Sarah Labowitz

20 years after Katrina, FEMA is under threat | Press Play President Trump has said he wants to get rid of FEMA and shift relief responsibility to the states. FEMA employees say this leaves the U.S. unprepared for the next Hurricane Katrina.

Hurricane Katrina was a “before-and-after moment” for emergency management in the U.S., says @sarahlabo.bsky.social. The Trump administration’s cuts to FEMA are setting 2025 up to be another. 
 
Sarah explained on @kcrw.com: www.kcrw.com/news/shows/p...

PBS News Hour live episode, Aug. 8, 2025 YouTube video by PBS NewsHour

Thanks for having me on to talk about #disasters and FEMA @pbsnews.org! www.youtube.com/live/6Vp2LAZ...

Opinion: Texas Relies on FEMA More Than State Leaders Care to Admit The Trump administration wants to “rebrand” the agency to emphasize states’ roles in disaster response. But Texas’s history shows just how much it relies on federal funding.

I wrote about the relationship between the state and #FEMA in Texas and how much we rely on federal help to recover from disasters @texasmonthly.bsky.social www.texasmonthly.com/opinion/texa...

David Martin Davies David Martin Davies can be reached at dmdavies@tpr.org and on Twitter at @DavidMartinDavi

Talking with @texasnewsdude.bsky.social at noon central today (Wed 7/30) about #flooding in Texas www.tpr.org/people/david... @texasstandard.bsky.social

Opinion | Trump has turned FEMA itself into a disaster The Trump administration is mired in delays for deciding on governors’ requests for FEMA help.

Acting #FEMA Administrator Richardson said today that the response in Texas was nearly perfect (we'll see). But what about all the other places that are waiting and waiting for FEMA to show up? I talked to Mayor @caraspencer.bsky.social in STL to find out. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

Hearing | Transportation and Infrastructure Committee

There's a hearing tomorrow with acting FEMA administrator Richardson in the House Transportation & Infrastructure committee. Worth tuning in: transportation.house.gov/calendar/eve...

We're up to 32 disasters in 2025 that have been denied or gotten no response on Hazard Mitigation requests, with New Mexico being added for the flash floods in early July www.cnn.com/2025/07/08/w...

Here's an updated view of 2025 v 2024 and how the administration is batching review of requests for disaster help. Disasters get added to the queue and just sit until there's a WH review day and a bunch get approved/denied all at once. Last year, it was an ongoing cycle of review, w/o big backlogs.

We're up to 13 open declaration requests in the FEMA Daily Brief content.govdelivery.com/attachments/...

Here's #disaster data as of today on open disaster declaration requests and how the administration is batching governors' requests for #FEMA help...

#3 cont'd - sorry the approvals and denials are flipped on the two graphics, but this shows how TX is the exception not the rule in terms of approval speed. Looks like the White House is only doing approvals every few weeks, instead of at the steady pace from 2024.

#3 Texas got a very fast disaster declaration for the #hillcountryfloods. But most states are not getting quick turnarounds on their disaster declaration requests this year. The administration is letting requests sit, then approving them in batches. See 2025 compared to 2024:

Oops, would help if I screenshotted the whole HMGP table all the way back to Jan. Here it is.

#2 cont'd - Hazard Mitigation is post-disaster $$ for states to “rebuild in a way that reduces…future disaster losses.” It’s the funding that could have paid for sirens in Kerr County. www.fema.gov/sites/defaul...

#2 The administration hasn’t approved a single request for Hazard Mitigation since 2/17/25. 31 requests are either denied or pending.

#1 There are 10 disaster declaration requests from governors all over the country that have gone unanswered since May

Some #disaster data to end the week...

🧵President Trump and his administration frame disaster recovery as a question of state-level self-sufficiency. But does that reflect the reality? Some of our Sustainability, Climate, and Geopolitics scholars provide some clarity.

YouTube video by Carnegie Explains Disaster Recovery: Can States Pick Up the Tab?

Even in states with big economies – like Texas and Florida – rebuilding after a disaster without federal assistance is functionally impossible. @sarahlabo.bsky.social breaks it down: youtube.com/shorts/fTR5D...

Trump’s Plan to Push FEMA’s Role to the States Will Be a Fiscal Disaster Many states are not equipped to handle their own recovery without federal help.

More here: carnegieendowment.org/emissary/202...

Hurricane season is off to a rocky start. For some disasters, the admin is taking *months* to approve governors' requests for disaster declarations that activate federal help. Average number of outstanding requests in the 2 weeks before hurricane season for the last decade: 4. This year? 13.

Trump’s Plan to Push FEMA’s Role to the States Will Be a Fiscal Disaster Many states are not equipped to handle their own recovery without federal help.

Spreading out disaster risk across a big and rich country makes so much more sense than concentrating the risk in a few states. Our latest on the start of hurricane season, with @leonardom-d.bsky.social & Debbra Goh carnegieendowment.org/emissary/202...

Trump says governors should be able to handle disasters without FEMA In remarks to reporters, the president said the administration plans to “wean” states off FEMA assistance after hurricane season ends.

Mystery and intrigue are no way to prepare for a disaster. States need an on ramp for major changes in funding and responsibility for disaster recovery. wapo.st/45RTx2B

The Trump administration’s cuts to critical FEMA programs have left communities – even in red counties – struggling to pick up the pieces.

@sarahlabo.bsky.social weighed in on support for one cancelled program for @nytimes.com:

This Conservative Is Doing Just Fine, Thank You, After Getting Dumped by Trump Leonard Leo has more than $1 billion to back Hollywood blockbusters that shield viewers from diversity and other progressive ideas.

And Leonard Leo has another $1b for more conservative film & tv projects www.wsj.com/business/med...

Meanwhile, the #txlege created a $2.5b film incentive fund (that Gov. Abbott has approval over!) for conservative films made in Texas www.kxan.com/news/texas-p...

Investing in creatives to be creative is the work of “narrative.”

In spaces I’m in, “narrative” is abstract. It’s reports, trainings, prescriptions for what narrative “should” be - everything except creating compelling content about characters & events that people want to read/watch/consume.

“We don’t know if there will be federal resources and personnel. It leaves people incredibly exposed to unimaginable risk," said Sarah Labowitz, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace who studies disasters.

Chaos at FEMA, NOAA as hurricane season starts Faltering forecasts, fired experts and whipsawing policy changes are raising questions about how the Trump administration will respond to disasters this

The team at E&E interviewed *so many* people for this story, every one of them worried and confused about how we're going to respond to disasters this summer www.eenews.net/articles/cha...

The painting So Long Maryann by Vincent Valdez

This show brought the house down at CAMH in Houston over the last few months and is opening today at @massmoca.bsky.social. Peter Molick’s images do the work incredible justice. 🥰