In a meeting with FEMA staff, David Richardson said he was unaware the United States had a hurricane season. Two staff members said it was unclear if he was serious, but the agency said he was joking.

David Richardson’s comment to staff that he was unaware the United States had a hurricane season was meant in jest, the Department of Homeland Security said.

Staff at the Federal Emergency Management Agency were caught off-guard and left bewildered when the disaster relief agency’s new acting head David Richardson told personnel that he was previously unaware that the United States has a hurricane season,