Andrew von Eschenbach Quotes

Having worked in disasters, I have seen that, in those critical first few hours, those first few days - so much ends up riding on you and your neighbor and whoever is around. The official response always comes later, and it always feels like it comes too slow.

I'll just tell you, I'm not a big FEMA fan.

You know, one of the perceptions, again, about FEMA is that there's been a demise in the organization since it became the - under - it started to become part of the Department of Homeland Security.

I want every health care professional, every first-responder, every citizen, every visitor to know that in Florida we continue to prepare for the worst. But we pray for the best.

The Red Cross in its nature, it aims and purposes, and consequently, its methods, is unlike any other organization in the country.It is an organization of physical action, of instantaneous action, at the spur of the moment; it cannot await the ordinary deliberation of organized bodies if it would be of use to suffering humanity,[ellipsis in original] it has by its nature a field of its own.

You need to plan the way a fire department plans: it cannot anticipate where the next fire will be, so it has to shape an energetic and efficient team that is capable of responding to the unanticipated as well as to any ordinary event.

It’s useful to compare our preparations for epidemics with our preparations for war.

The person who runs FEMA is someone who must have the trust of the president because the person who runs FEMA is the first voice oftentimes of someone whose life has been turned upside down here's from.

The safety of the people is the first and foremost responsibility of government… We are not as prepared as we should be with our public safety network…. The margin for error is exceedingly and uniquely low.

Anything you say before a pandemic occurs sounds alarmist; anything you say after it occurs is inadequate.

In a disaster you have to have speed. In order to have speed, you have to have trust. And in order to have trust, you have to have people organized and planning before the disaster.

Assure personal survival in any kind of disaster.

There is nothing new about the sudden enthusiasm for aggressive government intervention during a health crisis. Throughout history, pandemics have led to an expansion of the power of the state.

In life, you don't really know what's coming at you. Like a firefighter, or police officer, or anyone else working in the emergency field, they don't know what's going to come at them. You gotta be ready for anything.

Access to humanitarian assistance and information are all the more important during the Covid-19 pandemic.

State governments should not have to compete in bidding contests against each other in order to get the necessary supplies to protect and help their citizens.

As the COVID-19 situation evolves, we need to make sure we have enough medical professionals to care for people in need.

The response to coronavirus has shown what can be done when governments put their mind to it.

The health and safety of the residents of our region continues to be my highest priority.

The health and safety of our neighbors and our communities should be our top priority - nothing is more important.

Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria each caused billions of dollars in damage, claimed the lives of many Americans, and disrupted millions more. They also reminded us how important communications networks can be during emergencies - and that the FCC has a role to play in helping keep people safe.

COVID-19 is a national crisis, and we need a national response to address it.

I don't think you just can put people on the starting block and then wait... for the next Ebola-like epidemic. I think that you need somehow a small-capacity response who's going to run the first few kilometers of the marathon.

We deal with emergencies on a regular basis out here in the Plain States.

You saw on your TV what happened in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. The Reserves or National Guard are usually the people we use for those national emergencies. They weren't here, they were over in Iraq, and so we were less protected.