ICYMI: Reuters: FEMA cuts emergency training under Trump as hurricane season looms

Washington, D.C. — Reuters reported that Trump has cut critical hurricane preparation programs, just three weeks before the start of hurricane season. Trainings have been held for decades and are necessary for state and local emergency managers to prepare for hurricanes and build relationships with federal workers to improve coordination during disasters. Trump has previously signed an executive order shifting responsibility for disaster preparations to state and local governments, and is now cutting the resources they rely on to prepare. 

Reuters: FEMA cuts emergency training under Trump as hurricane season looms

The U.S. federal disaster agency FEMA has sharply reduced training for state and local emergency managers ahead of the start of the hurricane season on June 1, according to current and former officials, memos seen by Reuters, and three sources familiar with the situation.

The training cutbacks could leave storm-prone communities less prepared to handle the often devastating aftermath of hurricanes, the sources and some of the current and former officials warned.

Leading forecasters predict a busier-than-average Atlantic hurricane season this year, with 17 named tropical storms, including nine hurricanes.

If state directors and local emergency managers are not briefed on the federal government’s latest tools and resources, it will impact their ability to prepare for and warn communities of impending storms, said Deanne Criswell, who headed FEMA during President Joe Biden’s administration.

Some 2,000 FEMA employees – or about a third of full-time staff – have been fired or accepted incentives to quit since President Donald Trump took office in January and declared that the agency should be abolished and its functions handed over to the states.

Last week, Trump fired FEMA’s acting chief, Cameron Hamilton, a day after Hamilton told lawmakers that the agency should be preserved.

Hamilton’s successor, David Richardson, told FEMA employees on Friday that he would “run right over” any staff opposed to his implementation of Trump’s vision for a smaller agency.

FEMA’s National Hurricane Program and the National Hurricane Center typically conduct in-person workshops and presentations for state and local emergency officials each spring to help them prepare for hurricane season.

These training sessions are used to share the latest data on hurricane modeling, build relationships between local, state and FEMA officials to improve coordination on disaster preparedness and relief, and review evacuation routes and other planning measures.

Relationship building is critical for coordination in the event of a storm, according to three emergency managers and experts.