The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS),initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Executive Orders on April 1,1979. The agency's primary purpose is to coordinate the response to a disaster that has occurred in the United States and that overwhelms the resources of local and state authorities. The governor of the state in which the disaster occurs must declare a state of emergency and formally request from the President that FEMA and the federal government respond to the disaster. The only exception to the state's gubernatorial declaration requirement occurs when an emergency or disaster takes place on federal property or to a federal asset—for example,the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City,Oklahoma,or the Space Shuttle Columbia in the 2003 return-flight disaster.
Thad William Allen is a former admiral of the United States Coast Guard who served as the 23rd commandant from 2006 to 2010. Allen is best known for his widely praised performance directing the federal response to hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the Gulf Coast region from September 2005 to January 2006,and for his role as National Incident Commander of the Unified Command for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. Robert J. Papp Jr. succeeded him as Commandant on 25 May 2010.
Miguel Antonio Caro Tobar was a Colombian scholar,poet,journalist,philosopher,orator,philologist,lawyer,and politician.
Rear Admiral Stephen W. Rochon is the former director of the Executive Residence and White House Chief Usher. He was the first African-American White House Chief Usher. Admiral Rochon served his last day on active duty with the Coast Guard on March 9,2007,and began his service at the White House on March 12. Admiral Rochon succeeded Gary J. Walters,who retired in January 2007 after 20 years as White House Chief Usher. He resigned as chief usher in 2011 to work in the United States Department of Homeland Security and was replaced as chief usher by Angella Reid on October 5,2011.
David Peter Pekoske is an American government official and retired U.S. Coast Guard vice admiral who has served as the seventh administrator of the Transportation Security Administration in the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) since 2017. He served as the acting deputy secretary of Homeland Security from April to November 2019 and again from January to June 2021. From January 20,2021 to February 2,2021 he served as acting secretary of homeland security,during the Senate confirmation of Alejandro Mayorkas. Pekoske retired with 33 years of active military service in 2010 as the 26th vice commandant of the Coast Guard.
Hispanics in the United States Coast Guard can trace their tradition of service to the early 19th century,when they initially performed duties at light house stations as keepers and assistant keepers in its predecessor services. Hispanic is an ethnic term employed to categorize any citizen or resident of the United States,of any racial background,of any country,and of any religion,who has at least one ancestor from the people of Spain or is of non-Hispanic origin,but has an ancestor from Mexico,Puerto Rico,Cuba,Central or South America,or some other Hispanic origin. The three largest Hispanic groups in the United States are the Mexican-Americans,Puerto Ricans,and Cubans.
USCGC Margaret Norvell (WPC-1105) is the fifth Sentinel-class cutter,based at Miami,Florida. She was launched on January 13,2012,and delivered to the Coast Guard on March 21,2013. She was commissioned on June 1,2013. She was commissioned at Mardi Gras World in New Orleans,near where her namesake,Margaret Norvell,staffed a lighthouse for decades.
Elaine Costanzo Duke is an American civil servant and former United States Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security,serving from April 10,2017 until April 15,2018. She became acting Secretary of Homeland Security on July 31,2017,when John F. Kelly assumed the office of White House Chief of Staff. She left the acting position on December 6,2017,upon the confirmation of Kirstjen Nielsen.
William Brockmann Long is an American emergency manager who served as the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). He was appointed to the position by President Donald Trump in April 2017 and confirmed by the United States Senate in June 2017. He served until his resignation in March 2019,following criticism of his handling of the Hurricane Maria and an ethical complaint over using official vehicles.
Hurricane Maria was a deadly Category 5 hurricane that devastated the northeastern Caribbean in September 2017,particularly in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico,which accounted for 2,975 of the 3,059 deaths. It is the deadliest and costliest hurricane to strike the island of Puerto Rico,and is the deadliest hurricane to strike the country of Dominica and the U.S. Virgin Islands territory.
From September 19-21,2017,Hurricane Maria devastated the entire island of Puerto Rico and caused a major humanitarian crisis. Originally,a powerful Category 5 hurricane,Maria was the strongest storm to impact the island in nearly 90 years. Maria made landfall on Puerto Rico on September 20 as a high-end Category 4 storm,bringing a large storm surge,very heavy rains,and wind gusts well above 100 mph (160 km/h). It flattened neighborhoods,crippled the island's power grid,and caused an estimated 2,982 fatalities and US$90 billion in damage.
Karl Leo Schultz is a retired United States Coast Guard admiral who served as the 26th Commandant of the Coast Guard from 2018 to 2022.
Douglas Margrave Fears is a retired United States Coast Guard rear admiral who last served as Director of Joint Interagency Task Force South. He previously served as Assistant Commandant for Response Policy. Fears was the Homeland Security Advisor to President Donald Trump until July 12,2019.
Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico as a high-end Category 4 hurricane on September 20,2017,resulting in the island's most severe natural disaster in modern history. The entire island suffered devastating effects with the entire population losing access to electricity,the majority losing access to clean water,tens of thousands of homes destroyed,and road infrastructure left crippled. A series of cascading infrastructure failures compounded the direct effects of the hurricane. Lack of aid,electricity,water,and access to medical care endangered many people;elderly and poor residents were most impacted.
Hurricane Dorian was an extremely powerful and catastrophic Category 5 Atlantic hurricane,which became the most intense tropical cyclone on record to strike the Bahamas,and is tied with the 1935 Labor Day hurricane for the strongest landfall in the Atlantic basin in terms of maximum sustained winds. The 2019 cyclone is regarded as the worst natural disaster in the Bahamas' recorded history. With winds peaking at 185 mph (295 km/h),it was also one of the most powerful hurricanes recorded in the Atlantic Ocean in terms of 1-minute sustained winds,and the strongest since Wilma in 2005. Dorian was the fourth named storm,second hurricane,the first major hurricane,and the first Category 5 hurricane of the 2019 Atlantic hurricane season. Dorian struck the Abaco Islands on September 1 with maximum sustained winds of 185 mph (295 km/h),tying with the 1935 Labor Day hurricane for the highest wind speeds of an Atlantic hurricane ever recorded at landfall. Dorian went on to strike Grand Bahama at similar intensity,stalling just north of the territory with unrelenting winds for at least 24 hours. The resultant damage to these islands was catastrophic;most structures were flattened or swept to sea,and at least 70,000 people were left homeless. After it ravaged through the Bahamas,Dorian proceeded along the coasts of the Southeastern United States and Atlantic Canada,leaving behind considerable damage and economic losses in those regions.
The Hurricane Dorian–Alabama controversy,also referred to as Sharpiegate,arose from a comment made by then U.S. President Donald Trump on September 1,2019,as Hurricane Dorian approached the U.S. mainland. Mentioning states that would likely be impacted by the storm,he incorrectly included Alabama,which by then was known not to be under threat from the storm. After many residents of Alabama called the local weather bureau to ask about it,the bureau issued a reassurance that Alabama was not expected to be hit by the storm.
The core White House staff appointments,and most Executive Office of the President officials generally,are not required to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate,with a handful of exceptions. There are about 4,000 positions in the Executive Office of the President.
Hurricane Dorian caused relatively minor damage across the eastern Caribbean in late August 2019. Originating from a westward moving tropical wave,Dorian organized into a tropical cyclone on August 24 and reached the Lesser Antilles on August 26 as a tropical storm. Turning northwest,the system unexpectedly intensified to a hurricane as it struck the Virgin Islands on August 27. Antecedent to the storm's arrival,local governments across the archipelago issued tropical cyclone warnings and watches,readied public shelters,closed airports,and placed emergency crews on standby. Many of the threatened islands were still reeling from the devastation wrought by Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria in September 2017 and fears arose over embattled power grids. In the areas first affected,impacts were limited to gusty winds and modest rainfall. Effects were greater in the Virgin Islands where wind gusts reached 111 mph (179 km/h);however,damage was light. Multiple landslides occurred across the islands and Puerto Rico with only a handful of structures suffering damage. One person died in Puerto Rico while preparing for the storm.
Melissa Bert last served as the Judge Advocate General and Chief Counsel of the United States Coast Guard. Rear Admiral (RADM) Bert is the first woman to serve in this position. Prior flag assignments held by RADM Bert include the U.S. Coast Guard’s Director of Governmental and Public Affairs and Deputy Director of Operations for U.S. Northern Command.
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United States Coast Guard 
