US disaster relief centre reels as leader quits

>>>The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's disaster command centre, who coordinates the national response to earthquakes, floods and other disasters, has submitted his resignation, according to sources.

- LISA FRIEDMAN

Jeremy Greenberg resigned as the top official at Fema's National Response Coordination Center on Wednesday. His resignation came after other senior staff members have left and a day after President Donald Trump said he would wind down the federal agency by November.

"We want to wean off of Fema and we want to bring it down to the state level," Mr Trump said on Tuesday during a news briefing in the Oval Office. "We think after the hurricane season we'll start phasing it out."

Mr Trump also warned states to expect "less money" from the federal government for disaster recovery. And, he said, the money would come directly from the president's office.

That would be a substantial change from the current system, under which Fema vets applications from states, localities and individuals for grants and direct payments to recover from disasters.

If a state gets hit by a hurricane or other extreme weather, "the governor should be able to handle it," Mr Trump said. "And frankly, if they can't handle it, the aftermath, then maybe they shouldn't be governor."

The National Response Coordination Center is considered Fema's 24-hour war room, where planning for responses to disasters occurs.

It coordinates the federal, state and local responses, handling things such as the deployment of search and rescue teams, assisting hospitals that have to evacuate, and shipping food and water to emergency sites.