U.S. emergency-management chief Brock Long resigns

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The head of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency, Brock Long, resigned on Wednesday, after overseeing the government's response to a string of record-breaking hurricanes, wildfires and other natural disasters.

Brock Long said in a letter to FEMA employees that he was resigning to spend more time at home with his family. His last day is March 8.

His deputy, Pete Gaynor, will become acting head of the agency.

Long was widely praised for his tenure at a time when the United States faced its most devastating stretch of natural disasters since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

But his reputation took a hit last fall when the Department of Homeland Security determined he had inappropriately used government vehicles to commute between Washington and his home in North Carolina.

Two months after Long took over FEMA in June 2017, Hurricane Harvey dumped a record amount of rainfall in Texas and Hurricane Irma became one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record before slamming into Florida.

U.S. President Donald Trump visits the charred wreckage of Skyway Villa Mobile Home and RV Park with then Governor-elect Gavin Newsom (L), FEMA head Brock Long (R), Paradise Mayor Jody Jones (2nd R) and Governor Jerry Brown in Paradise, California, November‍ 17, 2018. /VCG Photo

Hurricane Maria killed nearly 3,000 people in Puerto Rico and left the island's 3.7 million residents without electricity. FEMA faced steep logistical hurdles as it delivered food and water from the mainland United States, but critics said it should have had more supplies already in place.

In December of that year, California recorded its largest wildfire ever.

The fall of 2018 brought another spate of devastating wildfires in California, along with major hurricanes in the Florida Panhandle and North and South Carolina.

FEMA responded to more than 220 declared disasters during Long's tenure, he said in a statement.

Long said he accepted full responsibility for the unauthorized use of the vehicles.

He took over FEMA in June 2017, presiding over a particularly grueling hurricane season that included Irma, Harvey and Maria, plus wildfires in California that were the deadliest ever for the state. The response to Maria, which devastated Puerto Rico, has been heavily criticized, and Long has said FEMA learned lessons on how to better prepare.

(With input from agencies)