History Main / NoFEMAResponse

* ''ComicBook/BatmanNoMansLand'': After two outbreaks of a horrific genetically engineered plague virus are followed by a devastating earthquake that smashes [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Gotham City]] flat, the government (influenced by covert supervillain activity) decides that any further aid and reconstruction would just be throwing good money after bad and orders the city evacuated and left to rot. Anyone refusing to leave is no longer their problem. Gotham is left to the mercies of the Arkham inmates, criminal organizations, and street gangs for over a year, and the government actually goes so far as to declare Gotham to no longer be part of the American territory (something that's not possible under the US Constitution) and shot down any attempts to bring relief aid to the people who insisted on staying!

* ''Film/{{Outbreak}}'': The city was quarantined, and the plan was to drop a Fuel Air Bomb on it to stop the infection from spreading.

* In ''Anime/{{Scryed}}'', the Lost Ground has been placed under the jurisdiction of HOLY, which doesn't seem to care about civilizing the area in any way other than getting Alter Users under their control.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Brickleberry}}'', the episode "The Dam Show" involves the main cast and many other people stranded on an uncharted island thanks to Firecracker Jim blowing up a dam that gets them washed up there. It's actually inverted as near the end of the episode, a FEMA officer does show up with a boat ready to go and take them home. Woody and the rest of the people celebrate that they won't go hungry after all..... [[BlackComedyCannibalism camera pan to the FEMA guy hogtied]] and being roasted in a barbecue by Woody.

* This sums up a lot of what happened after Hurricane Katrina hit UsefulNotes/NewOrleans. In that case, the lack of a coordinated FEMA response became a national scandal when private corporations and regular citizens got their own relief efforts into the city long before FEMA did.

* Played with in ''Fanfic/ABetterClassOfCriminal'', being based on the [[ComicBook/BatmanNoMansLand No Man's Land]] story above. Disaster relief does show up within a couple of days, but later dries up as the costs of restoring Gotham are calculated, and the No Man's Land decree still happens.

* In ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'' episode "Scrambled Ed", the Cul-de-sac gets flooded thanks to Ed and Eddy unknowingly blocking their town's river mid-way with heavy material they planned to use to build a marine animal theme park (it was intended to be a ''Ride/SeaWorld'' knock-off). Because AdultsAreUseless in this show, no one comes to rescue the kids who are stuck on wood rafts suffering from heat stroke and hunger. [[DownerEnding Roll the credits]]!

* Averted in ''VideoGame/ARMA'' 3, in which the International Development & Aid Project (IDAP) relief workers immediately pouring in on Altis & Stratis after Operation Eastwind to provide humanitarian support for the affected and aiding in reconstruction efforts. The ''Laws of War'' DLC campaign even revolves on an EOD technician worker doing a clean up on a war-torn village while recounting some of IDAP activities on the islands before NATO takeover.

* {{Averted}} in ''Fanfic/WilhuffTarkinHeroOfTheRebellion'', where Tarkin bringing relief to [[ThirstyDesert Tatooine]] during a planet-wide drought and both [[KickTheSonOfABitch having Jabba's water tax collectors exposed to die of dessication]] and discovering Luke are plot points.

* ''Film/ResidentEvilApocalypse''. Raccoon City is sealed off and the inhabitants left to die to prevent the T-Virus from escaping.

Compare MilitariesAreUseless and PoliceAreUseless.

* Somewhat justified in ''Manga/{{Akira}}'' by the time major humanitarian aid efforts are on their way to Neo-Tokyo, Tetsuo and his followers have already organized the survivors into the Great Akira Empire, a militantly isolationist cult who attack the relief workers. In the manga they come back after the Great Akira Empire collapses, and [[spoiler:Kaneda states that ''they'' are welcome in the Great Tokyo Empire, it's the US soldiers with them and anyone trying to assert the Japanese government authority over them that they are hostile to]].

* Slightly justified in ''Anime/DevilSurvivor2'', where the government has much bigger things to worry about than an earthquake, such as an invasion of {{Eldritch Abomination}}s.
** [[spoiler: And the fact that everything outside of the three cities is gone. Like an empty void gone.]]

* ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' supplement Bug City. After insect spirits are discovered infesting Chicago and possessing its citizens, most of the city is sealed off to prevent them from escaping.
** Later editions RetCon it somewhat in that FEMA was on scene to help with the quarantine, extermination, and cleanup.

* ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'' features the Yamanote Circle, a vast swathe of Tokyo's shopping district, cordoned off by military forces ordered to ''kill'' anyone trying to escape the blackout zone. [[JustifiedTrope Partly justified]] by the government's advance knowledge of events that are soon to take place and their attempts to keep the released demon-summoning technology from spreading to the rest of the world, [[spoiler: and then FULLY jusitfied when it's revealed that the angels were the ones who told them to lock down the circle, and have them under threat of heavenly retribution if they refuse.]]

* ''Videogame/FarCry5'' takes place in a county in Montana in which a doomsday cult has manage to take over and lock down as their private kingdom. The only authorities sent in are a US Marshall, the local Sheriff and several of his deputies (one of which is the player), all of whom end up being trapped in Hope County and either joining the local resistance or are made prisoners of the cult. It's implied that the reason that authorities haven't gotten through is because the cult have infiltrated emergency response as well as the fact that they possess blackmail material on the US President.

* {{Averted}} in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13545968/1/Wilhuff-Tarkin-Hero-of-the-Rebellion Wilhuff Tarkin, Hero of the Rebellion]]'', where Tarkin bringing relief to [[ThirstyDesert Tatooine]] during a planet-wide drought and both [[KickTheSonOfABitch having Jabba's water tax collectors exposed to die of dessication]] and discovering Luke are plot points.

* {{Averted}} in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13545968/1/Wilhuff-Tarkin-Hero-of-the-Rebellion Wilhuff Tarkin, Hero of the Rebellion]]'', where Tarkin bringing relief to [[ThirstyDesert Tatooine]] during a [[UpToEleven planet-wide drought]] and both [[KickTheSonOfABitch having Jabba's water tax collectors exposed to die of dessication]] and discovering Luke are plot points.

* Somewhat justified in ''Manga/{{Akira}}'' (manga version), as by the time major humanitarian aid efforts are on their way to Neo-Tokyo, Tetsuo and his followers have already organized the survivors into a militantly isolationist nut cult who ''attack'' the relief workers.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Brickleberry}}'', the episode "The Dam Show" involves the main cast and many other people stranded on an uncharted island thanks to Firecracker Jim blowing up a dam that gets them washed up there. It's actually inverted as near the end of the episode, a FEMA officer does show up with a boat ready to go and take them home. Woody and the rest of the people celebrate that they won't go hungry after all..... [[BlackComedyCannibalism camera pan to the FEMA guy hogtied]] [[WhatAnIdiot and being roasted]] in a barbecue by Woody.

Not so in fiction, where earthquakes, terrorist attacks, and stranger events are ''avoided'' or outright cordoned off by the outside world and the survivors are left to fend for themselves. This seems especially prevalent in Japanese fiction, as it appears that nation has ''zero'' confidence in the stability of the social order -- the slightest accident on the street will inevitably lead to [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons people cracking each others' skulls open to feast on the goo within]]. This goes double if it's a Creator/GoNagai production. Very confusing since historical evidence is that Japanese social order can and will survive everything nature, modern warfare and terrorism can throw at it.

* ''Film/TwentyEightWeeksLater'' reveals that there were a large number of refugee camps in Europe, so at the very least Britain's nearest neighbours were probably pulling uninfected civilians out of the ports or off the beaches.