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Yomiuri Shimbun
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Floods Put Abbott, a Disaster Veteran, at Crossroads of Trump's FEMA Rebrand
Weeks before flash floods devastated the Texas Hill Country, Gov. Greg Abbott participated in the first meeting of a new council to overhaul the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He criticized FEMA as 'slow and clunky,' arguing that states are able to respond 'more nimbly, more swiftly, more effectively' to disasters. But since the July 4 floods that killed dozens in his state, the Texas governor has spoken much more positively about federal disaster response. 'This is the fastest that I'm aware of any administration responding so swiftly, so collaboratively, so coordinated,' said Abbott (R), appearing alongside President Donald Trump during his visit to Texas last week. In a statement, an Abbott spokesperson cited FEMA as an 'exceptional' partner. Abbott's shifting rhetoric reflects thinking at the White House, where talk of abolishing the agency has been replaced by talk of 'rebranding.' His opinions will become even more important in the months ahead: Abbott is one of two sitting governors on the FEMA Review Council, giving him direct influence over how the administration will implement Trump's vague ideas about limiting Washington's role in disaster coordination and handing more responsibility to the states. The administration is pointing to Abbott's response to the flooding as an example of how FEMA can work most effectively. But FEMA has always deferred to the states to lead disaster management, putting in question just how drastically the administration wants to alter its role. The debate over FEMA comes as Texans are relying heavily on the agency, which coordinates the immediate federal response to a disaster and supports state and local governments in what can be years-long recovery efforts. Since January 2015, FEMA has supported Texas in 16 federally declared disasters, and the state has received nearly $15 billion in federal disaster funds, according to data from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace's Disaster Dollar Database. 'This is incredibly high stakes for governors and state legislatures,' said Sarah Labowitz, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment who studies disaster response. 'I think the hard part is that we don't know [what exactly will happen to FEMA]. It's sort of a bumper-sticker slogan to say get rid of FEMA as we know it. What does that actually mean to people who are living through disasters?' Abbott and state lawmakers are preparing for a July 21 special session where flood prevention and federal relief funding are on the agenda. And the governor is planning to ask FEMA to reimburse the Texas emergency management department for the millions of dollars it spent tapping search-and-rescue assistance from a state-to-state mutual agreement, according to a document seen by the The Washington Post. Abbott, meanwhile, plans to keep working on the FEMA Review Council. In a statement, Abbott's office said his work on the council 'will continue bringing Texas' proven leadership in emergency management to ensure state and local governments are empowered to better serve their citizens.' He suggested during the council's first meeting that he wanted to help 'fill in the details' of the administration's plan to revamp FEMA. Abbott is planning to ask for several things during the upcoming special legislative session, including improved warning systems in flood-prone areas, better communication between first responders and relief funding for the affected region – including from FEMA. Abbott has a long track record of managing crises in his state, including Hurricane Harvey in 2017 and the Uvalde school massacre in 2022, and endured the scrutiny of the state response that has followed each one. 'I worked with Governor Abbott on several disasters during my time as administrator, and I don't have anything bad to say about how he approaches it. He understands disaster management,' said Deanne Criswell, who led FEMA under President Joe Biden. But some Texas Democrats are criticizing Abbott for simultaneously defending the administration's moves to trim down FEMA. 'With the Trump administration gutting FEMA, it's had significant consequences,' said Rep. Julie Johnson, a North Texas Democrat. 'Abbott is showing fidelity to the president, not fidelity to the residents and the citizens of the state of Texas.' FEMA activated in the state after Abbott requested that a state of emergency be declared on July 5, the day after the flooding, sources at the agency said, and Trump signed it the next day. FEMA can't send responders into a state without an invitation from the governor. The agency also said it would make grants available for recovery efforts in Texas. But the agency's response was not as proactive as it could have been, Criswell said. The former administrator said FEMA could have had more resources in position to enter the state as soon as Abbott requested federal assistance but was bogged down by new constraints requiring Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem's approval for larger deployments. FEMA did not respond to a request for comment. Before the flooding, the Trump administration's desire to shift more responsibility to states was criticized as a misunderstanding of FEMA's role, which is already to financially support overwhelmed state-led disaster management efforts. Staffing reductions have also put in question the agency's effectiveness. Noem said at the first meeting of the FEMA Review Council in May that it would 'very much look to' Abbott for ideas to improve the agency. Abbott avoided Trump's talk of ending the agency, instead discussing the need to 'streamline' and 'restructure' it. On Capitol Hill and in state capitals, there does not appear to be much support for getting rid of FEMA altogether. Criswell acknowledged that there have been bipartisan frustrations for years with the FEMA bureaucracy to secure recovery funding. During the council's second meeting, which was held Wednesday, Noem said some of FEMA's response to the Texas flooding 'is exactly how President Trump imagined that this agency would operate, immediately making decisions, getting them resources and dollars that they need so that they can conduct the response that they need to do on the ground.' But Noem's characterization has mystified disaster response experts, who say Abbott appears to be directing an effort consistent with how states normally interact with the agency. FEMA supplements state governments when they are overwhelmed and need financial assistance or coordination with other federal agencies, Criswell said, but state and local governments ultimately lead the response and recovery efforts. Criswell said Abbott's disaster management strategy this time didn't appear different from when they worked together. Labowitz agreed that the coordination looked the same. Texas has infrastructure and resources to respond to disasters that other states don't have, according to disaster response experts. But, as Labowitz noted, such states are 'in a strong position in large part because of the backing of the federal government.' The state's uniquely robust infrastructure has been built from decades of experience responding to hurricanes, tornadoes, ice storms and other natural disasters. Texas also maintains a multibillion-dollar 'rainy day fund' to help finance disaster recovery. Even with those resources, the state has repeatedly relied on federal assistance. 'It's not realistic to expect every state to develop the same type of resources that the federal government can provide,' Criswell said. 'It's a much better use of our taxpayer dollars, whether it's state tax dollars or federal tax dollars, to have this centralized resource capability.' Texas has still faced criticism for not adequately preparing the Hill Country for catastrophic floods. The region is known to be at risk for flash flooding, but Kerr County was denied state assistance to prepare for flooding, including federal funds administered by the state, multiple times. 'The fact Texas denied their request for grant funding to ensure proper siren notifications is a problem. And that is a failure of Greg Abbott,' Johnson said. 'It is a failure of Texas Republicans.' Abbott, who has been governor since 2015, has enjoyed a warm working relationship with Trump since his first term, forged through multiple tragedies that have struck the state and demanded federal support. At the helm of the most populous red state in the country, Abbott has been a reliable political ally for Trump, though other state GOP leaders, such as Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, have been more enthusiastic in their support for Trump. 'We've become very, very close, politically and personally,' the president said of Abbott as he led a roundtable with local officials Friday in Kerrville. 'We've had a tremendous relationship with Texas. I guess Texas brought us together. We were together fine, but now we're together a lot more.' Unlike another governor who has had to deal with Trump on disaster response in his second term – California Democrat Gavin Newsom – Abbott does not harbor national political ambitions. Abbott quickly shot down Trump's floating of him as a running mate last year and is widely expected to seek a fourth term next year. The federal response to the floods has drawn scrutiny from Democrats, with several members of the state's congressional delegation demanding an oversight hearing. The lawmakers raised concerns about breakdowns in the public alert systems, with many residents and visitors in the area – including attendees of summer camps – not receiving warnings of the coming floods. Abbott shut down a question when asked about who was to blame for the floods' devastation. Speaking to reporters Wednesday, he said: 'The losing teams are the ones that try to point out who's to blame. The championship teams are the ones that say, 'Don't worry about it, man, we got this.'' Kendall Scudder, chairman of the Texas Democratic Party, argued that the floods were a consequence of Abbott and other Texas Republicans long prioritizing divisive social issues over 'bread-and-butter issues that people are counting on their government to deliver on.' Johnson said Abbott's football metaphor was an 'unconscionable' attempt to skirt accountability. Abbott has weathered criticism of his disaster response before. His remarks that the Uvalde school shooting 'could have been worse' if not for the law enforcement response became a rallying cry for critics in his 2022 reelection race against Democrat Beto O'Rourke, whom Abbott defeated by a comfortable margin.
Axios
11-07-2025
- Climate
- Axios
Extreme rainfall in Chicago underscores rising climate disaster costs
This week's sudden outburst of rain in Chicago has some sounding the alarm on climate-related weather disasters and the resources needed to mitigate them. The latest: More severe storms hit the Chicago area last night, with reported flooding in parts of the city and suburbs. The big picture: Tuesday's fast-moving storm dropped about 5 inches of rain in just 90 minutes on the near West Side, flooding viaducts and basements. That's more rain than what is usually the average for the entire month of July. Why it matters: This sudden burst was similar to storms that caused flooding in Texas and New Mexico, offering a sobering reality: Climate disasters are now a regular occurrence in Chicago. Reality check: It was just two years ago that a similar storm system whalloped the same West Side community, flooding basements and prompting the Biden administration to offer resources for cleanup assistance. Both Illinois U.S. Senators secured over $800 million in federal funds to help unmet needs for past state climate disasters in 2023 and 2024. Yes, but: That was before President Trump took office, and his administration wants to shrink the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is used to help states with disaster recovery. Between the lines: Trump was quick to swoop in to help with the floods in Texas, but the backlog of other states' federal disaster requests is staggering. In May alone, the national average for outstanding requests was 13, while the normal average is just under four. For example, it took almost two months for the federal government to provide aid for cleanup after the massive tornado outbreak in St. Louis. The intrigue: Some Democratic governors are accusing the Trump administration of playing politics, responding faster to Republican-led states. What they're saying:"If you want to make a major change in the way that we as a nation do disaster recovery, that should be a process where people can anticipate what is going to change and what they can rely on right now," Carnegie Endowment for International Peace senior fellow Sarah Labowitz tells Axios. "With disaster relief, you need predictability," Labowitz, who publishes the Disaster Dollar Database, says. By the numbers: Extreme weather events cost the U.S. economy an estimated $180 to $496 billion per year in 2023 dollars, according to a 2024 report from the Senate Joint Economic Committee. The analysis found that the U.S. needed to invest between $69 billion and $345 billion to upgrade infrastructure to protect against just flooding. In Illinois, the average cost of federal assistance for climate disasters in 2024 totaled just under $55 million per disaster. If the state had to shoulder the cleanup burden alone, it would take just over 30 days to deplete the funds available, according to Labowitz. Zoom in: Mayor Brandon Johnson's administration has announced climate plans to improve stormwater infrastructure, but these recent storms may force the city and the state to think bigger about investing in mitigation efforts.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How much FEMA, HUD disaster funding has Texas received?
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Amid uncertainties surrounding the future of the Federal Emergency Management Agency under President Donald Trump's administration, data collected by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace revealed Texas is one of the largest state-level recipients of federal disaster relief funds in the country. Trump signed an executive order Tuesday that relegates disaster preparation responsibilities to state and local governments, with calls to alter critical infrastructure policy 'to better reflect assessed risks,' per Reuters reporting. Historically, disaster recovery has operated in the U.S. based on a three-legged approach, with government funding sitting in tandem with insurance and private funding, the Carnegie Endowment noted. In the Carnegie Endowment's Disaster Dollar Database, Texas was the fourth-largest recipient of federal grants related to disaster recovery, with nearly $22 billion allocated to the Lone Star State between September 2003 and January 2005. Also in the top five were Louisiana, with nearly $47 billion, New York, with $28 billion, Florida, with nearly $28 billion, and Mississippi, with almost $11 billion. Federal grant funding for disaster recovery is divvied into three types: FEMA's Individuals and Households Program, FEMA's Public Assistance aid and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Community Development Block Grant for disaster recovery, per the Carnegie Endowment. Looking through Texas' largest disasters, Hurricane Harvey in 2017 was the state's costliest incident in terms of federal relief sustained. Relief dollars broke down into more than $1.6 billion for FEMA's Individuals and Households Program, nearly $3 billion for FEMA's Public Assistance and more than $5.7 billion for HUD's allocations. Other costly incidents in Texas included Hurricane Ike in 2008, Hurricane Dolly in 2008 and Hurricane Rita in 2005. More recently, last summer's Hurricane Beryl, alongside 2024 severe storms, tornadoes and flooding made the rankings, as well as the 2021 severe winter storm that rippled across Texas. The full dashboard is available for review online. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
