Former FEMA Head: Cuts to Federal Response Programs Guarantee Future Disasters
Emergency management has long followed this principle: local execution, state management, federal support. Local firefighters, EMS, police, and emergency managers are always the first on scene. When local capacity is overwhelmed, they reach out to the state. When the state needs more, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) steps in. FEMA doesn't supplant local responders; it supports them. This system can take days to escalate—or mere hours when disaster strikes fast, like it did in Western North Carolina last year or Kerr County, Texas, this past week.
Let's be clear: FEMA does not take over response operations. It supports them. And in a disaster, time is our most precious resource.
FEMA exists to support states and communities when they need help the most. But the system only works when it's allowed to work. In recent months, we've seen challenges that could limit FEMA's ability to lead: reduced grant funding, constrained hiring authorities, and administrative delays that slow or sideline responses. These moves don't just weaken FEMA—they weaken the entire emergency management system.
One of the most powerful tools we have to save lives is early warning. Sirens, wireless alerts, NOAA weather radios—these systems work. But they require trust and investment. Communities must have the training and system access they need to issue warnings. FEMA's grant and technical assistance programs make this possible, especially for smaller jurisdictions. Yet already, one major grant program has been eliminated, stripping communities of their chance to install or maintain life-saving systems.
FEMA's grants fund nearly half the emergency management workforce in many communities. These dollars support planning, training, staffing, and early warning systems—tools that are essential in the face of increasing threats, such as hurricanes, wildfires, floods, and even cyberattacks. Without this federal support, we're asking local governments to meet 21st-century risks with 20th-century tools.
We've been here before.
Nearly 20 years ago, Hurricane Katrina exposed critical failures in our disaster response system. FEMA was unprepared, under-resourced, and poorly integrated with other agencies. Still settling into the newly created Department of Homeland Security, the agency suffered from dysfunctional coordination and confusion about who was in charge. Some in top leadership had no emergency management experience. Political affiliations, not qualifications, shaped appointments. Bureaucracy slowed life-saving action. People died.
WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 20: Administrator of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Deanne Criswell speaks during a Senate Appropriations committee hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on November 20, 2024 in Washington,...
WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 20: Administrator of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Deanne Criswell speaks during a Senate Appropriations committee hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on November 20, 2024 in Washington, DC. MoreIn the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, FEMA was restructured and strengthened through the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act, which clarified the agency's authorities and restored some of its autonomy within DHS. The law mandated two key reforms: First, the FEMA administrator must have real, on-the-ground emergency management experience. Second, FEMA was elevated to a presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed position with direct access to the president during disasters, cutting through red tape to speed up response. It also introduced the concept of response doctrine through the National Response Framework, based on five key principles: engaged partnership, tiered response, scalable/flexible/adaptable operations, unity of effort through unified command, and readiness to act. These reforms weren't partisan—they were about saving lives.
Emergency management standards are born from tragedy. But the farther we get from Katrina, the more those hard-won lessons seem forgotten. In the case of this week's floods in Texas, FEMA was ready to respond—but was delayed by administrative hurdles and approval processes that took 72 hours to resolve. That's time we can never get back. And in emergencies, delayed help can cost lives.
Imagine a major hurricane bearing down on Florida while wildfires rage in California and floods surge across the Midwest. That's not a hypothetical—it's our new normal. And we're talking about dismantling the very system designed to protect us from it.
So now what?
I've spent my career responding to crises. I've seen how quickly lives can change, and how deeply preparedness matters. The choices we make now will shape how this nation weathers the storms ahead—literally and figuratively. If we continue down the path of dismantling FEMA, we're not just inviting disaster. We're guaranteeing it.
Helping people before, during, and after disaster is not just FEMA's job—it's America's promise to everyone who calls this great nation home. Every level of government has a role to play. Of course the system can improve. But reforms must be thoughtful, informed by experience, and shaped in partnership with the state, tribal, territorial, and local emergency managers who rely on FEMA's support.
Now is not the time to weaken FEMA. Instead, we must strengthen it with the essential tools, resources, and leadership to confront future challenges head-on. Emergency managers across the country are working tirelessly, and they don't need theatrics. What they need is genuine partnership and unwavering support. It's time to come together and ensure all emergency managers, including FEMA, have everything they need to protect and serve our communities effectively.
Today, we mourn the lives lost in Kerrville, Texas. But tomorrow, it could be any community—your community or mine. The threats we face are increasing, not diminishing. We can't afford to strip away the resources or experience needed to respond.
We must remember the lessons of our past—so we don't repeat them in our future.
Deanne Criswell was the 12th FEMA Administrator and confirmed unanimously by the U.S. Senate. Previously, she served as lead emergency manager for New York City and Aurora, Colorado. She also was a fire firefighter and a member of the Colorado Air National Guard.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
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Newsweek
15 hours ago
- Newsweek
Former FEMA Head: Cuts to Federal Response Programs Guarantee Future Disasters
I've been an emergency manager for nearly three decades, and one thing has never changed: All disasters begin and end at the local level. Whether I was leading emergency operations in a small town or in the nation's largest city, this fundamental truth remained the same—local responders are the first line of defense. But they can't do it alone. Emergency management has long followed this principle: local execution, state management, federal support. Local firefighters, EMS, police, and emergency managers are always the first on scene. When local capacity is overwhelmed, they reach out to the state. When the state needs more, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) steps in. FEMA doesn't supplant local responders; it supports them. This system can take days to escalate—or mere hours when disaster strikes fast, like it did in Western North Carolina last year or Kerr County, Texas, this past week. Let's be clear: FEMA does not take over response operations. It supports them. And in a disaster, time is our most precious resource. FEMA exists to support states and communities when they need help the most. But the system only works when it's allowed to work. In recent months, we've seen challenges that could limit FEMA's ability to lead: reduced grant funding, constrained hiring authorities, and administrative delays that slow or sideline responses. These moves don't just weaken FEMA—they weaken the entire emergency management system. One of the most powerful tools we have to save lives is early warning. Sirens, wireless alerts, NOAA weather radios—these systems work. But they require trust and investment. Communities must have the training and system access they need to issue warnings. FEMA's grant and technical assistance programs make this possible, especially for smaller jurisdictions. Yet already, one major grant program has been eliminated, stripping communities of their chance to install or maintain life-saving systems. FEMA's grants fund nearly half the emergency management workforce in many communities. These dollars support planning, training, staffing, and early warning systems—tools that are essential in the face of increasing threats, such as hurricanes, wildfires, floods, and even cyberattacks. Without this federal support, we're asking local governments to meet 21st-century risks with 20th-century tools. We've been here before. Nearly 20 years ago, Hurricane Katrina exposed critical failures in our disaster response system. FEMA was unprepared, under-resourced, and poorly integrated with other agencies. Still settling into the newly created Department of Homeland Security, the agency suffered from dysfunctional coordination and confusion about who was in charge. Some in top leadership had no emergency management experience. Political affiliations, not qualifications, shaped appointments. Bureaucracy slowed life-saving action. People died. WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 20: Administrator of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Deanne Criswell speaks during a Senate Appropriations committee hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on November 20, 2024 in Washington,... WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 20: Administrator of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Deanne Criswell speaks during a Senate Appropriations committee hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on November 20, 2024 in Washington, DC. MoreIn the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, FEMA was restructured and strengthened through the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act, which clarified the agency's authorities and restored some of its autonomy within DHS. The law mandated two key reforms: First, the FEMA administrator must have real, on-the-ground emergency management experience. Second, FEMA was elevated to a presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed position with direct access to the president during disasters, cutting through red tape to speed up response. It also introduced the concept of response doctrine through the National Response Framework, based on five key principles: engaged partnership, tiered response, scalable/flexible/adaptable operations, unity of effort through unified command, and readiness to act. These reforms weren't partisan—they were about saving lives. Emergency management standards are born from tragedy. But the farther we get from Katrina, the more those hard-won lessons seem forgotten. In the case of this week's floods in Texas, FEMA was ready to respond—but was delayed by administrative hurdles and approval processes that took 72 hours to resolve. That's time we can never get back. And in emergencies, delayed help can cost lives. Imagine a major hurricane bearing down on Florida while wildfires rage in California and floods surge across the Midwest. That's not a hypothetical—it's our new normal. And we're talking about dismantling the very system designed to protect us from it. So now what? I've spent my career responding to crises. I've seen how quickly lives can change, and how deeply preparedness matters. The choices we make now will shape how this nation weathers the storms ahead—literally and figuratively. If we continue down the path of dismantling FEMA, we're not just inviting disaster. We're guaranteeing it. Helping people before, during, and after disaster is not just FEMA's job—it's America's promise to everyone who calls this great nation home. Every level of government has a role to play. Of course the system can improve. But reforms must be thoughtful, informed by experience, and shaped in partnership with the state, tribal, territorial, and local emergency managers who rely on FEMA's support. Now is not the time to weaken FEMA. Instead, we must strengthen it with the essential tools, resources, and leadership to confront future challenges head-on. Emergency managers across the country are working tirelessly, and they don't need theatrics. What they need is genuine partnership and unwavering support. It's time to come together and ensure all emergency managers, including FEMA, have everything they need to protect and serve our communities effectively. Today, we mourn the lives lost in Kerrville, Texas. But tomorrow, it could be any community—your community or mine. The threats we face are increasing, not diminishing. We can't afford to strip away the resources or experience needed to respond. We must remember the lessons of our past—so we don't repeat them in our future. Deanne Criswell was the 12th FEMA Administrator and confirmed unanimously by the U.S. Senate. Previously, she served as lead emergency manager for New York City and Aurora, Colorado. She also was a fire firefighter and a member of the Colorado Air National Guard. The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
a day ago
How Texas' land rules allowed camps to operate in flood-prone areas
After deadly floods ripped through Texas last week, the state's rules and regulations about housing and construction and summer camps have come under scrutiny by some environmentalists and urban planners. The state leaves building zoning and permits up to the individual counties. And in most non-city counties, such as Kerr, which had 96 deaths as of Thursday due to floods, some officials tend to be lenient towards building owners with restrictions, some state leaders and environmental experts told ABC News. "In general, Texas is a state that highly values personal property rights and because of that, it is a state that is slow to change their policies to flooding," Shannon Van Zandt, a senior fellow with Texas A&M's Hazard Reduction and Recovery center, told ABC News. The state health department, which licenses youth camps, does not directly address the risks associated with flood zones and other extreme weather for summer camps, according to state regulations. Camps that seek approval are inspected for "fire, health, or safety hazard(s)" according to the state application form used by camps. The form also lists that the camps' "buildings comply with applicable codes." Twenty-seven children and staff of Camp Mystic, an all-girls sleepaway camp located on the Guadalupe River in Kerr County, were killed by the floods in the middle of the night on July 4. A number of the cabins were in known flood zones and close proximity to the river, according to officials and FEMA's flood maps. As of Thursday, at least 121 Texans are dead and 166 people are missing, officials said. Van Zandt and other environmental experts said the tragedy that struck the state last week should serve as a rallying call not just for Texas, but for places around the country to reassess their building and safety rules, as the risk of more hazardous storms continues to rise. Many state and local governments are working hard to improve building safety, Sarah Adams, an assistant professor at the University of Oregon's Environmental and Natural Resources Law Center, told ABC News. 'But communities can significantly reduce the harms and costs of flood disasters by focusing on where new homes, schools, and businesses are developed,' she said, 'not just how safe the individual buildings are.' Flood construction is discretionary in Texas Republican Texas Rep. Gary Gates, who chairs the state House's Land & Resource Management Committee, told ABC News that outside of the major cities, there are generally no major zoning rules. Gates said that when it comes to dwellings that are built along the coast and near flood areas, state legislators leave the discretion to "the counties and the free market system." "The federal guidelines and FEMA set flooding zones. They rate flood zones based on different categories. The flood insurance is based on what zone you are in," he said. "Most of the jurisdictions won't allow you to build if you can't provide insurance. That's why local jurisdictions leave it up to the insurance." Gates said there is "very little oversight" in the state for building or establishing any type of campground. "For a river camp that is not in a city it's pretty open on what you can do," he said. "A lot of those are very primitive. They are designed where you can just park your RV there and live in a tent. It's hard to regulate when you can allow tents. How do you regulate some bare bones sleeping accommodations?" The representative noted that in the case with Camp Mystic, which opened in 1926 and expanded throughout the years, many structures were built long before FEMA flood zones and other regulations were created and are likely to have approvals grandfathered in. This included other longstanding campsites that operated along the Guadalupe River which were also hit with floods. Gates said camps and other properties in the flood-prone areas would likely have had protocols in place that prevented damage or injury from flooding since the Guadalupe River has had many dangerous flooding events in the last 40 years, including 1987, when a Guadalupe River flash flood overwhelmed Texas and killed 10 people. Officials at Camp Mystic and Kerr County have not immediately returned ABC News' requests for comment about storm preparation. "We have been in communication with local and state authorities who are tirelessly deploying extensive resources to search for our missing girls. We are deeply grateful for the outpouring of support from community, first responders, and officials at every level," the camp posted on its website. Camp Mystic grandfathered into flood zone Henry DeHart, interim president/CEO of the American Camp Association, which was not affiliated with Camp Mystic, said in a statement to ABC News that each camp in the country is ultimately responsible for its own safety protocols. "Camp directors work year-round to plan for emergencies, review health and safety protocols, and prepare for site-specific risks. These can include issues such as extreme weather conditions, water safety, and ongoing medical needs for campers. Before the summer season, camps train their staff and rehearse these planned responses," he said. Van Zandt said recent FEMA flood maps indicted that the area in Kerr where the camp was located in zones designated as a floodway, which indicates a very serious threat to floods and where construction and development are generally discouraged, or in the FEMA 100-year flood risk warning. "I know Camp Mystic; it has been around for several decades. It will be under an old building code," she said. Texas' Department of State Health Services signed off on the youth camp's emergency plans last week, according to records obtained by ABC News. An inspection report dated July 2 indicates that state inspectors noted the camp had emergency plans "in case of a disaster" in place and that staff and volunteers were briefed on the plans during training sessions and volunteer briefings. Lara Anton, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of State Health Services, told ABC News in a statement that camps are required to develop their own emergency plans, which are then assessed by the state for adherence to the Texas Administrative Code. "The plans should include disaster, serious accident, epidemic, or fatality," Anton said. "Disaster would include flooding, tornado, etc. The inspector checked that they had plans posted for those elements in every building and that they had trained staff and volunteers on what to do." The details of Camp Mystic's emergency plans were not included in the records released by the state. DSHS released the July 2 inspection report along with five years of reports of the youth camp. The inspection report, which showed the youth camp complied with various regulations, concluded "there is no deficiency/violation cited or noted within the scope of this inspection/visit." The youth camp had 557 campers and 108 staffers at the time of the inspection between the Guadalupe and Cypress Lake locations. While the Texas' Department of State Health Services does do a thorough process of checking campsites and other buildings for flood damage using FEMA guidelines, Van Zandt, however, said that those inspections aren't enough given the flooding dangers that these camps are in. "FEMA has a checklist approach to reviewing the plans. As long as they fit those boxes, they're fine," she said. "There is not a real assessment of the quality of the plan." FEMA has not responded to what happened at the camp. Rethinking building regulations, making hard decisions Adams, who spent years researching zoning and building codes in New York City and Long Island following Superstorm Sandy, said the situation in Texas is a national problem that states and localities are struggling to solve. She said flooding map trends have shown that more areas are now experiencing dangerous flash floods more often and at higher levels. While relocating existing properties from flood-prone locations is difficult, and in some places impossible, due to the costs, residents' connections to their homes and neighborhoods, and in some cases the lack of better options, Adams said local governments should find ways to steer new development away from low floodplains. "The thing that will drive the costs of those disasters is the development that is coming right now," she said. Camp Mystic, for example, opened a new section of the camp five years ago that is closer to Cypress Lake, which was also in the FEMA flood zone areas and affected by the flooding. Kerr County approved the expansion. In 2011, in light of the numerous floods and rains that hit the area, Kerr county's leaders approved a flood damage prevention order that updated its flood insurance rate maps and gave updated building guidelines. Buildings constructed after the order required "methods and practices that minimize flood damage," and materials "resistant to flood damage," according to the order. The order also prohibited encroachments in areas of special flood hazard. Gates said the state legislature will be looking at ways to prevent the tragedy from happening again but added that he did not want to "overregulate" because of rare events. He added that while some Texas communities, like Galveston, have local regulations that mandate homes have strict wind load resistance due to the danger of tornadoes and storms, rural areas do not have the resources to fortify. "Here it is different because when you have a flash flood event, there is very little building that can withstand that force of water," he said. Gates said that any regulation changes could take years, but he did say that in the interim, the communities and camps could focus on improving their warning systems. "Our warning systems weren't taken seriously enough, and that needs to change," he said.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Alligator Alcatraz detention center in Florida: How many pythons are in the Everglades?
Alligator Alcatraz is Florida's recently opened migrant detention center in the Everglades. The center was the brainchild of Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, who announced the site in a video on X. In the video, Uthmeier said, "You don't need to invest that much in the perimeter. People get out, there's not much waiting for them other than alligators and pythons." The Burmese python is one of the largest snakes in the world. Adult pythons average between 6 and 9 feet, though the longest ever caught in Florida was 19 feet. The heaviest was over 200 pounds. Burmese pythons are an invasive species in Florida, with a population spread across more than 1,000 square miles of South Florida, including Everglades National Park and Big Cypress National Preserve. According to FWC, Burmese pythons can consume meals equivalent to 100% their body mass. During a study, the Conservancy of Southwest Florida took part in, researchers realized that Burmese python can eat prey larger than previously thought when they observed a python ingesting a 77-pound white-tailed deer, which was 66.9 percent of the snake's mass. Burmese pythons can pose a threat to human safety. Attacks on humans are improbable but possible in any locality where the animals are present and people are also present. Here's what to know about the biggest Burmese pythons caught in Florida and how many there are in the Everglades: Alligator Alcatraz is a temporary migrant detention center near the Florida Everglades. The controversial center reportedly has a capacity of up to 3,000 detainees, housed in FEMA tents and trailers. Alligator Alcatraz was erected at the Miami-Dade Collier Training and Transition Airport, a 39-square-mile airport facility with a 10,500-foot runway in Ochopee, an unincorporated community in Collier County, Florida. The facility is in the Big Cypress National Preserve, which borders Everglades National Park. Burmese pythons are among the largest snakes in the world, with adult animals averaging between 10 and 16 feet long, according to the University of Florida. A group of python hunters caught the longest Burmese python ever measured on July 10, 2023, in the Big Cypress National Preserve in eastern Collier County. The massive snake was 19 feet long. The heaviest Burmese python ever recorded was caught by Conservancy of Southwest Florida biologists in the Florida Everglades in 2022. The colossal female python weighed an eye-popping 215 pounds and was nearly 18 feet long. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, human fatalities from non-venomous snakes are rare, with an average of one or two per year worldwide. There have been no human deaths from wild-living Burmese pythons in Florida. And while python attacks on humans are unlikely, they're not impossible. Per USGS, "In suburban areas and parks in Florida that contain ponds, canals or other bodies of water where large snakes could feel at home, the situation is likely similar to that experienced with alligators: attacks are improbable but possible in any locality where the animals are present and people are also present. The simplest and most sure-fire way to reduce the risk of human fatalities is to avoid interacting with a large constrictor." It's hard to get an exact count, given the Burmese python's ability to live in various South Florida environments and the difficulty accessing some areas. "Burmese pythons are hard to find due to their cryptic coloration and secretive behaviors, and their low detection probability is a major challenge to effective python control and research," according to Florida Fish and Wildlife. However, conservative estimates by the USGS put the Burmese python population in the Florida Everglades region in the tens of thousands. The 2025 Florida Python Challenge — a 10-day event to remove invasive Burmese pythons — starts at 12:01 a.m. July 11 and ends at 5 p.m. July 20. Participants can win money prizes in several categories, including a $10,000 Ultimate Grand Prize. The top prize of $10,000 goes to the person who catches the most pythons. Those with the most catches in the Novice, Professional and Military categories win $2,500, while runners-up in each group receive $1,500, and $1,000 is awarded for the longest pythons caught. Burmese pythons captured in Florida must be humanely killed. While they are not protected in Florida, anti-cruelty law still applies. You can report a python sighting to the FWC. If you think you see a Burmese python, take a photo, note your location and report your sighting by calling the Exotic Species Hotline at 888-Ive-Got1 (888-483-4681), using the free IveGot1 mobile app or online at This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Alligator Alcatraz in the Everglades: What's the python population?
