaster response, would treat this as a sort of Super Bowl for federal emergency types. Yet, as outlined in a Reuters report, FEMA’s newly appointed chief, David Richardson, left staffers perplexed when he seemed unaware that the U.S. even has a hurricane season.

It’s almost as if the Chief Archivist suddenly confessed surprise at the annual arrival of dust on the top shelves.

Surprise Storms and Strategic Shrugs

During a daily all-hands meeting, Richardson reportedly remarked that he hadn’t known there was a U.S. hurricane season. Multiple staff familiar with the call characterized the moment as bewildering, with some left unsure whether Richardson was joking, being literal, or operating on some alternate conversational current entirely, as described by Reuters. One can’t help wondering whether FEMA leadership is issued a hurricane calendar at onboarding—perhaps it’s in the welcome packet, between HR forms and the emergency poncho.

Complicating matters, Richardson also announced in the same briefing that there would be no changes to FEMA’s disaster response plans this year, despite having previously told staff to expect a revised approach in May. As documented by the outlet, this about-face sparked fresh confusion, coming just as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued predictions of up to ten hurricanes for the season—a number that feels less like a forecast and more like a dare.

Confusion as a Management Style?

Adding to the patchwork of uncertainty, Richardson cited his wish to avoid contradicting the FEMA Review Council—a group assembled to evaluate agency changes—as a reason for shelving new plans. According to Reuters, internal communication has become muddled, leaving staff unclear about both strategy and basic expectations. The report highlights that Richardson, a former Marine artillery officer and recent DHS counter-WMD official with no disaster response background, repeatedly points to his military experience in discussions, offering little reassurance to those more accustomed to hurricanes than howitzers.

Previous comments reported by Reuters suggest Richardson had earlier promised a revised disaster plan and tabletop exercises by late May. Instead, as of June, clarity remains about as visible as the horizon through a tropical downpour.

Shrinking Ranks, Lean Training

As outlined in Reuters’ account, these leadership fumbles land amid a broader context of significant staffing woes at FEMA. The agency has lost about a third of its full-time staff since 2021, a result of terminations and departures tied to Trump administration efforts to shrink or even phase out FEMA, with the outlet also noting President Trump’s assertion that states could handle most disaster response duties themselves.

If the staffing cuts weren’t enough, FEMA also recently scaled back hurricane training and workshops for local and state emergency managers. Previous Reuters reporting attributes these reductions to restrictions on travel and speaking engagements—a distinctly creative approach to disaster preparation, assuming disasters politely wait for rescheduling.

Temporary staff currently account for roughly 40% of FEMA’s workforce, making up the backbone of the agency’s on-the-ground response, the outlet documents. While there was a recent move to retain more than 2,600 short-term employees slated for expiration (after some behind-the-scenes negotiation with FEMA’s parent agency, per Reuters), it’s unclear if retaining temps compensates for the loss of career experience or simply pads the numbers for the sake of optics.

Leading from the Eye of the Storm (or Just Lost in the Weather)?

It’s scarcely surprising that internal morale may be, shall we say, overcast. Reuters reports that Richardson’s predecessor, Cameron Hamilton, was abruptly dismissed after clashing with the Trump administration on FEMA’s future—a revolving door that does little to fortify staff confidence. The FEMA Review Council, itself a product of shifting political winds, seems unlikely to quell anxieties.

Taken together, you have a leadership team with a fondness for reversals, a significant experience gap, sharply reduced resources, and a hurricane forecast that seems eager to test how minimal an emergency response can be before it technically counts as performance art. Is it any wonder that staff are left scratching their heads, wondering if “hurricane season” is going to be added to the agency’s list of unfamiliar terms?

The Odd Couple: Bureaucracy Meets the Bizarre

There’s a particular irony in the spectacle of FEMA’s own director expressing surprise about hurricane season—a sort of meta-disaster in the bureaucratic sphere. In an environment already fraught with departures, training shortfalls, reversed plans, and institutional skepticism, one almost expects a “Hurricane Season Awareness Week” poster campaign to pop up in headquarters, complete with a sign-up sheet and quiz.

Does the confusion signal business as usual for a government agency in flux, or a particularly inspired feat of bureaucratic denial? In the end, it may come down to whether FEMA can weather the storms ahead—not just of the meteorological variety, but those swirling through its own ranks. One can’t help but ask: Will the next all-staff meeting include a quick primer on the basics? Or have the staff learned to keep an umbrella—literal or metaphorical—close at hand year-round?