Kristi Noem Fast-Tracked Millions in Disaster Aid to Florida Tourist Attraction After Campaign Donor Intervened
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The DHS chief has been widely criticized for slowing down FEMA’s response after natural disasters. Texts and emails obtained by ProPublica point to an effective way to get help faster: have one of Noem’s big donors make the ask.
https://www.propublica.org/article/kristi-noem-fema-florida-naples-sinan-gursoy?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
Income isn’t supposed to play a role in how much housing assistance FEMA gives families.
But in some N.C. counties, the highest-income homeowners received two to three times as much money after Hurricane Helene as those with lower incomes.
https://www.propublica.org/article/fema-aid-hurricane-helene-income-disparities?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
Compromised? In this interview, https://www.muellershewrote.com/p/a-fork-in-the-road-is-federal-employee I speak to a systems security specialist who found privacy problems surrounding the HR@opm.gov email servers #IT #security #natsec #nationalsecurity #cybercrime #cybersecurity #hacking #surveillance #malware #email #DOGE #Musk #treasury #OPM #FAA #FEMA #education #privacy #PII
Good news: "FEMA must "immediately comply" with an order to disburse federal funding to 22 states and Washington, D.C., a federal judge ruled.
Judge McConnell finds the agency's "manual review" of grant payments violates his injunction."
-A Klasfeld
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.rid.58912/gov.uscourts.rid.58912.175.0_4.pdf
This. I mean…. I can’t even….
#Trump: …I’ve been meeting w/heads of… #forest countries, call themselves forest, Austria & others... they say we're a forest nation. We live in forest…In one case you know they say our #trees are much more flammable than #California but we don’t have #ForestFires because we clean the floor. We sweep the floor….
#Idiocracy #kakistocracy #science #nature #FEMA #Interior #ForestManagement #forests #wildfires #Climate #ClimateCrisis #ClimateChange
Oh swell. What else would we expect from a Musk/Trump-gutted #FEMA?
Via Kyle Griffin:
Breaking WSJ:
The newly appointed head of FEMA acknowledged in private meetings that with two weeks to go until hurricane season, the agency doesn't yet have a fully formed disaster-response plan. https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/fema-hurricane-season-no-plan-39042ee
Staff of #FEMA were left baffled on Monday after #DavidRichardson, the head of the US disaster agency since May, said during a briefing that he had not been aware the country has a #HurricaneSeason, acc/to 4 sources familiar w/the situation.
The US #hurricane season officially began on Sunday & lasts through November. #NOAA forecast last week that this year's season is expected to bring as many as 10 #hurricanes.
#Trump #idiocracy #ClimateCrisis #Climate #ExtremeWeather
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/fema-staff-confused-after-head-said-he-was-unaware-us-hurricane-season-sources-2025-06-02/
NBC: Trump says FEMA to be wound down after hurricane season
Trump also said he planned to distribute disaster relief funds directly from the president’s office.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-says-fema-wound-hurricane-season-rcna212307
“Less than two weeks until the official start of the Atlantic hurricane season, Federal Emergency Management Agency acting Admin David Richardson has rescinded the agency's strategic plan, a comprehensive policy document that outlines the disaster relief agency's priorities” #FEMA
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fema-rescinds-strategic-plan-less-than-2-weeks-before-hurricane-season/
LA Times: California FEMA earthquake retrofit grants canceled, imperiling critical work, Schiff says
The Onion: FEMA Chief Confused By Wind
‘How Come I Feel Something But Don’t See It?’ Asks Department Head
The administration is trying to kill every program that pops up in a search for the word “climate.” In the process, the heart is being cut out of agencies that produce information that the state needs to manage its environmental threats. https://www.texasobserver.org/trump-texas-doge-cuts-disaster-aid/
#weather #Trump #FEMA #politics #USpol #news #Texas #environment #ClimateChange
#Texas Gov. #GregAbbott says at least 161 people are still missing days after flash #floods that killed more than 100 people across central Texas.
#Climate #ExtremeWeather #Republicans #GovernmentFunding #Trump #purge #NWS #NOAA #FEMA
https://apnews.com/article/texas-floods-victims-camp-mystic-death-toll-ea38edadc7e965fb2c76c0ec46245a82?utm_source=onesignal&utm_medium=push&utm_campaign=2025-07-08-Breaking+News
#Trump #FEMA leader is a no-show after deadly #Texas #flooding
David Richardson, the agency’s acting administrator, has not been to the site of one of the nation’s deadliest #floods in the US in the past 25 years….
Public appearances by FEMA administrators, including meetings w/governors & survivors, have been a typical part of the nation’s #disaster response, reassuring the public of #federal support & showcasing political unity.
#kakistocracy
https://www.eenews.net/articles/fema-leader-is-a-no-show-after-deadly-texas-flooding/
2 days after catastrophic #floods roared through Central #Texas, #FEMA did not answer nearly ⅔ of calls to its #disaster assistance line, acc/to documents reviewed by NYT.
The lack of responsiveness happened because the agency had #fired hundreds of contractors at call centers….
#Trump #idiocracy #ExtremeWeather #FederalGovernment #Funding #MassLayoffs #BudgetCuts
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/11/climate/fema-missed-calls-texas-floods.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
As Heather Cox Richardson reports today, we now know that the day after the lethal floods occurred in Texas, Kristi Noem did not renew the contracts for four call center companies answering emergency calls for FEMA help — so that on July 6, FEMA answered only 35.8% of the calls it received and the following day, only 15.9%:
States Fear Critical Funding From FEMA May Be Drying Up
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Many states rely on the federal government for the vast majority of their emergency management funding. Now, local leaders are looking for clues about the money — and the future of FEMA itself.
https://www.propublica.org/article/fema-grants-trump-emergencies?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #FEMA #Hurricane #Disaster #Emergency #Government #Trump
MSNBC: After helping GOP-led Texas, Trump admin denies FEMA aid to another Democratic-led state
The denial of federal money to assist Maryland’s flood recovery continues a trend of spurning devastated residents in states with Democratic governors.
https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/maryland-fema-aid-flooding-texas-trump-wes-moore-rcna220869
Multiple #deaths reported in #Texas, rescue efforts underway as #FlashFlooding threatens communities
Multiple deaths have been reported in Texas after heavy #rain caused flash #flooding of a river, while search teams used boats to conduct rescues Friday as fast-moving water threatened riverfront communities near #wildlife #habitats & campgrounds.
#Climate #ClimateCrisis #ClimateChange #ExtremeWeather #FEMA #Trump
https://apnews.com/article/thunderstorms-new-jersey-deaths-trees-hail-e8a4c85c77f714c9a974e50f3cd1fca1?utm_source=onesignal&utm_medium=push&utm_campaign=2025-07-04-Breaking+News
Federal judge rules #Trump admin cannot reallocate billions meant for #disaster mitigation
A federal judge on Tuesday blocked the Trump admin from reallocating $4 billion meant to help communities protect against #NaturalDisasters.
U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns in Boston granted a preliminary injunction sought by 20 Democrat-led states while their lawsuit over the funding moves ahead.
#law #FEMA #Climate #ExtremeWeather
https://apnews.com/article/fema-bric-grants-lawsuit-climate-disaster-b10c8d2783543f61c8e8562befdd8fa7?utm_source=onesignal&utm_medium=push&utm_campaign=2025-08-05-Breaking+News
