Latest FEMA Headlines

All the headlines from our FEMA Topic Page, ordered by recency.

New Orleans Mayor: No Room at the Inn for Displaced FEMA Trailer Residents

Feb 28 2008 // A plan to move people living in trailers to apartments and hotels because of concerns about formaldehyde fumes will not work and will lead to a “second great displacement” of New Orleans residents, the...

Ala. Gov. Appeals FEMA Decision on Jackson County Storm Damages

Feb 26 2008 // Alabama Gov. Bob Riley said he will appeal a decision by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to deny federal disaster assistance to tornado victims in Jackson County. “I’ve discussed this issue with local...

Feds Extend Katrina-Affected Demolition Deadline for New Orleans

Feb 25 2008 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency has extended by six months the deadline under which it would pay for the demolition of hurricane-damaged buildings deemed immediate health and safety threats in the New Orleans...

FEMA Extends Flood Insurance Deadline for Wash., Ore.

Feb 14 2008 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency has extended a claims deadline for people in Washington and Oregon who had flood insurance for December damage. The deadline for returning a detailed proof of loss statement has been...

FEMA Looks at Expanded Use of Trains in Hurricane Evacuations

Feb 13 2008 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency may expand the use of passenger trains to evacuate the sick and elderly in advance of hurricanes across the Gulf Coast, a FEMA official said. Glenn Cannon, a FEMA assistant...

Ill. Officials Accuse FEMA of Miscounting Flooded Homes

Feb 13 2008 // Federal officials were mired in political favoritism and miscounted the number of damaged homes in rejecting two Illinois counties’ applications for disaster relief, local Illinios officials said this week. Leaders...

Ark. Gov. Declares 3 More Counties Disaster Areas

Feb 12 2008 // Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe has added Franklin, Marion and Newton Counties to the list of state disaster areas due to the damage caused by powerful tornadoes and violent thunderstorms on Feb. 5, taking the total to 13...

Government Report Urges Changes in Wind, Flood Damage Determinations

Feb 10 2008 // GAO finds fault with coverage exclusions in policies and lack of data available to assist with FEMA assessments Government adjusters trying to assess the accuracy of flood claims payments from the 2005 hurricane season...

GAO Urges Changes in Wind, Flood Damage Determinations

Feb 1 2008 // Government adjusters trying to assess the accuracy of flood claims payments from the 2005 hurricane season were hampered by a lack of access to data on wind damage from the National Flood Insurance Program and private...

U.S. Releases New Disaster Response and Recovery Plan

Jan 23 2008 // The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has released a comprehensive plan for what the country must do to have a more effective and unified response and recovery in disaster situations. DHS said that the new plan, called...

Federal Assistance Approved for Oregon, Washington Counties

Dec 12 2007 // In storm-ravaged parts of the Northwest, home and business owners are beginning to file insurance claims — a process that could be complicated by whether severe winds or floods did the damage. Insurers say...

Texas to Receive More than $50M for Improvement Projects

Dec 7 2007 // More than $50 million in federal public assistance (PA) funding has been set aside by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to pay for eligible projects in the state of Texas. More than 3,391 projects have declared...

FEMA: Decreasing Temperatures, Increasing Flood Risks for Western Residents

Nov 28 2007 // Winter brings more than just cold temperatures. It also brings an increased flood risk and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is warning residents of Idaho to prepare now — well ahead of rising waters....

Federal Report Finds Millions in Wasteful Spending on FEMA Trailers

Nov 19 2007 // What will $229,000 cover in the Mississippi real estate market? A five-bedroom, 2,000-square-foot home in the capital city of Jackson, or a 280-square-foot temporary FEMA trailer in the Hurricane Katrina-ravaged zone of...

Hundreds of Californians Wait to Get Word on FEMA Fire Aid

Nov 9 2007 // More than a week after the worst of California’s wildfires subsided, more than 700 households are waiting to learn if they will qualify for federal aid to begin restoring their homes and lives, according to figures...

Miss. Town Moves to Slow Demand for Katrina Cottages

Oct 30 2007 // Members of political boards have their disagreements. But if a majority of Bay St. Louis, Miss., City Council members agree on one thing, it’s their intense dislike for Katrina cottages. Since the small, modular...

Santa Ana Winds Continue to Fuel Southern California Wildfires

Oct 24 2007 // Major fires continue to burn in Southern California, in some cases fueling new fires. There are currently 15 fires burning 414,013 acres, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. The large number of separate...

FEMA Expands Program to Help Hurricane Evacuees Move Home

Oct 17 2007 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency has expanded eligibility for a program to pay travel costs for Gulf Coast hurricane victims moving back home. The one-time grant, still capped at $4,000, is now open to applicants...

Feds Drawing Up Plans for Major Disasters in 4 Key States

Oct 16 2007 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency is quietly drawing up plans for a handful of disasters: devastating earthquakes beneath San Francisco and St. Louis and catastrophic storms in South Florida and Hawaii, FEMA’s...

FEMA: Too Little Flood Insurance Means $2.6M Less for New Orleans

Oct 11 2007 // The New Orleans Police Department, headquartered in trailers since Hurricane Katrina destroyed its buildings in August 2005, missed out on $2.6 million in federal rebuilding aid because it lacked adequate flood insurance,...