FEMA's Initial Response 

to Severe Storms and 

Flooding in West Virginia 

DR-4273 

February 7, 2017 

OIG-17-37-D 
 

 

 

DHS OIG HIGHLIGHTS 

FEMA's Initial Response to Severe Storms

and Flooding in West Virginia DR-4273 

February 7, 2017 

Why We 

Did This 

Inspection 

On June 25, 2016, the 

President declared a 

major disaster for 18 

counties in the state of 

West Virginia. We 

deployed an Office of the 

Inspector General (OIG) 

Emergency Management 

Oversight team to the 

disaster to evaluate 

FEMA’s actions after the 

declaration. Our visibility 

and availability to FEMA, 

State, and local officials, 

and disaster affected 

individuals provides a 

strong deterrent to 

potential fraud, waste, 

and abuse. 

What We 

Recommend 

This report contains no 

recommendations. 

For Further Information: 

Contact our Office of Public Affairs at 

(202) 254-4100, or email us at 

DHS-OIG.OfficePublicAffairs@oig.dhs.gov 

What We Found 

FEMA responded effectively to the West Virginia storms. 

FEMA successfully overcame challenges that this disaster 

presented. We shared our concern related to FEMA’s 

selection and use of a facility that was not compliant with 

the Americans with Disabilities Act. Other challenges, such 

as disaster reservist staffing and issues with FEMA’s 

Qualification System and Deployment Tracking System were 

also discussed. We observed that these challenges were 

consistent with information obtained in other EMOT 

deployments. Since FEMA is aware of these concerns, we 

choose to take no further action. However, we will include 

these measures in the planning of future EMOT, audits and 

risk assessment efforts. 

FEMA Response 

FEMA officials generally agreed with our findings and 

observations. Because we are making no recommendations, 

we consider this report closed. 

www.oig.dhs.gov OIG-17-37-D 
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL 

Department of Homeland Security 

Washington, DC 20528 / www.oig.dhs.gov 


February 7, 2017 


MEMORANDUM FOR: MaryAnn E. Tierney 

Regional Administrator, Region III 

Federal Emergency Management Agency 

~1'frl~~ FROM: Thomas M. Salmon 

Assistant Inspector General 

Office of Emergency Management Oversight 

SUBJECT: FEMA 's Initial Response to Severe Storms and Flooding 

in West Virginia DR-4273 

Report Number OIG-17-37-D 

Attached for your information is our final report, FEMA 's Initial Response to 

Severe Storms and Flooding in West Virginia DR-4273. 

Consistent with our responsibility under the Inspector General Act, we are 

providing copies of our report to appropriate congressional committees with 

oversight and appropriation responsibility over the Department of Homeland 

Security. We will post the report on our website for public dissemination. 

Please call me with any questions, or your staff may contact Paul Wood, 

Acting Deputy Assistant Inspector General, Office of Emergency Management 

Oversight, at (202) 254-4100. 

Attachment 

www.oig.dhs.gov OIG-17-37-D 
 

OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL 

Department of Homeland Security 

Background
 

We deployed an Emergency Management Oversight Team (EMOT) to 

Charleston, West Virginia, on July 8, 2016, to review the Federal Emergency 

Management Agency’s (FEMA) initial response to the severe storms, flooding, 

landslides, and mudslides that occurred in June 2016. Our assessment of 

FEMA’s response focused on FEMA’s activities just after the major disaster 

declaration. We inquired into FEMA’s most pressing challenges, such as 

staffing resources, and assessed how well FEMA coordinated its activities with 

Federal, West Virginia, the West Virginia National Guard, and other local 

partners. 

As part of our deployment, we visited disaster recovery centers, two branch 

offices, a manufactured housing unit staging site, and attended applicant 

briefings and kick off meetings. Additionally, we distributed copies of our audit 

report “Audit Tips for Managing Disaster-Related Project Costs” OIG-16-109-D 

to FEMA staff, recipients and subrecipients of FEMA’s Public Assistance and 

Hazard Mitigation grant funds. The report provides an overview of Office of 

Inspector General (OIG) responsibilities; applicable disaster assistance Federal 

statutes, regulations, and guidelines; the audit process and frequent audit 

findings; and key points to remember when administering FEMA grants. 

Results of Inspection 

FEMA responded effectively to the West Virginia storms. FEMA successfully 

overcame challenges that this disaster presented. We shared our concern 

related to FEMA’s selection and use of a facility that was not compliant with 

the Americans with Disabilities Act. Other challenges, such as disaster reservist 

staffing and issues with FEMA’s Qualification System and Deployment 

Tracking System were also discussed. We observed that these challenges were 

consistent with information obtained in other EMOT deployments. Since FEMA 

is aware of these concerns, we choose to take no further action. However, we 

will include these measures in the planning of future EMOT, audits and risk 

assessment efforts. 

FEMA’s Major Challenges 

FEMA faced several challenges that were successfully overcome. However, the 

two challenges we were most concerned involved FEMA’s non-compliance with 

the Americans with Disability Act for its Joint Field Office and Staffing 

limitations in with FEMA’s Qualification System and Deployment Tracking 

System. 

www.oig.dhs.gov 2 OIG-17-37-D 
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL 

Department of Homeland Security 

DR 4273 Joint Field Office Facility Was Not ADA Compliant 

FEMA through the General Service Administration (GSA) leased a Joint Field 

Office facility that was not ADA compliant. GSA conducted an analysis of eight 

buildings in the Charleston, West Virginia area. According to the Federal 

Coordinating Officer, there were a limited number of available and qualified 

buildings that met GSA/FEMA requirements. This forced GSA/FEMA, to 

pursue a lease with an owner whose building was not ADA compliant. 

The FEMA inspection team identified several building limitations that should 

be addressed to ensure individuals with disabilities were accommodated. These 

items included 

x changing the emergency strobe lighting for the hearing impaired; and 

x ensuring accessibility to all building space for mobility challenged 

individuals. 

These issues were discussed with the FEMA Disaster Chief of Staff, Office of 

Counsel, and Safety program managers. When GSA began to negotiate the 

building lease, GSA and FEMA scheduled a walk-through tour with the owner 

and a contractor to identify and resolve these issues. GSA and FEMA issued 

four lease amendments to ensure the owner addressed building limitations. 

Disaster Reservist Staffing Shortfalls 

Joint Field Office officials reported the following issues with disaster reservists: 

x More than 20% or over 200 of the 957 individuals were trainees; 

x Some deployed reservists did not meet expectation or have specific skills 

for their deployment assignment and needed supplementary training; 

x	 There were not enough coach evaluators, especially give the number of 

trainees. As a result, the Coach Evaluators assigned were overwhelmed 

and rushed people, who may not have been qualified for their 

assignment, through the training process; and 

x	 There were problems noted with Deployment Tracking System, which 

only allowed for one individual position deployment at a time. 

Appendix A

Objective, Scope, and Methodology 

The overall objective of our review was to determine whether FEMA’s response 

to the West Virginia storm was effective and efficient and to evaluate FEMA’s 

actions, resources, and authorities according to Federal regulations and FEMA 

guidelines in effect at the time of our fieldwork. 

We conducted this review between July 2016 and December 2016 pursuant to 

the authority of the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended, and according 

www.oig.dhs.gov 3	 OIG-17-37-D 
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL 

Department of Homeland Security 

to the Quality Standards for Inspection and Evaluation issued by the Council of 

the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency. Those standards require 

that we plan and perform the review to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence 

to provide a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based upon our 

objectives. We did not assess the adequacy of FEMA’s internal controls 

applicable to disaster response because it was not necessary to accomplish our 

objective. 

Discussion with Management and Review Follow-up 

We discussed the results of our audit with officials during our review. We also 

provided a draft report in advance to these officials and discussed it at the exit 

conference on July 21, 2016. Because the review did not identify any issues 

requiring further action from FEMA Region III, we consider this review closed. 

The Office of Emergency Management Oversight major contributors to this 

report are: Nigel Gardner, Audit Manager; Paul McPhail, Supervisory Program 

Analyst; Judy Martinez, EMOT Coordinator; Ken Valrance, Auditor in Charge, 

Nathaniel Nicholson, Auditor; and Kim Letnaunchyn, Program Analyst. 

We appreciate the support and cooperation extended to our team by the Joint 

Field Office staff. Please call me with any questions, or your staff may contact 

Paul Wood, Acting Deputy Assistant Inspector General, Office of Emergency 

Management Oversight, at (202) 254-4100. 

www.oig.dhs.gov 4 OIG-17-37-D 
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL 

Department of Homeland Security 

Appendix B 

Report Distribution 

Department of Homeland Security 

Secretary 

Deputy Secretary 

Chief of Staff 

General Counsel 

Executive Secretary 

Chief Financial Officer 

Under Secretary for Management 

Assistant Secretary for Office of Policy 

Assistant Secretary for Office of Public Affairs 

Assistant Secretary for Office of Legislative Affairs 

Chief Privacy Officer 

Audit Liaison, DHS 

Federal Emergency Management Agency 

Acting Administrator 

Acting Chief of Staff 

Chief Financial Officer 

Chief Counsel 

Acting Associate Administrator for Policy, Program Analysis and 

International Affairs 

Director, Risk Management and Compliance 

Federal Coordinating Officer, FEMA-4273-DR-WV 

Audit Liaison, FEMA (Job Code G-16-045-EMO-FEMA) 

Audit Liaison, FEMA Region III 

Office of Management and Budget 

Chief, Homeland Security Branch 

DHS OIG Budget Examiner 

Congress 

Congressional Oversight and Appropriations Committees 

External 

West Virginia Legislative Auditor 

West Virginia State Auditor 

www.oig.dhs.gov 5 OIG-17-37-D 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND COPIES 

To view this and any of our other reports, please visit our website at: www.oig.dhs.gov. 

For further information or questions, please contact Office of Inspector General Public Affairs 

at: DHS-OIG.OfficePublicAffairs@oig.dhs.gov. Follow us on Twitter at: @dhsoig. 

OIG HOTLINE 

To report fraud, waste, or abuse, visit our website at www.oig.dhs.gov and click on the red 

"Hotline" tab. If you cannot access our website, call our hotline at (800) 323-8603, fax our 

hotline at (202) 254-4297, or write to us at: 

Department of Homeland Security 

Office of Inspector General, Mail Stop 0305 

Attention: Hotline 

245 Murray Drive, SW 

Washington, DC 20528-0305