The Federal Emergency Management Agency is making significant changes to how it will respond to disasters on the ground this season, including ending federal door-to-door canvassing of survivors in disaster areas, WIRED has learned. This group of workers is part of a larger cadre often called FEMA’s “boots on the ground” in disaster areas. "Door-to-door canvassing is another example of a wasteful and ineffective FEMA program," Geoff Harbaugh, FEMA’s associate administrator for the Office of External Affairs tells WIRED in an email. "Under the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Noem, FEMA is changing how it operates and reforming its policies to better support disaster survivors and the American people. “Going door-to-door, especially in critically hit areas, to share information is very important,” he says.