Victim is not a popular word in the disaster terminology these days. A past Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) director changed the title we give to people impacted by a disaster and live, to “survivor” rather than victim.

For many individuals, not employed by the government, the current federal government shutdown will have little impact. However, if you are looking to purchase a home that is in a flood zone, you need a flood insurance policy to get a mortgage. Those polices are not being written during the shutdown.ortunity finally presents itself.

Today there are so many moving parts in government, it is hard to figure out what to pay attention to and what to let go of.

 For now there is this story, Federal Judge Rejects Administration Efforts to Tie State Disaster Funds to Immigration Cooperation

Insurance rates are reviewed by every state. Typically, there is an Insurance Commissioner involved in the process. Now the State of California is stepping into the process by establishing its own public wildfire catastrophe model. The availability and pricing of property insurance is what is on the table.

I could not find a citation for what fire chief said this recently before a crowd of people. I picked it up on LinkedIn. I find it refreshingly honest assessment for a community that could be threatened by wildfire.

Likely, the powers that be within the Department of Homeland Security don’t give a hoot who leaves the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Those of us in the biz know that you can’t have senior folks from one element of FEMA leave and not have an impact on day-to-day operations and especially disasters.

By the time you read this (written on the night of 9/15) it will be too late for you to respond, but I thought it worthy to see what Derrick Hiebert wrote on LinkedIn. See below—all are worth ideas

See this link, East Coast States the Most Reliant on FEMA  You can see all the state rankings for what they have received from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the last few years.

Netflix has a documentary playing right now, Katrina, Come Hell or High Water

I watched the three episodes in one sitting. The story is told more from the side of the survivors and the victims perspective. It is the epidemy of the challenges we face in trying to serve people who do not have the resources necessary to escape the path of destruction. It is also a reminder that not everyone is tuned into the news like many of us might be.

Pete Gaynor, former State of Rhode Island Emergency Management Director and FEMA national Administrator is conducting online training. Check out Leadership When It Matters Most  In addition to that he is seeking input for a new book containing short essays. See below for what I sent him about technology and the coming AI revolution.

We have known about the cuts in staffing and significant degradation in the institutional knowledge of some critical positions. You can do that just by following the news. Earlier this week I did a blog post on this same topic/issue

If you have not read anything on this topic yet, this might be a good introduction for what might be possible, Structured AI decision-making in disaster management

Countries that are friendly to one another should establish agreements to help one another when disaster strikes. See this announcement, New Zealand and the Republic of Korea strengthen emergency management cooperation

I picked this item of information up in an email someone sent me, “ FEMA has extended its hiring freeze through the end of 2025, raising alarms as the busiest part of hurricane season approaches. With leadership shakeups and staff departures, experts worry the agency may not be prepared for large-scale disasters.”

I expect most states and local jurisdictions that exist in a hurricane zone have done some type of warning and evacuation planning. When I listen to residents in those zones who chose not to evacuate, it is generally based on their past experiences in surviving a hurricane. Prior survival is not a good predictor of future survival, given changing climate patterns with more intense hurricanes and huge rainfall totals that exacerbate flooding in areas that are far from any storm surge, e.g. Hurricane Helen and North Carolina’s experience in the mountains

NPR had a rather good article, It was the costliest hurricane in U.S. history: Have we forgotten Katrina's lessons?

There was this announcement on the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) website, Secretary Noem Terminates Inept FEMA Employees After Uncovering Massive Cyber Failures, Demands Accountability

I’ve written so much about the topic of screwed up alerting of the public by emergency managers—what more is there to say?nsible. This is about us!

Jim Mullen, former Seattle Emergency Management Director has written a recurring column on topics of interest to the emergency management community.  This one rang true for me and I recommend it for your reading.

I found this statement on Cameron Hamilton’s LinkedIn page very interesting. If you remember, he was the first “Acting FEMA Administrator” appointed by the current Trump Administration. He was fired right after testifying before Congress that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) should not be eliminated, but reformed. This ran directly opposite of what President Trump and Secretary of Homeland Security Noam had been espousing.