Trump Directed FEMA To Abolish Support for Disaster Survivors, End Flood Insurance Program

Washington, D.C. — The Trump Administration directed the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to create a plan to abolish itself – effectively ending federal disaster relief. The plan includes eliminating housing support for disaster survivors, ending a flood insurance program that supports more than 4 million people, and severely limiting which communities receive aid following a disaster. 

Climate Power communications director Alex Glass issued the following statement: 

“Since the day he was sworn in, Trump has been systematically gutting federal disaster relief – and now he’s looking to effectively abolish it altogether. This summer, thousands of Americans will be impacted by extreme weather like wildfires, hurricanes, and flooding. Trump’s plan is to abandon them – leaving families without housing, bridges and roads unrepaired, and communities devastated.”  

Trump is systematically gutting disaster relief: 

• Trump plans to abolish federal disaster relief, despite 94 percent of Americans living in a county that has received aid since 2011. 

• According to an internal agency review, FEMA was “not ready” ahead of hurricane season and was months behind schedule in its preparations.

• Trump’s FEMA head scrapped the agency’s hurricane plan at the last minute to revert to last year’s plan. 

• Trump cut disaster-response training for local and state emergency managers.

• Trump has eliminated door-to-door canvassing in disaster areas by federal relief workers. 

• Trump has gutted disaster relief, cutting roughly 20% of the staff responsible for preventing and responding to disasters. 

• Trump wants to make it harder for communities to receive federal disaster aid.

• Trump gutted federal aid for communities to prepare for disasters. 

• Trump ended the tracking of the most costly extreme weather events – those that cause over $1 billion in damage.