We need FEMA.
Since I was eight years old, I’ve been fascinated by natural disasters.
If you’ve followed me for any length of time, you know I’m a survivor of multiple tornadoes and some of the worst hurricanes on record (Hurricanes Georges (1998), Katrina (2005), etc).
I’ve lived through disasters in Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida and even New York (Snowmageddon of 2011).
After my experience during Hurricane Katrina (I was 16 at the time), I developed a low-key, side-plot mission to join the administrative wing of FEMA someday.
I was working my way toward that quickly when I was hired and then 10 months later promoted in my job at DOH working with Florida’s Department of Emergency Management.
I’ve seen how local, state and federal agencies work together during a disaster. I’ve seen states fail (Hurricanes Katrina, Michael, and Ian) and triumph (Hurricane Dorian).
Few disasters today are limited to just one state, and the same disaster may not affect two states in the same way. Examples: Mississippi vs New Orleans after Katrina, and Florida vs the Carolinas in Helene.
That’s why cooperation and planning across all local and state authorities with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has become such a critical part of avoiding disaster during disaster.
Today, Trump announced his plan to eliminate FEMA.
In 2024, the United States experienced 27 billion-dollar weather and climate related disasters (excluding all other disaster types). Perhaps that’s why Trump is targeting FEMA — they work to protect and save people from the climate crisis Trump wants to ignore.
FEMA was created in 1979 by President Jimmy Carter.
The goal was to streamline the federal government’s efforts to respond to and manage disasters.
Before FEMA’s creation, disaster response and recovery efforts were handled by several different agencies, which sometimes led to inefficiency.
By consolidating these efforts under FEMA, the U.S. government aimed to improve coordination and provide a more effective response during national emergencies. Since its creation, FEMA has played a central role in disaster management, from providing immediate relief to helping with long-term recovery efforts.
Since that time, FEMA has responded to more than 10,000 emergencies and disasters.
In just the last year, FEMA has worked 185 declared disasters and emergencies occurring at just the county level.
FEMA not only provides immediate aid, but it also helps in disaster preparedness. It runs training programs and distributes grants to state and local governments to improve their ability to respond quickly.
During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, FEMA coordinated the distribution of personal protective equipment (PPE) and ventilators to hospitals, ensuring that critical resources were available where they were needed most.
If FEMA didn’t exist, there would be no inter-state management to ensure resources were properly allocated.
FEMA also supports long-term recovery efforts, helping communities rebuild infrastructure, housing, and businesses.
The agency also works with the National Weather Service to provide timely alerts for storms and other potential hazards, reducing the risk of injury and loss of life. Ultimately, FEMA’s role in disaster response ensures that the nation is better prepared and more resilient when catastrophe strikes.
There is certainly a lot that could be improved — more transparent operations (especially at the state level), improved data sharing (especially at the federal level), and ending political appointments to administration (see: Jared Moskowitz’ failures during COVID).
No government agency is without its flaws - whether local, state or federal. That doesn’t mean you eliminate the nation’s most critical disaster resource as disasters are becoming more frequent and intense.
FEMA also works with homeland security to address threats of domestic terrorism.
Perhaps that’s what this is all about.