FEMA News

Emails Reveal FEMA’s Silence as Puerto Rico Sought Generator Fuel

As hundreds of people stood in line for food and many went hungry during the days and weeks after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, Walmart Inc. and local supermarkets threw out tons of spoiled meat, dairy and produce. Emails and …

Despite Growing Climate Risk, Storm-Prone States Ease Building Codes

The showdown in the Florida statehouse last year had all the drama of a knock-down political brawl: Powerful industries clashing. Warnings of death and destruction. And a surprise last-minute vote, delivering a sweeping reform bill to the governor’s desk. The …

FEMA to End Hotel Room Shelters for Florida Irma Victims

Federal disaster officials are ending a program that paid for hotel rooms for more than 27,000 Florida households in the wake of Hurricane Irma. FEMA officials announced Tuesday that the short-term emergency sheltering program will end March 10, six months …

Texas Launches Tool to Track Harvey Recovery

Texas launched a public online tool to track incoming and outgoing funds for Hurricane Harvey recovery on Monday, six months after the storm hit and two months after The Associated Press reported that it did not have one. Gov. Greg …

Research Confirms Disaster Resilient Building Investment Pays Off

For every dollar the government spends to make existing buildings more resistant to wildfires, earthquakes, floods and hurricanes, $6 is saved in property losses, business interruption and health problems, according to a new study led by CU Boulder Professor Keith …

Appeals Court Denies Louisiana’s $586M Demand to FEMA to Fix Barrier Islands

A federal appeals court has rejected Louisiana’s contention that the federal government should pay $586 million to restore barrier islands and wetlands damaged by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld decisions by …

California Town Will Most Likely Consider Future Floods When it Rebuilds

After power and drinking water return, and cleanup crews haul away the last of the boulders and muck that splintered homes like a battering ram, the wealthy seaside hideaway of Montecito, California, will start rebuilding with the possibility of another …

Disaster-Mitigation Programs May Be Cut, Despite Proven Savings

Federal programs to protect Americans against extreme weather and other natural disasters save even more money than previously thought, according to a report funded by the same agencies that have proposed cutting many of those programs. Contractor’s crew is nailing …

FEMA Reflects on Historic Year of Catastrophes

2017 will be a year remembered for the catastrophic disasters that resulted in 59 major disaster declarations, 16 emergency declarations and 62 Fire Management Assistance Grant declarations, across more than 35 states, tribes and territories, according to a recent Federal …

Oregon City’s Businesses Frustrated by Delayed Flood Maps

For the past two years, Cheri Lerma of Cheri’s Cafe & Cannon Beach Cookie has spent almost $10,000 on flood insurance she knows she doesn’t need. As a part of a countywide study by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, preliminary …