States Caught Unprepared For Trump’s Threats To FEMA

U.S. Coast Guard crew members search the flooded Big Bend area for survivors of Hurricane Helene, via Coast Guard. (File)

By Anna Phillips, Jake Spring, Kevin Crowe and Dan Diamond

Torrential rain fell on Eastern Kentucky in July 2022, turning creeks into rivers that roared through the valleys and hollows, wrecking hundreds of homes and killing 45 people. Since then, the state has been trapped in a cycle of seemingly never-ending disasters, exhausting storm-weary residents in impoverished small towns.

“Our families are hurting and suffering, and our businesses are being hit and hit again,” said Kristin Walker Collins, chief executive of the nonprofit Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky.

During Donald Trump’s first presidency, the Federal Emergency Management Agency launched a program to break this cycle, awarding billions of dollars to states to repair levees, elevate flood-prone homes and shore up drinking water systems. The program was built on research showing it is many times less expensive to protect against future damage from natural disasters than to pay for repairs and rebuilding afterward. Kentucky received more than $7 million for hazard mitigation projects and upgrading power transmission lines.

FEMA is now canceling plans to award these grants for the 2024 fiscal year, according to an internal memo reviewed by The Washington Post. As Trump’s second administration looks to slash federal spending, money given to states by the federal government after disasters strike could also be in jeopardy. The president has said he wants to eliminate FEMA and shift responsibility for disaster response to the states — which experts said are unprepared to respond to catastrophic disasters without federal assistance.

The preparedness grant program, known as Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities, had made more than $5 billion available since 2020 to help local projects that reduce the impact of disasters. The agency plans to review earlier grants and claw back funding for those that have not yet been paid out, the memo said.

A FEMA spokeswoman said the program, known as BRIC, is ending “non-mission critical programs.”

Continue reading

Disclaimer

The information contained in South Florida Reporter is for general information purposes only.
The South Florida Reporter assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions in the contents of the Service.
In no event shall the South Florida Reporter be liable for any special, direct, indirect, consequential, or incidental damages or any damages whatsoever, whether in an action of contract, negligence or other tort, arising out of or in connection with the use of the Service or the contents of the Service. The Company reserves the right to make additions, deletions, or modifications to the contents of the Service at any time without prior notice.
The Company does not warrant that the Service is free of viruses or other harmful components