Interesting numbers in $2.2 billion in FEMA funding announced today for past disasters. The DHS press release lists only the 15 largest of 1,721 recovery projects, but of those $875 million, $768 million went to states that voted for President Trump. www.dhs.gov/news/2026/01...

Secretary Noem Unlocks More Than $2.2 Billion in Additional Federal Funding to Rebuild Communities Hit by Past Disasters | Homeland Security

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem announced more than $2.2 billion in disaster relief funding to support ongoing recovery efforts from a variety of natural disasters.

dhs.gov

Hurricane Katrina was a “before-and-after moment” for emergency management in the U.S., says @sarahlabo.bsky.social. The Trump administration’s cuts to FEMA are setting 2025 up to be another.    Sarah explained on @kcrw.com: www.kcrw.com/news/shows/p...

20 years after Katrina, FEMA is under threat | Press Play

President Trump has said he wants to get rid of FEMA and shift relief responsibility to the states. FEMA employees say this leaves the U.S. unprepared for the next Hurricane Katrina.

kcrw.com

Thanks for having me on to talk about #disasters and FEMA @pbsnews.org! www.youtube.com/live/6Vp2LAZ...

PBS News Hour live episode, Aug. 8, 2025

YouTube video by PBS NewsHour

youtube.com

I wrote about the relationship between the state and #FEMA in Texas and how much we rely on federal help to recover from disasters @texasmonthly.bsky.social www.texasmonthly.com/opinion/texa...

Opinion: Texas Relies on FEMA More Than State Leaders Care to Admit

The Trump administration wants to “rebrand” the agency to emphasize states’ roles in disaster response. But Texas’s history shows just how much it relies on federal funding.

texasmonthly.com

Talking with @texasnewsdude.bsky.social at noon central today (Wed 7/30) about #flooding in Texas www.tpr.org/people/david... @texasstandard.bsky.social

David Martin Davies

David Martin Davies can be reached at dmdavies@tpr.org and on Twitter at @DavidMartinDavi

tpr.org

Acting #FEMA Administrator Richardson said today that the response in Texas was nearly perfect (we'll see). But what about all the other places that are waiting and waiting for FEMA to show up? I talked to Mayor @caraspencer.bsky.social in STL to find out. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

Opinion | Trump has turned FEMA itself into a disaster

The Trump administration is mired in delays for deciding on governors’ requests for FEMA help.

washingtonpost.com

Here's #disaster data as of today on open disaster declaration requests and how the administration is batching governors' requests for #FEMA help...

Some #disaster data to end the week...

🧵President Trump and his administration frame disaster recovery as a question of state-level self-sufficiency. But does that reflect the reality? Some of our Sustainability, Climate, and Geopolitics scholars provide some clarity.

Even in states with big economies – like Texas and Florida – rebuilding after a disaster without federal assistance is functionally impossible. @sarahlabo.bsky.social breaks it down: youtube.com/shorts/fTR5D...

Disaster Recovery: Can States Pick Up the Tab?

YouTube video by Carnegie Explains

youtube.com

Hurricane season is off to a rocky start. For some disasters, the admin is taking *months* to approve governors' requests for disaster declarations that activate federal help. Average number of outstanding requests in the 2 weeks before hurricane season for the last decade: 4. This year? 13.

Spreading out disaster risk across a big and rich country makes so much more sense than concentrating the risk in a few states. Our latest on the start of hurricane season, with @leonardom-d.bsky.social & Debbra Goh carnegieendowment.org/emissary/202...

Trump’s Plan to Push FEMA’s Role to the States Will Be a Fiscal Disaster

Many states are not equipped to handle their own recovery without federal help.

carnegieendowment.org

Mystery and intrigue are no way to prepare for a disaster. States need an on ramp for major changes in funding and responsibility for disaster recovery. wapo.st/45RTx2B

Trump says governors should be able to handle disasters without FEMA

In remarks to reporters, the president said the administration plans to “wean” states off FEMA assistance after hurricane season ends.

wapo.st

The Trump administration’s cuts to critical FEMA programs have left communities – even in red counties – struggling to pick up the pieces. @sarahlabo.bsky.social weighed in on support for one cancelled program for @nytimes.com:

Investing in creatives to be creative is the work of “narrative.” In spaces I’m in, “narrative” is abstract. It’s reports, trainings, prescriptions for what narrative “should” be - everything except creating compelling content about characters & events that people want to read/watch/consume.

The team at E&E interviewed *so many* people for this story, every one of them worried and confused about how we're going to respond to disasters this summer www.eenews.net/articles/cha...

Chaos at FEMA, NOAA as hurricane season starts

Faltering forecasts, fired experts and whipsawing policy changes are raising questions about how the Trump administration will respond to disasters this

eenews.net

@arunadsouza.bsky.social gives Vincent Valdez all of his flowers in this portrait 🌸🌺🌼. If you don’t know Vincent’s gorgeous work that holds a mirror up to all of us, this is a great place to start. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/23/a...

A ‘Chicano Hieronymus Bosch’ Has an Unflinching Vision of America

nytimes.com

Helping these women finally get back on the field has been the highlight of 2025 so far. Good things come from supporting women’s sports ⚽️💕🌈 www.khou.com/video/news/l...

Afghan women’s soccer team holds first U.S. practice in Houston after fleeing from the Taliban

After moving around a bit, Sodaba Khinjani and some of her teammates finally settled in Houston in June 2023.

khou.com

Lots of talk about TX and FL and their capacity to meet disaster needs as FEMA seeks to push responsibility for response and recovery to the state level. Since 2015, FEMA sent $6.6B to Texas for disasters and $13.2B to FL.

“The U.S. federal disaster aid system, including FEMA, needs to change to deliver on a national security imperative and meet a moment.” For notes on how it could change, read the latest from @sarahlabo.bsky.social and @leonardom-d.bsky.social: carnegieendowment.org/emissary/202...

FEMA Needs to Change. A New Bill in Congress Shows Promise.

With hurricane season rapidly approaching, Congress and the administration need to work together to overhaul the U.S. disaster aid recovery system—not gut it.

carnegieendowment.org

Hurricane season is just around the corner. But FEMA, already under intense scrutiny from the Trump administration, just lost its acting administrator. @sarahlabo.bsky.social weighed in for @washingtonpost.com 👇 Full article here: buff.ly/4of5Lma

I have to know: is AOC on Ravelry (i.e. the best social network)?? #knitsky

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez@aoc.bsky.social · 2y ago

Thank you, I’ll have plenty! I used to crochet a long time ago and just started knitting a few weeks ago. It’s been a great way to stop doomscrolling and reflect 😌 I’ve finished a Sophie scarf and have started a sweater. (I’m waiting for more purple yarn & am casting on a new cardigan as I wait 🫣)

On April 28, the White House and DHS announced the FEMA Review Council “charged with streamlining operations and ensuring FEMA delivers rapid, efficient, and mission-focused relief to Americans in need.” www.fox13news.com/news/mayor-c...

Mayor Castor to serve on Trump's FEMA Review Council

President Donald Trump has tapped Tampa Mayor Jane Castor to serve on the new FEMA Review Council, federal officials announced Monday.

fox13news.com

Ag got $33.2B in the Dec 20th CR, so this is mostly programming the funds that they received last year (For context, HUD rushed to release their allocations in January). www.usda.gov/about-usda/n...

Trump just denied North Carolina’s request for FEMA relief from Hurricane Helene, calling it “unwarranted.”

FEMA will stop 100% cost-share in Helene recovery • NC Newsline

"I am extremely disappointed and urge the President to reconsider FEMA’s bad decision, even for 90 days," Gov. Josh Stein said.

ncnewsline.com

The news has been flying fast and furious on FEMA. @tomwarrickac.bsky.social rounds up the highlights...

Thomas Warrick@tomwarrickac.bsky.social · 2y ago

Very concerning report in the WaPo last night (following reporting by Politico and CNN) that the Trump administration is working to strip FEMA of its disaster recovery: www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...

🧵On Monday, after Sec. Kristi Noem suggested eliminating FEMA and two lawmakers proposed making it a Cabinet-level department, the beleaguered agency’s future grew even more uncertain. Carnegie’s @sarahlabo.bsky.social provided some clarity. See the recent impact of her work 👇

It's pretty remarkable that we've moved from "get rid of FEMA as it exists today" to a 240-day review of national preparedness and response policies www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...

Achieving Efficiency Through State and Local Preparedness

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered: Section 1. Purpose.

whitehouse.gov

Thanks for the shoutout @hcrichardson.bsky.social! "if we stop spreading the costs [of disasters] around the country, then it's going to fall on states, and it's going to fall on states really unevenly.” heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/march-17-2...

March 17, 2025

From 1942 to 1945, the Code Talkers were key to every major operation of the Marine Corps in the Pacific Theater.

heathercoxrichardson.substack.com

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders being very forward leaning in activating the state's emergency fund, even for a relatively modest $250k (likely anticipating the federal EO expected to push more responsibility onto the states for disaster recovery). governor.arkansas.gov/executive_or...

EO 25-05: EXECUTIVE ORDER TO PROVIDE FUNDING, AS AUTHORIZED BY ARK. CODE ANN. §§ 12-75-114, AS AMENDED, FROM THE GOVERNOR'S DISASTER RESPONSE AND RECOVERY FUND - Arkansas Governor - Sarah Huckabee San...

TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS COME – GREETINGS:  WHEREAS: On March 14, 2025, severe thunderstorms and tornadoes struck Arkansas and continue to cause dangers, hardships, and suffering throughout the s...

governor.arkansas.gov