The Sept. 20 magazine insert to the Sunday Paper is titled “Disaster, Rebuild, Repeat” The entire magazine is devoted to articles about disasters and recovery.

From the Wash Post: Fight intensifies over the fate of homes falling into the sea.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2026/09/18/fight-intensifies-over-fate-california-homes-falling-into-sea

” California homeowners are building a costly rock wall to hold back the ocean, escalating a battle over private property and what to do about years-long beach erosion amid storm damage and higher tides.”

From the NYTmes: FEMA Could Still Lose More Jobs Despite Court Ruling

“A plan to halve the agency’s sprawling work force was illegal, a judge ruled. But the court is not blocking other FEMA cuts.”

From the Wash Post: Trump Admin. Edict to Cut FEMA by50% is ruled unlawful.

Judge says DHS Proposal’s target appears to have been “pulled from the air.”

From Legis1:State Emergency Management Faces Uncertainty as FEMA Role Shrinks
Why It Matters

“States could be asked to shoulder far more responsibility for disaster response even as many emergency management agencies face staffing shortages, funding constraints and heavy dependence on federal dollars.

A recent Congressional Research Service report published on Sept. 3 examines whether state emergency management agencies have sufficient capacity to absorb additional responsibilities as the Trump administration seeks to shift more responsibility for disaster management to states. The administration’s FEMA Review Council has recommended giving states, local governments, tribes, and territories greater responsibility for disaster response, with the federal government serving a supporting role.”

From CNN: Who Gets the Last Drop?
https://www.cnn.com/videos/title-2601003?iid=related-embed_streaming-now

” A megadrought has drained Lake Mead by 70%, exposing sunken boats and a bathtub ring now nearly 19 stories tall. Bill Weir travels to the West’s largest reservoir as the states face a reckoning over who gives up their share first.”

From NPR: Inside the failed mission to eliminate FEMA

” The Federal Emergency Management Agency is no longer in the Trump administration’s crosshairs, according to its former leader.

But despite his own significant efforts to dismantle FEMA, the man who ran the agency at the time says FEMA isn’t going anywhere.

“I think they’re probably in a go-along-to-get-along kind of mode,” says David Richardson, who led FEMA as acting administrator for much of 2025 and has since left the federal government. “I don’t see there being a whole lot of change.”

That shift is apparent inside the agency. In recent months, the fear of wholesale agency abolition or mass layoffs has dissipated among FEMA workers, according to multiple current FEMA employees who requested anonymity because they fear retaliation for speaking to a journalist. But the attempts to kill it have compounded some of FEMA’s longstanding problems, like understaffing and delays in getting disaster recovery money to survivors.

From the NYTimes: Nepal Puts Cost of Disaster at $5 Billion, Blaming Climate Change
The country is seeking urgent help from a special U.N. climate fund, but the program lacks money because the United States and others have been reluctant to contribute.

From Wilky.com: New FEMA program aims to expedite disaster recovery aid after Indiana flooding

“Indiana will serve as the testing ground for FEMA’s new public assistance model, which aims to streamline disaster recovery funding.

The initiative shifts away from traditional reimbursement processes toward upfront, advance payments based on early cost estimates.
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Hoosiers faced devastating flooding in August, which impacted several counties.

Any county in the state that gets a disaster declaration can qualify.”

https://www.govtech.com/em/disaster/u-s-rep-advises-hawaii-rethink-approach-to-disasters

U.S. Rep. Advises Hawaii Rethink Approach to Disasters
Rep. Jill Tokuda, D-Hawaii, said Hurricane Lala, and other recent disasters, should prompt a broader reassessment of how Hawaii approaches recovery, and that rebuilding infrastructure exactly as it was may not make sense.

Thanks to Chris Jones for the citation.