Hurricane Michael was just shy of Category 5 when it ripped through a sparsely populated area of Florida's panhandle, tracking northeast through rural Georgia and the Carolinas. Now a post-tropical cyclone, its damage spiked after the storm's dangerous winds began lashing more populated areas in Virginia.

'Insurance is the first line of defense'

The FEMA director chastised Americans in vulnerable areas for failing to heed evacuation warnings, as well as the failure of many people to carry insurance.

"Insurance is the first line of defense," Long said. "We see far too often where people pay off their mortgage and then let their insurance lapse, and then their house burns down."

Long also directed his criticism at different levels of government, suggesting that officials have failed to do enough to protect their residents from extreme weather.

"Until we get building codes passed at local and state levels that are meaningful, then we're going to continue to see a lot of damage and destruction," Long said.

Federal flood standards governing construction rules

What would also help, Long said, were federal flood standards governing construction rules, which President Donald Trump revoked last year. He called for changes to the National Flood Insurance Program, which Congress has declined to overhaul despite warnings that the program is out of date.

Long praised Congress for passing legislation last week that gives FEMA more money each year for toughening communities before disasters. But he stressed that his agency couldn't address the growing toll of extreme weather on its own.

"We're just one part of the formula that's needed in this whole community to stop this madness," Long said. "You see this enough in your career, you get ticked off."

Related: 'Unimaginable destruction': Hurricane leaves 11 dead, smashes rows of house [photos]