Latest news with #disasterresponse
Forbes
3 hours ago
- Business
- Forbes
Can States Handle Disasters Without FEMA? The Legal Gaps Business Leaders Should Know
HUNT, TEXAS - JULY 6: Vehicles sit submerged as a search and rescue worker looks through debris for ... More any survivors or remains of people swept up in the flash flooding on July 6, 2025 in Hunt, Texas. Heavy rainfall caused flooding along the Guadalupe River in central Texas with multiple fatalities reported. (Photo by) A year already marked by record-smashing heatwaves, catastrophic storms, and deadly flash floods is forcing business leaders to reckon with an unsettling question: What happens if the federal government pulls back from disaster response? The idea of handling disasters without FEMA is not an abstract worry. In recent weeks, political debates have intensified over proposals to reduce federal spending on disaster relief or even eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) after the 2025 hurricane season, as reported by NBC News. Former President Trump and some congressional leaders have floated plans to shift primary responsibility for disaster recovery to state governments—a move that could leave businesses navigating a patchwork of legal systems without the backstop they've come to rely on for decades. This uncertainty comes as disasters batter communities from coast to coast. In the first half of 2025 alone, the U.S. suffered at least 15 billion-dollar weather disasters, including historic flooding, tornado outbreaks, and prolonged heat waves, according to Yale Climate Connections. Just this past weekend, flash floods devastated Kerr County, Texas, forcing rescues and shutting down businesses in a region still recovering from earlier storms. For business owners, investors, and insurers, this brewing shift raises urgent questions: If FEMA disappears, can state laws and budgets fill the gap? Will private enterprises have to shoulder more responsibility for disaster planning and recovery? And which states are prepared—or dangerously unprepared—to protect their residents and economic lifelines in a post-FEMA landscape? A Federal Safety Net Under ThreatALTADENA, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 30: People walk past a FEMA sign following a press conference at the ... More Altadena Disaster Recovery Center on January 30, 2025 in Altadena, California. House Democratic leaders and local officials held the press conference near the Eaton Fire burn zone to call for federal disaster assistance following the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles County. (Photo by) Since its founding in 1979, FEMA has been the cornerstone of America's disaster response. It funds emergency shelters, debris removal, rebuilding grants, and cash assistance for displaced families. Critically for businesses, FEMA programs like the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant fund projects that reduce future risks, a crucial buffer as extreme weather grows more frequent. Yet the agency has long faced political crossfire, with critics labeling it bloated or inefficient. Earlier this year, a lawsuit was filed against the Trump administration's previous halt to BRIC funding for certain states, highlighting how political swings can upend even well-established federal programs. If proposals to wind down FEMA proceed, business leaders would be left relying on a fragmented patchwork of state disaster laws—many of which, my research suggests, lack the resources or legal frameworks to handle large-scale crises. State Disaster Laws Are A Patchwork of Authority Every U.S. state has laws empowering governors and local officials to declare emergencies and coordinate response efforts. Yet those powers vary widely in scope, funding, and legal protections for vulnerable communities. Despite these structures, most states still rely heavily on FEMA for funding, specialized teams, and logistical support. Without FEMA, states would have to cover enormous costs themselves. For example, after Hurricane Harvey, Texas received over $13 billion in FEMA aid, money that state coffers alone could not match. The Business Risks Of A FEMA Void Businesses have more skin in this game than ever. Beyond humanitarian concerns, legal and financial risks loom if federal safety nets vanish. Federal aid often helps cover costs insurers won't, such as temporary housing, debris removal, and infrastructure repair. Without that aid, insurance companies may face larger payouts or withdraw entirely from high-risk markets. In Florida, for example, multiple insurers have already exited the market due to hurricane risks, leaving businesses scrambling for coverage. A weakened federal role could mean higher premiums, stricter underwriting, or outright denial of coverage in disaster-prone regions, especially for small and midsize enterprises without deep cash reserves. If state laws differ significantly on evacuation orders, business owners may be caught between conflicting mandates. For instance, if local officials order an evacuation, but state law vests that authority only in the governor, businesses face legal ambiguity about when to close operations, protect staff, or move inventory. Disaster response gaps also raise potential civil rights issues. Federal laws like the Stafford Act prohibit discrimination in disaster aid based on race, disability, or language. Many states lack comparable mandates, meaning vulnerable communities—and businesses serving them—could fall through the cracks if federal oversight disappears. Companies with operations across multiple states face a regulatory minefield if FEMA's uniform national standards vanish. Without coordinated federal logistics, restoring supply chains and reopening businesses could take longer, increasing downtime and losses. Which States Are Ready? Which Aren't? Few states are fully prepared to absorb FEMA's responsibilities. According to my analysis of disaster laws across the South and Mid-Atlantic, only a handful—like Virginia and Texas—have begun integrating equity planning, vulnerable population registries, and robust local emergency powers into state statutes. Other states, particularly smaller ones with limited budgets, may lack: That leaves gaps businesses can't ignore. A company operating in Virginia might navigate disaster recovery relatively smoothly, while the same company in Mississippi or Georgia could face a chaotic patchwork of legal obligations, prolonged closures, and community backlash. What Business Leaders Should Do Now While FEMA's fate remains uncertain, businesses should: FEMA's potential dismantling would represent the biggest shift in American disaster management in generations. Businesses that fail to prepare for handling disasters without FEMA amidst a state-led disaster regime risk higher costs, legal headaches, and reputational damage. Disasters don't respect state lines, but the laws governing them increasingly do. For business leaders, understanding those legal boundaries might be the key to survival in a future where the federal safety net is no longer guaranteed.
Al Jazeera
a day ago
- Climate
- Al Jazeera
Video: Death toll rises after South Korea floods and landslides
Death toll rises after South Korea floods and landslides NewsFeed Days of torrential rain and landslides in South Korea have killed at least 18 people. Video Duration 00 minutes 36 seconds 00:36 Video Duration 01 minutes 06 seconds 01:06 Video Duration 00 minutes 46 seconds 00:46 Video Duration 01 minutes 18 seconds 01:18 Video Duration 01 minutes 52 seconds 01:52 Video Duration 02 minutes 10 seconds 02:10 Video Duration 00 minutes 57 seconds 00:57
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Noem takes heat on Texas amid doubts over FEMA flood response
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem is under fire amid reports of a botched disaster response effort in Texas, one that the editorial board of the state's biggest newspaper is comparing to the debacle that followed Hurricane Katrina. 'Heck of a job, Secretary Noem,' the Houston Chronicle's editorial board wrote Monday, riffing on former President George W. Bush's notorious praise of then-Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Director Michael Brown as New Orleans flooded. The editors joined Democratic members of Congress — including Sens. Ruben Gallego (Ariz.), Chris Murphy (Conn.) and Ed Markey (Mass.), as well as Texas Reps. Greg Casar and Jasmine Crockett — in calling for investigations into Noem's handling of FEMA, an agency both she and President Trump have previously talked about closing, amid reports of poor response times and local volunteers filling in for federal responders. On Tuesday, Markey called for Noem's resignation, describing her handling of the floods as 'an absolute disgrace.' In a video posted to the social platform X, Murphy said FEMA had begun to look like 'a PR agency for the secretary of Homeland Security, not an actual disaster response agency.' Rafael Lemaitre, FEMA director of public affairs under former President Obama, said Trump and Noem's vision for FEMA — one where it exists mostly to back up state responses — is largely already reality. The Trump administration, he said, 'is in denial about the role of FEMA, the improvements that FEMA has made since Hurricane Katrina — not only in its ability to respond better to disasters but to help communities prepare for them in an era of increased severity and frequency in disasters.' Since the reforms after hurricanes Rita and Katrina, FEMA has functioned as a support service for local officials, who must request its aid and run the disaster response themselves. 'If there ever was a federal agency built not to tell states how to handle things but to support them when needed, it's FEMA, which only kicks in when a state's capacity is exceeded, whether in response, recovery, mitigation, or preparedness,' Lemaitre said. 'Governors, red or blue, are in charge. They ask for what they need, and we provide it.' He argued that the administration is undoing the post-Katrina reforms, starting with its new head, David Richardson, who is under fire for his failure to make any public statements or appearances for more than a week after the floods. Richardson, who runs FEMA part-time, is the first agency head since Brown without any background in disaster response. Under the post-Katrina law requiring FEMA heads to have at least five years of disaster management experience, he would be disqualified — but as an acting head, he's exempt. On Wednesday, at the inaugural Hill Nation Summit in Washington, Noem told NewsNation's Blake Burman that Trump's 'vision for FEMA is that we would empower states to be able to respond to their constituents much more than what FEMA has done in the past.' 'In Texas,' she told Burman, the agency 'cut through the bureaucratic red tape and the rules and regulations that were left over from the Biden administration so that we immediately predeployed millions of dollars to Texas so that they could run their response.' Over the weekend, Noem attacked the press reports of a poor response in Texas, insisting on 'Fox and Friends' that the reporting of FEMA delays are 'fake news' and 'absolute trash.' She told NBC News that 'it's discouraging that during this time, when we have such a loss of life, and so many people's lives have turned upside down, that people are playing politics with this, because the response time was immediate.' Pressed on reports of low response rates at FEMA hotlines, Noem said she didn't believe the numbers and challenged anonymous sources to come forward. In a statement to The Hill, Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin decried reporting that the agency had been slow to deploy teams as 'lies' and 'an unapparelled display of activist journalism.' 'Within moments of the flooding in Texas, DHS [Department of Homeland Security] assets, including the U.S. Coast Guard, tactical Border Patrol units and FEMA personnel surged into unprecedented action alongside Texas first responders,' McLaughlin said. 'By Tuesday, FEMA had deployed 311 staffers, providing support and shelter for hundreds of people,' she added. McLaughlin argued calls to dismantle the agency had been metaphorical. Under the new administration, she said, 'It's no secret that FEMA, as it is today, will no longer exist.' In what has now become a mantra of Noem's tenure, she added that the agency 'is shifting from bloated, DC-centric dead weight to a lean, deployable disaster force that empowers state actors to provide relief.' That message has also been embraced by Trump's Republican allies in Texas. In a press conference Monday, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) agreed with the administration that FEMA needed to be 'what I call rightsized, so that it would be more nimble, quicker in response — understanding it's the locals that know what's best in responding to a disaster.' But this description of the future course of the agency looks a lot like how it has traditionally looked, former disaster management professionals have told The Hill. 'They try to equate FEMA with red tape, but that's a red herring, because that's not how the disaster response system has been set up, particularly since Katrina,' Lemaitre said. FEMA has lost 25 percent of staff since Trump took office, cuts worsened after the floods when hundreds of call center contractors were let go, according to The New York Times. That followed reporting from CNN that Noem waited 72 hours to send FEMA disaster response teams to Kerr County — because under her leadership, the agency has to get her approval for every expenditure of more than $100,000. In a statement, a DHS spokesperson called CNN's reporting 'absolute hogwash.' Given the funds that FEMA works with and the size of Noem's purview at the department, the reported delays are 'really, really upsetting,' said Candace Valenzuela, who ran the Department of Housing and Urban Development for the region that includes Texas under former President Biden. 'It just reeks of looking at things granularly, and not understanding that this is a massive country, and doing it at that level just does not work — or wanting to pick winners and losers,' Valenzuela said. One impact of Noem's new mandate seems to be fewer federal personnel on the ground than in past disasters. In far western Travis County, where devastating floods killed more than a dozen people, even the county's chief executive isn't clear what role FEMA is playing. While Judge Andy Brown declared a local disaster in the county the day of the floods, Trump didn't approve it until nearly a week later, and, as of Tuesday, Brown had seen just one uniformed FEMA official on the ground. 'As far as I know, they have not set up that station where people can walk in, ask questions to FEMA and apply for things,' he told The Hill. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
FEMA uncertainty hangs over hurricane season
Uncertainty is hanging over this year's hurricane season as meteorologists predict 'above-normal' activity and the Trump administration sends shifting signals over the future of the federal government's role in natural disaster response. Despite talk of eliminating the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in its current form, the administration says it remains 'laser focused on disaster response and protecting the American people.' But red and blue states alike say they aren't sure what the future of FEMA looks like. In June, at a hurricane preparedness news conference, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) was asked whether the state could take on more responsibilities amid the administration's push for states to take a bigger role. 'I don't know what added responsibilities that would be,' he responded. A handful of states have set up task forces or commissions to prepare for changes being discussed in Washington. A bipartisan coalition of Georgia state lawmakers led by state Rep. Clint Crowe (R) created a study committee on disaster mitigation. Kentucky's state Legislature passed a law creating a task force to prepare for potential changes in FEMA funding. Republican state Sen. Matthew Deneen, who co-sponsored the Kentucky bill, said the panel would make sure the state is prepared for whatever comes. 'Well, I think that any time that we're going to have change coming out of Washington, D.C., on the federal level, you know, we don't know exactly what those numbers are going to be, and so it's very important for us to be agile, to be responsive and to be prepared,' he told The Hill. Trump administration officials and some Republicans on Capitol Hill argue the agency is inefficient and should take a more supportive role, with states taking the lead in disaster response. 'Federal emergency management should be state and locally led rather than how it has operated for decades,' Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem said earlier this month. 'This entire agency needs to be eliminated as it exists today and remade into a responsive agency,' she added. But rhetoric from President Trump's officials shifted toward reforming FEMA, rather than axing it entirely, following the devastating floods in Texas this month. Noem faced criticism over reports of botched disaster response efforts, and the Houston Chronicle editorial board even slammed Noem's leadership, comparing FEMA's response to the Texas floods to the Hurricane Katrina debacle. The Texas floods killed at least 120 people, with more than 100 still missing. A preliminary estimate from AccuWeather projects the disaster to cost between $18 billion and $22 billion. Still, Trump has praised Noem's handling of the floods and brushed off reports that her changes to funding decisions slowed down the federal response in Texas. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) is forecasting 13 to 19 named storms this hurricane season, including three to five major hurricanes in the Atlantic basin. 'As we witnessed last year with significant inland flooding from hurricanes Helene and Debby, the impacts of hurricanes can reach far beyond coastal communities,' acting NOAA Administrator Laura Grimm said in May. A FEMA spokesperson said in a statement there is 'no uncertainty about what FEMA will be doing this Hurricane Season.' 'The old processes are being replaced because they failed Americans in real emergencies for decades,' a spokesperson said. Stretching state budgets States, however, are facing a barrage of new budget demands as federal lawmakers cut spending on issues ranging from health care to natural disasters. In April, FEMA suspended its Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program, eliminating $882 million in federal funding. The program helped communities reduce risk hazards by providing economic support for states to improve disaster prevention. Twenty states sued FEMA this past week, alleging unlawful termination of congressionally approved grants. The lawsuit highlighted that many projects, in the works for years and meant to prevent devastating damage, are left unfinished or paused. The FEMA spokesperson said BRIC was a 'wasteful and ineffective FEMA program.' Two-thirds of the counties that received grants under the program voted for Trump in 2024, according to a CBS analysis of FEMA data. Colin Foard, director of the Pew Charitable Trust's fiscal risk project, said the latest moves are compounding existing pressures on state budgets. 'States were already facing challenges of rising disaster costs, and our research shows that their traditional budgeting approaches were beginning to fall short in the face of those rising costs,' Foard said. 'So, as states are deciding how they can more proactively budget for disasters, that will come at the cost of trade-offs in other policy areas,' he added. States are already bracing for sweeping federal cuts to Medicaid services. About 16 million Americans are expected to lose their health insurance by 2034 under Trump's 'big, beautiful bill,' likely leaving states to pick up more of the slack to cover increasing medical costs. 'If states lost FEMA reimbursement on top of the hole they just blew in their health care budget because of the lack of federal funding … there are states that are just a ticking time bomb,' Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.), a former Florida emergency management director, told The Hill. Preparing for the worst Mathew Sanders, a senior officer at Pew, said states should focus their resources on proactive measures. 'I would argue the states need to increase their spending on long-term risk reduction. It's always cheaper to reduce risk, to avoid risk, than it is to recover from a disaster,' Sanders said. 'One thing that I think is absolutely true, is that, across the disaster spectrum, the federal government is the predominant funder,' he added. 'And so, you know, whatever the federal government may not provide in the future, states, localities, that's a gap that's going to need to be filled from other sources.' When it comes to where those gaps might be, or whether states can fill them, there are more questions than answers. Last fall's Hurricane Helene prompted some forward thinking on these questions in states that were hit. The study committee in Georgia recommended building code updates and a reforestation tax credit. The tax credit was signed into law in May. Both North Carolina's and South Carolina's emergency agencies are seeking to foster more private sector collaborations and connections with other state emergency management organizations. A spokesperson from North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein's (D) office said eliminating FEMA entirely would be a 'man-made disaster.' 'We need FEMA to help us address natural disasters. Let's work together to improve FEMA so we are ready for future disasters,' the spokesperson added. It's not only hurricane-prone states that are bracing themselves for change and looking for clarity on what's ahead. Republican South Dakota Lt. Gov. Tony Venhuizen helms a state task force established in June to prepare for potential changes at FEMA. 'I … understand that the federal government has a spending problem and needs to tighten the belt in some areas. And so, we are sympathetic to that, but we really need to know what the details are,' Venhuizen told The Hill. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Washington Post
3 days ago
- Climate
- Washington Post
What to know as Texas' search for flood victims stretches into a third week
AUSTIN, Texas — The number of people still missing in a Texas county ravaged by deadly flooding over the Fourth of July holiday weekend now stands at three, down from nearly 100. The announcement Saturday by Kerr County that the list of missing has shrunk came after people who were previously reported missing have since been accounted for and as state lawmakers prepare to discuss authorities' initial response and the possible improvements to warning systems. Flash floods killed at least 135 people in Texas over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, with most deaths along the Guadalupe River in Kerr County, about 60 miles (100 kilometers) northwest of San Antonio. The Hill Country is naturally prone to flash flooding because its dry, dirt-packed soil cannot soak up heavy rain.
