This comes from Craig Fugate’s LinkedIn profile.

There have been some pretty dumb moves by the Trump administration, but this one ranks right up there with some of the worst, Feds Cutting Satellite Data Used to Forecast Hurricanes

For the foreseeable future, every disaster event will include a mention of issues with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). See this New York Times article, In Flooded Texas, Questions About FEMA’s Role and Fate

I expect that if you ask the “average citizen” what the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) does, the response would be something like, “They deal with disasters.” Likely they have no information about their own state and local emergency management offices. 

I found it interesting that a private industry group had this article/commentary, The Next Disaster: Who Will Manage Our Response?

As they note, without FEMA each state will have to reallocate their priorities on disaster spending. 

Emergency managers are not usually involved with things like keeping machinery out of the mud. I can tell you from many “engagements” in the US Army and two armored divisions, mud and unstable ground can make a mess of things. That is why they have an armored vehicle that is a “tow truck” for tanks, for when they get stuck in the mud.

jq@changeupadvisors.com

I don’t know how many blog posts I’ve written about the troubles with issuing warnings of disasters. There have been scores for sure over the 30 years that I have been blogging.

Emergency managers are not usually involved with things like keeping machinery out of the mud. I can tell you from many “engagements” in the US Army and two armored divisions, mud and unstable ground can make a mess of things. That is why they have an armored vehicle that is a “tow truck” for tanks, for when they get stuck in the mud

The following article from the New York Times Trump Looks to Avoid Casting Blame in Texas Flood as Democrats Question Cuts got me thinking about who is to be blamed. Or, more specifically, who to blame for what aspect of the disaster that has now killed over 100 people in Texas? In general, I’d have to say that the Pottery Barn rule applies to disasters. If you break it, you own it. If it happens on your watch as an elected official or emergency manager, you own it…it is your snowstorm, your flood, your earthquake, your hurricane, your power outage, your hazardous materials spill, etc.

I have not had a chance to review this document, but it was just published in July 2025, FEMA Preliminary Damage Assessment Guide

In the near future we will be reading much more on the topic of disaster aid to states and local communities. The Trump Administration has verbally proposed reducing disaster aid to states and requiring them to step up and bear more of the burden of disaster recovery costs for Public Assistance (PA) that focuses on governmental damages, e.g. roads, bridges, etc.

I mentioned this a few months ago. I feel as most Americans don’t consider disaster preparedness as having to do with what we used to call “civil defense.” That old Cold War term seems to be behind us.

Heat is more than the temperature showing on the thermometer. It is a combination of temperature and humidity. See this National Weather Service explanation of the heat index

There may be a “shooting ceasefire” in the Mideast, but does that mean all forms of warfare are off the table?

It is that time of year when temperatures and humidity can be life threatening.  See the information below as a reminder for what you can do to stay safe and also some additional resources from the American Red Cross. Washington D.C. is one of the areas that will be baking in the days ahead.

For all the complaints about the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) from the past—thinking about a future disaster era without FEMA is distressing to some—even Republican Lawmakers.

The most recent Disaster Zone Podcast: Communicating About the Weather is now live. Forecasting the weather is just the first part of the weather forecasting operation. Next you have to communicate what the weather will be and if it includes warnings to the public, you need to take special care for your messaging.

To begin with there is this story, Future of FEMA uncertain as local emergency management agencies prepare for 2025 Atlantic Hurricane Season

The following is the result of earlier actions taken to stop funding disaster mitigation. See this CBS story, FEMA pulls $150 million from South Florida flood projects, sparking community outcry

In another attack on science in general and climate science in particular, the federal government has decided to shut down it’s www.Climate.gov website. Some additional details are at this Guardian Newspaper article, Major US climate website likely to be shut down after almost all staff fired