The Federal Emergency Management Agency has announced $350 million in funding for relief efforts following Hurricane Helene and Tropical Storm Debby. This comes two months after U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock reported that nearly $500 million in relief was unpaid.
America's urban search and rescue teams are facing financial and political pressure. However, their work has never been more in demand, as weather disasters become increasingly common.
The acting chief of the Federal Emergency Management Agency has left his post, marking another disruption in a year of staff and policy changes. His leadership was questioned after he delayed responding to deadly floods in Texas.
As Georgia enters what has been predicted to be an above average hurricane season, many in the state are still far from recovering from last year's storms.
Without congressionally approved funding, public media stations say communities will be left with aging infrastructure amid growing risks from extreme weather.
The government's colossal failure to respond after Hurricane Katrina led to major reforms at the nation's top disaster agency. Now, the Trump administration has reversed some of those changes.
More than 180 current and former FEMA employees signed the letter sent to the FEMA Review Council and Congress warning that FEMA's capacity to respond to a major disaster was dangerously diminished.
Nearly 1,400 people died after Hurricane Katrina crashed into Louisiana and Mississippi. Most of the deaths were in New Orleans, which has had an uneven recovery in the past 20 years.
Funding for FEMA's disaster survivor hotline lapsed the day after the Texas floods, federal records show. It took DHS Secretary Kristi Noem five days to approve more money.
The president and first lady visited Kerrville to meet local officials and families of the victims of the recent flooding. Trump promised federal support, but his team emphasized the state's role.
The data also highlights critical risks in other areas along the Guadalupe River in Kerr County, revealing more than twice as many Americans live in flood prone areas than FEMA's maps show.
Kerr County applied for federal grants to build a warning system to protect residents from flash floods. Under the Trump administration, that kind of funding is drying up.
The governor and top emergency official in Texas are both members of a council advising the Trump administration on options for eliminating the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Every year, millions of Americans rely on FEMA assistance after hurricanes, wildfires, tornadoes and other disasters. The president says state governments should do more.
