Tag Archives: FEMA

Some FEMA staff are put on leave after signing dissent letter

Some FEMA staff are put on leave after signing dissent letter

Some employees of the Federal Emergency Management Agency who signed a public letter of dissent earlier this week were put on administrative leave Tuesday evening. That’s according to documents reviewed by The Associated Press. More than 180 current and former FEMA employees signed the letter sent to the FEMA Review Council and Congress on Monday critiquing recent cuts to agency staff and programs, and warning that FEMA’s capacity to respond to a major disaster was dangerously diminished. The AP has confirmed that at least two of the signatories received notices Tuesday evening informing them they would be placed on leave indefinitely. FEMA did not immediately respond to questions on how many staff were put on leave.… Continue Reading

Some FEMA staff call out Trump cuts in public letter of dissent

Some FEMA staff call out Trump cuts in public letter of dissent

More than 180 current and former FEMA employees have published a letter warning of potential disaster due to cuts in the agency. The letter coincides with the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, highlighting concerns about management and capacity at FEMA. It warns that current practices echo conditions the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act aimed to prevent. The letter criticizes policies like expenditure approval and reassignment of staff to ICE. It calls for FEMA to be an independent cabinet-level agency. Thirty-five signatories included their names, while 141 remained anonymous due to fear of suppression.… Continue Reading

20 states sue FEMA for canceling grant program that guards against natural disasters

20 states sue FEMA for canceling grant program that guards against natural disasters

Twenty Democratic-led states have filed a lawsuit against the Federal Emergency Management Agency over the cancellation of a disaster mitigation grant program. The federal lawsuit filed Wednesday in Massachusetts claims President Donald Trump’s administration acted illegally by ending the program in April. The Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program funds projects such as flood protection, wildfire prevention and earthquake safety. FEMA called the program wasteful. But supporters say it can help save lives and reduce costly damage from disasters. The lawsuit alleges the Trump administration violated constitutional separation of powers by ending the program without congressional permission to do so.… Continue Reading

Trump tours Texas flood sites and defends officials as questions mount about response

Trump tours Texas flood sites and defends officials as questions mount about response

KERRVILLE, Texas (AP) — President Donald Trump is visiting Texas to assess catastrophic flooding that has killed at least 120 people. Despite his past calls to phase out the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Republican president has praised the federal response to the disaster. Trump plans to tour affected areas by air, meet first responders and speak with victims’ families. Top members of Trump’s administration have also shifted focus from reducing federal disaster management efforts to addressing the tragedy’s human impact. Before Trump left on Friday, his director of the Office of Management and Budget suggested FEMA needs reform but didn’t answer questions about whether the agency should be shuttered.… Continue Reading

Death toll in central Texas flash floods rises to 82 as sheriff says 10 campers remain missing

Death toll in central Texas flash floods rises to 82 as sheriff says 10 campers remain missing

KERRVILLE, Texas (AP) — The death toll from flash floods that raged through central Texas has risen to 82 after searchers found more bodies. Authorities say many more remain missing, including 10 girls from Camp Mystic, a summer camp wiped out by the flooding early Friday. Searchers now have found 68 bodies in Kerr County where a wall of water came down the Guadalupe River. Sheriff Larry Leitha says the dead include 28 children. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott warned Sunday that additional rounds of heavy rains lasting into Tuesday could produce more life-threatening flooding. Some families were allowed to look around the hardest hit camp in the Hill Country on Sunday while nearby crews continued their search.… Continue Reading

Loss of FEMA program spells disaster for hundreds of communities and their projects

Loss of FEMA program spells disaster for hundreds of communities and their projects

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — For hundreds of communities nationwide, plans to protect against natural disasters and climate change have been upended because of the Trump administration’s elimination of a federal grant program. Scrapped projects include relocating flood-damaged homes in Pennsylvania, protecting businesses from stormwater in North Carolina, and safeguarding water supply lines in Oklahoma’s Tornado Alley. The grants have been panned by the Republican White House as wasteful political spending. But those grants were seen by local officials and residents as a vital use of government resources to protect lives, infrastructure and economies with smart investments upfront.… Continue Reading

Tens of billions in Hurricane Helene aid to start by March 21

Tens of billions in Hurricane Helene aid to start by March 21

ATLANTA (AP) — U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has pledged to start paying out tens of billions in aid to victims of Hurricane Helene later this month. But delays are already making it hard this year for some farmers to plant crops. Congress set a deadline of March 21 to hand out the money when it passed a $100 billion disaster relief package. The September 2024 storm cut a swath from Florida into North Carolina, causing more than $10 billion in estimated damages to farmers. A Georgia farmer says farmers need aid to repay 2024 debts so they can borrow anew to plant crops this spring.… Continue Reading

North Carolina lawmakers close in on another injection of Helene relief funds

North Carolina lawmakers close in on another injection of Helene relief funds

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina legislators appear to be closing in on legislation to provide more funds to help the mountains recover from Hurricane Helene. A measure advanced by Senate Republicans on Tuesday would spend another $533 million for Helene relief. The House passed a bill last week to spend $500 million. But the Senate measure provides even more funds to address lingering home construction projects from Hurricanes Matthew and Florence, as well as relief from other disasters in 2024. House and Senate leaders say a final supplemental bill could reach Gov. Josh Stein’s desk very soon. Legislators already have appropriated $1.1 billion for Helene relief since October.… Continue Reading

Another $500M for Hurricane Helene relief in North Carolina passes key hurdle

Another $500M for Hurricane Helene relief in North Carolina passes key hurdle

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Another $500 million would be spent toward Hurricane Helene recovery efforts in North Carolina in legislation approved unanimously by the state House. The measure would add to the funds the Republican-controlled General Assembly already approved in late 2024 and help with home and road repairs. The $500 million is less than half the amount that Democratic Gov. Josh Stein has requested. The bill next goes to the Senate, where GOP members have their own spending ideas. House Republicans offered a successful amendment Tuesday to address some Democratic concerns. State officials say Helene caused a record nearly $60 billion in damages and recovery needs.… Continue Reading

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