The inevitable has come to pass. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has started saying goodbye to a thousand or more staff, see this New York Times article, Senior Leaders Are Leaving an Already-Depleted Disaster Agency

There are only a few federal agencies immune from the personnel cuts being made across the board here in the United States. The National Weather Service (NWS) is not one of them.

I have to say that it is pretty unusual for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to be in the news as much as it has been—without a major disaster happening.

Many a politician does not give a hoot about emergency management and disasters until their jurisdiction is in the crosshairs of a disaster. Then, even the most ardent critic of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is suddenly calling on that agency to do its job to help their jurisdiction. FEMA’s future.

I’ve always been interested in history and how groups of people have willingly been oppressed without “fighting back” in any form or fashion. For those of you at the state and local levels, if you think that a 30-40% staff reduction at the federal level won’t impact you—think again. Not to mention what happens when entire classes of grants are reduced or completely eliminated. Rather than bemoan your fate when it comes, do something today to be proactive

There are many things that are “up in the air” right now when it comes to how government will function in the near term. One of them is the National Weather Service  (NWS) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are both in the news with “glimmers” of what might yet happen.

See this NY Times article, The Way Hurricanes Kill Is Changing. Helene Shows How   The basic message is freshwater flooding brought on by excessive rains are now killing more people than hurricane storm surges of the past.

There will likely be hundreds of articles written about proposed changes to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). I came across this one in my Google Feed, Another viewpoint: Federal emergency management could use reform, not elimination  

This comes from Jeannette Sutton’s post on LinkedIn. I thought it important enough to share it here with you. Remember the first place to really start off on the wrong foot in a disaster is to screw up the warning. Watch for an upcoming Disaster Zone Podcast on warnings with Dr. Sutton as the guest.

It will likely be seven or eight months from now before we know what recommendations are made by the council established by executive order to examine how the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) can be reformed

Just another sign of the times. No reason was given, but the 2025 annual Emergency Management Higher Education Symposium has been cancelled.

It has been said that about the only humans that like change are babies. Change my diaper! We are experiencing a firehose of change at the federal level for the last two weeks. More is coming…

Check out this Disaster Zone Podcast: Forecasting the Future  All of which was recorded back in December 2023. It might be the topics discussed will help you adjust to the changes we are experiencing today.

Certainly, things are running at breakneck speed back in Washington D.C. There are Presidential Nominations for department heads, new Presidential Executive Orders and then especially troubling to me is an “ex officio” organization with what appears to be unlimited access to federal department records. That would be DOGE 

I have written much about this topic already. There is an entire litany of reasons that have been proposed, some of them outlandish and just not based on facts but even reality and geography.

If you don’t mind hot humid summer weather and are in need of more sunshine, maybe these Two Emergency Management Positions in Houston are just the solution.

Working in the profession of emergency management is not getting easier, it is getting harder. Not only are we trying to provide the best information to our constituents about an ongoing disaster, but we have to now fight misinformation (what we might have called rumors before)) Then there is outright disinformation which is meant to create any manner of confusion for whatever nefarious reasons the person or organization might have.

Everyone is recognizing the challenges governments are facing with the onslaught of misinformation and disinformation. See this Government Technology article, States Work to Fight Disinformation During Emergencies