Author | Lightnews

Reposted by Sarah Labowitz

Carnegie Endowment @carnegieendowment.org · Aug 27

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.

www.kcrw.com

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Sarah Labowitz @sarahlabo.bsky.social · Aug 8

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

www.youtube.com

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Sarah Labowitz @sarahlabo.bsky.social · Jul 30

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.

www.texasmonthly.com

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Sarah Labowitz @sarahlabo.bsky.social · Jul 30

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 [email protected] and on Twitter at @DavidMartinDavi

www.tpr.org

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Sarah Labowitz @sarahlabo.bsky.social · Jul 23

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.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Sarah Labowitz @sarahlabo.bsky.social · Jul 22

There's a hearing tomorrow with acting FEMA administrator Richardson in the House Transportation & Infrastructure committee. Worth tuning in: transportation.house.gov/calendar/eve...

Hearing | Transportation and Infrastructure Committee

transportation.house.gov

Sarah Labowitz @sarahlabo.bsky.social · Jul 22

We're up to 32 disasters in 2025 that have been denied or gotten no response on Hazard Mitigation requests, with New Mexico being added for the flash floods in early July www.cnn.com/2025/07/08/w...

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Sarah Labowitz @sarahlabo.bsky.social · Jul 22

Here's an updated view of 2025 v 2024 and how the administration is batching review of requests for disaster help. Disasters get added to the queue and just sit until there's a WH review day and a bunch get approved/denied all at once. Last year, it was an ongoing cycle of review, w/o big backlogs.

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Sarah Labowitz @sarahlabo.bsky.social · Jul 22

We're up to 13 open declaration requests in the FEMA Daily Brief content.govdelivery.com/attachments/...

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Sarah Labowitz @sarahlabo.bsky.social · Jul 22

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

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