Latest FEMA Headlines
All the headlines from our FEMA Topic Page, ordered by recency.
FEMA Chief Says Agency Will Raise State Burden for Disasters to 50%
May 15 2025 // David Richardson, the new head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said on Thursday that states would in the future bear half the costs for responding to natural disasters, up from 25% under current cost-sharing...
‘Don’t Get in My Way,’ the New Acting Head of FEMA Warns Staff
May 12 2025 // The new head of the federal agency tasked with responding to disasters across the country warned staff in a meeting Friday not to try to impede upcoming changes, saying that “I will run right over you” while...
Acting FEMA Chief Is Ousted After Less Than 4 Months
May 8 2025 // Less than a month before the start of hurricane season, the acting administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency has been fired. A spokesperson with FEMA offered no reason for the dismissal, but confirmed to...
Loss of FEMA Program Spells Disaster for Hundreds of Communities and Projects
Apr 30 2025 // The textile mills that once served as the backbone of Mount Pleasant, North Carolina, have long been shuttered, and officials believed federal money would be key to the town’s overdue revitalization. They hoped an...
FEMA Denies Washington State Disaster Relief From Bomb Cyclone, Governor Says
Apr 16 2025 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency has denied Washington state’s request for emergency relief funds to help repair an estimated $34 million in damage from a deadly bomb cyclone storm system in November,...
Judge Declines to Force FEMA to Release Funds to Upgrade US Emergency Alert System
Mar 20 2025 // A federal judge on Monday declined to force the Trump administration to immediately reimburse dozens of public broadcasting stations for upgrades to the nation’s emergency alert system. The nonprofit Corporation for...
Detroit Area CBP Director Charged in FEMA Fraud Scheme
Mar 19 2025 // A federal criminal complaint was unsealed today charging the Director of United States Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Center for Excellence and Expertise over Automotive and Aerospace Engineering with engaging...
FEMA Cancels Classes at National Fire Academy Amid Federal Funding Cuts
Mar 10 2025 // The country’s preeminent federal fire training academy canceled classes, effective immediately, on Saturday amid the ongoing flurry of funding freezes and staffing cuts by President Donald Trump’s...
FEMA to Borrow $2 Billion to Pay Flood Claims After Hurricanes Helene and Milton
Mar 10 2025 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency said in February that it needs to borrow $2 billion from the U.S. Treasury to cover claims from National Flood Insurance Program policyholders. FEMA, administrator of NFIP, said it...
Some in Helene-Hit North Carolina Embrace Trump’s Talk of Abolishing FEMA
Feb 18 2025 // SWANNANOA, N.C. (AP) — Emily Russell remembers feeling hopeful after she managed to get an appointment with the Federal Emergency Management Agency not long after Hurricane Helene ripped though her home in Swannanoa,...
Update: FEMA to Borrow $2B to Pay Flood Claims After Hurricanes Helene and Milton
Feb 13 2025 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency said it needs to borrow $2 billion from the U.S. Treasury to cover claims from National Flood Insurance Program policyholders. FEMA, administrator of NFIP, said it expects to pay out...
Trump’s Cost-Cutters Look to Curb Deloitte, Other FEMA Contracts
Feb 11 2025 // Federal cost-cutting initiatives pushed by President Donald Trump have turned their focus to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, where spending on consultants like Deloitte now faces scrutiny. Workers at the agency...
Trump Proposes ‘Getting Rid of FEMA’ While Touring Disaster Areas
Jan 27 2025 // President Donald Trump on Jan. 24 surveyed disaster zones in California and North Carolina and said he was considering “getting rid of” the Federal Emergency Management Agency, offering the latest sign of how...
FEMA Transfers $758M in US Flood Program Risk to 27 Private Reinsurers
Jan 21 2025 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said its reinsurance renewal for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) included the transfer of nearly $758 million to the private market through the use of 27...
CFPB Finds Properties May be Underinsured in Non-Coastal Flood Zones
Jan 17 2025 // Homeowners with mortgages who are at risk of flooding from rivers and creeks are more likely to be underinsured for floods than coastal residents, according to a new report from the Consumer Financial Protection...
FEMA Maps Lead to Development in Flood-Risk Areas, NC State Study Shows
Jan 13 2025 // A study by researchers at North Carolina State University supports what some critics of federal flood maps have said for years: That lines drawn on a map give a false sense of security from flooding and have led to...
FEMA Drops Hammer on Fort Myers Beach After Improper Rebuilding in Flood Area
Dec 3 2024 // Last spring, the Federal Emergency Management Agency jolted southwest Florida communities – most of which were still recovering from Hurricane Ian in 2022 – when it announced that the areas would lose their community...
FEMA Fires Manager Who Told Staff to Skip Homes With Trump Signs
Nov 12 2024 // A Federal Emergency Management Agency employee who ordered workers to bypass homes with yard signs supporting President-elect Donald Trump has been fired, the agency’s head said Saturday. “This is a clear...
Maui Wildfire Survivors Will Get An Additional Year of Housing Help From FEMA
Oct 18 2024 // Survivors of last year’s deadly wildfire that decimated a historic Maui town will receive an additional year of housing assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Housing has been a major challenge in...
FEMA Workers Change Response Tactics in North Carolina After Threats
Oct 16 2024 // RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Federal disaster workers paused and then changed some of their hurricane-recovery efforts in North Carolina, including abandoning door-to-door visits, after receiving threats that they could be...
