From the Wash Post: Hurricane Melissa, now stronger than Katrina, is closing in on Jamaica.

Melissa’s 175 mph winds rival the most intense Atlantic storms on record. The Category 5 hurricane is threatening Jamaica with a storm surge of up to 13 feet.

New from the Pew Foundation: What Waning Federal Disaster Aid Would Mean for State Budgets. Shifts in response and recovery responsibilities could pose fiscal challenges

“States play a critical and often overlooked role in paying for disaster costs, assisting communities and individuals and helping to cover cost shares required by federal relief programs. To cover these myriad costs, states draw from a range of funding sources, including dedicated disaster or emergency accounts, rainy day savings, and general fund revenue.

However, tapping these resources for an emergency can also mean directing funds away from other priorities, and policymakers increasingly face overlapping challenges related to paying for disasters. Not only are extreme weather events growing more frequent and expensive, but federal policymakers also are exploring ways to reduce the federal role in disasters and state budgets are tightening as pandemic-era surpluses disappear. Together, these shifts are prompting states to reconsider how they fund their efforts before, during, and after a disaster, collectively called “disaster assistance.”

From the AP: State emergency officials say new rules and delays for FEMA grants put disaster response at risk.

“State officials on the front lines of preparing for natural disasters and responding to emergencies say severe cuts to federal security grants, restrictions on money intended for readiness and funding delays tied to litigation are posing a growing risk to their ability to respond to crises.

It’s all causing confusion, frustration and concern. The federal government shutdown isn’t helping.

“Every day we remain in this grant purgatory reduces the time available to responsibly and effectively spend these critical funds,” said Kiele Amundson, communications director at the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency.”

The uncertainty has led some emergency management agencies to hold off on filling vacant positions and make rushed decisions on important training and purchases.

Experts say the developments complicate state-led emergency efforts, undermining the Republican administration’s stated goals of shifting more responsibility to states and local governments for disaster response.”

From the WashPost: N.C. counties that busted budgets after Helene still waiting for FEMA to pay them back.

A year after Hurricane Helene, North Carolina communities that exhausted their budgets on storm cleanup and recovery are still waiting for FEMA reimbursement.

From the NY Times: How FEMA Is Forcing Disaster-Struck Towns to Fend for Themselves. President Trump has said he wants to eventually shift the burden of disaster relief and recovery onto states. It’s already happening.

“This could be the future for more communities across the country, based on Mr. Trump’s vision for emergency management in the United States: one that would transfer responsibility for disaster recovery from the federal government to the states in all but the largest catastrophes. For many places, it is already the reality.

FEMA has been delaying disaster declarations and aid payments to communities, adding new hurdles to access some grant funds and cutting off the flow of money intended to boost resilience and prevent future disasters from causing so much damage.”

Typhoon leaves flooded Alaska villages facing a storm recovery far tougher than most Americans will ever experience

From HSToday: The Shifting Emergency Management Balance

“Throughout this year, the very idea of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as we have known it has come under debate. What was once a stable pillar in America’s disaster response architecture is now being reshaped. Proposals emerging from the Trump administration suggest shifting large portions of responsibility from the federal government to states, scaling back FEMA’s authority, and even “phasing it out” after hurricane season. The stakes are enormous for states, local governments, and the communities that depend on federal assistance when disaster strikes.”

From HSToday: PERSPECTIVE: Emergency Management Has Never Been More Indispensable

“Through it all, we have been reminded of who we are. Emergency managers are biased for action by nature, steady hands in chaos, problem-solvers under pressure, and trusted voices when everything else feels uncertain. We do not just respond to disasters; we help communities rebuild their lives and restore hope.

But that mission only works when we remember what emergency management is truly about. It is not forms or frameworks, it is people. It is about being the calm in the storm, ensuring that families can return home, that children can return to school, and that communities can return to something resembling normal. “

From E&E News: FEMA Canceled $18 B in Disaster Payments.

https://www.eenews.net/articles/fema-canceled-11b-in-disaster-payments-to-states/

The unannounced move came after President Donald Trump threatened to reduce FEMA aid, jarring emergency management professionals.

“The Trump administration canceled $11 billion in disaster payments to states in an unprecedented move that could signal a slowdown in the flow of federal funding after extreme weather events.

The unannounced move was revealed in a Sept. 15 government report showing that the Federal Emergency Management Agency withheld $10.9 billion it had planned to give 45 states in the final two months of the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. The withheld money, which hasn’t been previously reported, was to reimburse the states for emergency costs related to the pandemic.

FEMA said it “shifted to fiscal year 2026” the planned reimbursements, the report noted in small print, marking the government’s only known acknowledgment that it had delayed the payments. The report does not indicate when the money would be paid, raising concern among emergency management groups about the effect the move could have on state budgets and whether it was a sign of President Donald Trump’s threat to reduce disaster aid to states.”