FEMA still struggles with pre-disaster planning

Frank Zucco, director of intelligence transportation systems for Wanco Incorporated, walks through his company’s facilities in Arvada, Colo. July 12, 2019. He said the company is able to set aside and act quickly. “We don’t have as many rules to follow as a government organization, or a very large corporation might have to follow,” he said. “And so we can do what makes sense to us.” (Kailey Broussard/News21)

PHOENIX – Over the past decade, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has doled out tens of billions of dollars in contracts to U.S. companies for food, blankets, tarps, bottled water, debris removal and other crucial goods and services needed in the aftermath of disaster.

More than 11,000 companies received contracts from 2008 through 2018, according to a News21 data analysis of USA Spending, a repository of federal spending data. Contributed photos, data analysis and research. More