With support from the University of Richmond

History News Network

History News Network puts current events into historical perspective. Subscribe to our newsletter for new perspectives on the ways history continues to resonate in the present. Explore our archive of thousands of original op-eds and curated stories from around the web. Join us to learn more about the past, now.

FEMA Chief Slammed for Calling Puerto Rico Relief Efforts the 'Most Logistically Challenging Event'


Twitter users criticized Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) administrator Brock Long in droves Sunday, after he called the disaster relief effort on Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria "the most logistically challenging event" for the U.S.

Long made the comment on Fox News Sunday, when asked whether it was appropriate for acting Homeland Security chief Elaine Duke to call the relief effort a "good news story."

"The bottom line is, is this is the most logistically challenging event the United States has ever seen and we have been moving and pushing as fast as the situation allows," he told host Chris Wallace.

Long's comments attracted scorn on Twitter, where many pointed out that the U.S. had managed many complex logistical arrangements decades before.

Read entire article at Time Magazine