A power line rod is located in the middle of a street in front of a house in Lake Stevens, Washington, after a storm in November 2024, which is fragmented by a “Bomb Cyclone” storm. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has refused Washington’s application for a disaster declaration that would enable the state to apply for federal refusal. (Mathieu Lewis-Rolland | Getty Images)
Issaquah, Washington. – According to the latest natural disasters, the heads of state found that the federal government’s emergency support is no longer a matter of course.
As part of President Donald Trump, the Federal Authority of Emergency Management refused Federal Aid for Tornados in Arkansas, floods in West Virginia and a storm in the state of Washington. According to the hurricane Helene, it also rejected North Carolina’s application after a long aid.
Although it is not unusual for the Feds to reject some inquiries about disaster declarations that unlock the Federal Aid, the refuses of the Trump government have surprised them. The White House officials signal a up-to-date approach for the federal emergency reaction, even if Trump and Minister of Homeland Protection Minister Kristi Noem threatens to close the FEMA as a whole.
“The Federal Government focuses on its support on really catastrophic disaster massive hurricanes, devastating earthquakes or comprehensive attacks on the home country,” said Brian Hughes, spokesman for the National Security Council, who advises the president on questions of national security.
Hughes said that state and local governments “often remain an obstacle to the resistance of their own community.” He asked the states to take on a more extensive role.
“States must have adequate emergency management personnel, the acceptance and enforcement of up-to-date building regulations, responsible planning and strategic investments in order to reduce the future risk of reducing the guidelines for fit human sinking, which will deal with the willingness of politics, disaster reserves funds in advance.
Trump wants states to handle disasters without Fema. You say you can’t.
According to state emergency management managers, the federal withdrawal from the disaster reaction has increased a long -established system.
“This is very unusual,” said Karina Shagren, communication director of the Washington Military Department, which monitors the state’s emergency management department. “This is the first time in the recent memory that we have reached all indicators in order to obtain the public support program of the FEMA and we have been denied.”
Michael Coen, who worked as a chief of staff at Fema during the Obama and Biden administration, said that the President had “far at his own” to approve or refuse disaster inquiries, regardless of whether they meet fixed conditions. If Trump intends to contain the support of the federal government, he should give the states clear guidelines.
“You should have a dialogue with the states so that the states do not turn their bikes, the inquiries that are refused,” said Coen.
He added that states need instructions if they are expected to build emergency management programs to take over what the Feds once treated. Not all states, said Coen, have the ability to replicate these functions. It is expected that disasters are increasing in frequency and severity due to climate change.
“Instead of having a Fema, having this ability in every single state is not the best use of tax money to prepare for the worst day,” he said.
In the past, the FEMA coordinated the federal reaction in emergency situations. In the statement by the National Security Council, Hughes said that Trump immediately approved the “life -saving emergency support for states” immediately after disasters “.
However, the greater role of the agency focused on recovery according to disasters, the evaluation of damage and the distribution of funds in order to rebuild the municipalities. Now some communities find that support is no longer protected.
You should have a dialogue with the states so that the states do not turn their bikes, the inquiries that are refused.
– Michael Coen, former chief of staff of the Federal Emergency Management Agency
Issaquah, Washington, was one of the cities that were hit strenuous by the “bomb cyclone”, which was torn by the state last November. Heavy winds killed two people in the state, triggered power for hundreds of thousands of residents and caused millions of damage, said state officials.
The Issaquah’s costs of around 40,000 inhabitants in the Cascade’s Foothills took 3.8 million US dollars – repairs on the road, the distance of 800 tons of tree waste and the overtime payment for first aiders. Mayor Mary Lou Pauly said that the city has had four events since 2020 that had qualified for disaster aid for states without any previous rejections. If Washington cannot win his appointment with the Fema, Issaquah will take a financial success in the reserves and leave it more susceptible to future storms.
“We have invested a lot to be resilient,” said Pauly. “If you achieve a number like 3.8 million US dollars, this is too great that we can rebuild without aid. Our residents pay federal taxes, and that is what you pay for you, then you expect your national government.
Pauly repeated Coens view that the Fema should give the states a clear overview of the role it will play.
“What we all want to know is the rules of the game?” she said. “If the criteria have changed, why don’t we tell about it?”
The heads of state and government in Washington said they were shocked when the FEMA contained its application for $ 34 million to repair streets, supply companies and power supply systems. The democratic governor Bob Ferguson said that the state’s request fulfilled all “very clear criteria for qualification”. He swore to make an appeal against the decision.
“We really rely on this financing,” said Shagren from the Washington Military Department. “If the appeal is rejected, our local jurisdiction must prioritize which projects you can use and which not. They will be strongly influenced. This was not a small storm.”
Other states were also surprised by Fema. Arkansas suffered 14 tornados last month and triggered a request for a disaster declaration by the Republican governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders. But the government urged state leaders to cope with them themselves.
“[I]It was found that the damage by this event was not of such a severity and size that went beyond the capabilities of the state, the affected local governments and voluntary agencies ” According to Arkansas Times.
Sanders has made against this decisionAnd to say that the disaster caused a “widespread destruction” that requires federal aid.
In West Virginia, the heads of state and government asked for a disaster relief to cover 14 counties that were hit by floods in February. But the Fema refused to aid seven of these counties. Republican governor Patrick Morrisey said in one opinion However, the Trump government praised the fact that he is included in options for its “strong support” after the floods.
Democratic leaders in the state have asked Morrisey to demand more aid from the government, Wowk reported.
In the meantime, the FEMA has announced that it no longer reaches 100% of North Carolina’s editions in order to recover from September Hurricane Helene. The democratic governor Josh Stein said that the share of costs was crucial for the efforts of the state to convert.
“The need in the west of North Carolina remains immensely – people need deposits that rebuilt houses and restored streets,” said Stein in an explanation this month. According to NC Newsline. “I am extremely disappointed and ask the president to rethink the bad decision of Fema even for 90 days.”
The Stateline reporter Alex Brown can be reached Abrown@stateline.org.
