Acting FEMA Administrator Pete Gaynor said Monday his agency still is short some 2,000 temporary reserve employees, but he confirmed the agency has all the people it needs to respond to Hurricane Dorian and any other hurricanes impacting the United States.
"When it comes to the response we have all we need," Gaynor told Fox News' "Fox and Friends." He also pointed out that FEMA is not the only agency responding to the massive storm, but the whole of the government is also ready, including the Department of Defense.
"We have all the resources and staffing equipment we need to respond to Dorian," said Gaynor.
The agency is working to improve hiring and retention, he added.
Earlier this summer, Gaynor told members of Congress the agency was fully staffed when it comes to full-time workers, but it was short 2,000 temporary reserve workers.
Meanwhile, Gaynor warned those in the path of Hurricane Dorian to be prepared for any scenario after the massive storm has remained stalled over the Bahamas.
"When it stalls, the predictability of the forecast becomes much harder," Gaynor said. "It really can do anything until it starts moving again. When you look at what happened to the Bahamas yesterday and overnight, you have to embrace that."
The storm is currently forecast to run parallel to Florida as it advances north, but Gaynor warned that it will not have to make landfall in the United States to have devastating impacts.
"Right now, there are watches and warnings pretty much the entire coast of — the east coast of Florida," said Gaynor. "You are running out of time. You are going to start feeling winds in South Florida already, so make sure that you are prepared for any scenario."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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