WASHINGTON — The Federal Emergency Management Agency has paused the termination of hundreds of disaster workers as it prepares for a major winter storm expected to impact large portions of the country in the coming days.
In an email obtained by CNN, staff were informed that FEMA would pause the offboarding of disaster workers with contracts set to expire in the coming days, a process that had been underway since early January.
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Two sources said the approaching storm prompted the pause, although officials have debated the workers’ status for weeks, and it remains unclear how long the halt will last.
Approximately 300 disaster workers have been let go so far in January, with only a few receiving extensions, sources told CNN. The Department of Homeland Security said disaster staffing includes “term-limited positions” that “FLUCTUATE based on disaster activity, operational NEED, and available funding.”
The pause came hours after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem briefed at FEMA headquarters on a major winter storm expected to require a federal response.
FEMA has activated its National Response Coordination Center, deployed teams and resources to Texas, Virginia, Georgia and Pennsylvania, and pre-positioned 30 generators, 250,000 meals and 400,000 liters of water in Louisiana. More than 200 specialists will staff call centers, and more than two dozen Urban Search and Rescue teams are on standby.
