WASHINGTON (TNND) — Nearly 200 former and current Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) employees sent a letter to members of Congress on Monday, warning that cuts to the agency and the current leadership's lack of qualifications could result in a disaster like the one seen after Hurricane Katrina.

"Our shared commitment to our country, our oaths of office, and our mission of helping people before, during, and after disasters compel us to warn Congress and the American people of the cascading effects of decisions made by the current administration," the letter reads in part. "We the undersigned — current and former FEMA workers — have come together to sound the alarm to our administrators, the US Congress, and the American people so that we can continue to lawfully uphold our individual oaths of office and serve our country as our mission dictates."

Hurricane Katrina was responsible for the deaths of more than 1,800 people in 2005 when it hit New Orleans and the surrounding areas. Failures in the federal response prompted Congress to pass the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act (PKEMRA) of 2006.

The act introduced safeguards to make sure "shortcomings of disaster preparation and response would not be repeated," the letter states.

"However, two decades later, FEMA is enacting processes and leadership structures that echo the conditions PKEMRA was designed to prevent," it continued.

The letter comes months after more than 200 FEMA employees were fired or had their positions eliminated in February due to reductions in the workforce by the Trump administration. The agency's acting chief, Cameron Hamilton, was fired in May and replaced by David Richardson. Neither has prior emergency management experience.

Over 400 employee positions at the Department of Homeland Security were eliminated.

Richardson caused a stir in June after reportedly telling personnel during a meeting that he was previously unaware that the United States has a hurricane season.

He promised to enforce President Donald Trump's agenda. During his first all-hands meeting at FEMA, he told agency staff he "will run right over" anyone who gets in his way.

FEMA's response to the July Texas floods that killed at least 136 people came under criticism after reports that survivor calls to FEMA went unanswered and Urban Search and Rescue teams deployed late because of a policy by which Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem must personally approve expenditures above $100,000.

The letter contains six “statements of opposition” to current policies at FEMA, including the expenditure approval policy, which the signatories say reduces FEMA’s ability to perform its missions.

It also critiques the DHS decision to reassign some FEMA employees to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the failure to appoint a qualified FEMA administrator as stipulated by law, and cuts to mitigation programs, preparedness training and the FEMA workforce.

The letter was also sent to multiple Congressional committees and calls on lawmakers to establish FEMA as a Cabinet-level independent agency in the executive branch.

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Editor's note: The Associated Press contributed to this article.