From Notus: FEMA’s Top Counsel Has Quit. He’s the Third to Leave in Six Months.

“Your work is never easy, rarely appreciated and often misunderstood or mischaracterized, but it is essential,” Colt Hagmaier, FEMA’s acting chief counsel, wrote to staff announcing his departure.

From Issues in Science and Technology: The Case for a National Disaster Research Strategy

“An integrated, interdisciplinary national research strategy is urgently needed to strengthen the country’s efforts to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters.”

From ABC News: It is now peak hurricane season: What to expect for storms in the Atlantic

“Above-normal activity is expected for the rest of the season.”

From the National Academy of Sciences: Two Decades Later, the Experience of Katrina Continues to Shape How the Nation Prepares for and Responds to Disasters

“It has been 20 years since Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, submerged a major American city, killed nearly 1,400 people, and displaced 1 million more. Two decades is a long enough period for an event to fade from memory, and for those of us who remember how the flooding transfixed a nation, it is startling to realize that for many younger Americans, Katrina is now primarily an event from the history books. But for Gulf residents no matter their age, the experience of Katrina remains fresh, even if all its lasting impacts are not obvious to the naked eye.

The hurricane and its aftermath exposed profound gaps in multiple systems, including flood protection, emergency response, health care, and housing. It marked a turning point in the way we understand the impacts of natural disasters, the catastrophic flooding of a major American city driving home how severe the risks from extreme weather can be as well as the dangers of complacency and failing to adequately prepare. And it showed the unacceptable risks faced by the most vulnerable among us.”

From the WashPost: The Trump administration is moving staff into jobs they know nothing about.

The reassignments are often said to fill vacancies after waves of firings and resignations. Staffers also say the moves target civil rights work.

From The Atlantic: Goodbye, FEMA. Hello, Disaster Consultants.

” Pushing more responsibility for disaster response onto the states will mean depending more on private contractors.”

From the WashPost: Trump administration illegally retaliated against FEMA employees, legal experts say The Trump administration put many FEMA employees on leave, about 36 hours after they signed an open letter of dissent about agency leadership.

“Legal and whistleblower experts say the Department of Homeland Security violated federal law when it put more than 30 Federal Emergency Management Agency employees on leave last week after they signed an open letter of dissent about agency leadership. In a new letter obtained by The Washington Post, the Government Accountability Project is calling on federal lawmakers and oversight agencies to investigate what it calls “illegal retaliation.”

From the GAO: Disaster Assistance High-Risk Series: Federal Response Workforce Readiness. GAO Report:25-108598

“Federal agencies sent thousands of personnel to support response efforts to recent disasters such as Hurricanes Helene and Milton and the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires. But the concurrent disasters and limited workforce capacity, among other things, made response more difficult.

Efforts are underway to review the federal role in disaster response. But the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s responsibilities have not changed. Recent FEMA workforce reductions may reduce how effective a federal response could be in future high-impact disasters.

This report is the first in a series addressing federal disaster response readiness.”

From MSNBC: I led the Army into New Orleans after Katrina. Why I worry about the next storm.

“FEMA should be its own Cabinet-level agency. Emergency management is a mission on its own, not a part-time function of Homeland Security.” by Lt. Gen. Russell Honore

From HSNW: The Surprising Reasons Floods and Other Disasters Are Deadlier at Night

It’s not just that it’s dark and people are asleep. Urban sprawl, confirmation bias, and other factors can play a role.