Federal Emergency Management Agency News

One Dead, Dozens Hurt as Tornadoes Flatten Buildings in Ohio

Tornadoes pulverized western Ohio early on Tuesday, killing one person, injuring scores of others and requiring emergency officials to send out snowplows to clear debris from a major highway, officials and media reports said At least one tornado hit Dayton …

Vulnerability Reduction Scorecard Helps Cities Save Lives and Resources

In Norfolk, Virginia, officials are taking action to reduce their city’s vulnerability to flood risks. Flooding in Norfolk does not just happen during major storms. It can happen when the sun is shining, if the tide is high or the …

D.C. Is First to Plan to Remove, Retrofit Flood-Prone Buildings

Washington is announcing a goal of retrofitting or removing all of its flood-prone buildings by 2050, the first major U.S. city to set such a policy. The proposal is part of a broader plan to protect Washington, which is home …

‘Falling Through the Cracks’: Vulnerable Homeowners Overlooked after Disasters

WASHINGTON — It was the middle of the night when Yvonne Rawhouser’s neighbor woke her up to warn her that a nearby hillside was aflame. The wildfire that had been raging through northern California’s wine country in October 2017 was …

Quick-Cash, Risk-Swap Deals Multiply in Extreme Weather Era

Some of the world’s largest insurers are eagerly pitching cities, states and even school districts on policies designed to pay out quickly with few questions in the event of extreme weather. The catch: Even a hurricane might not be extreme …

California Dam’s Rebuilt Spillway ‘Performing as Expected’ During 1st Water Release

OROVILLE, Calif. — Water rushed down the rebuilt spillway at the nation’s tallest dam for the first time since it crumbled in heavy rain two years ago and drove hundreds of thousands of California residents from their homes over fears …

Watchdog Says FEMA Wrongly Released Survivors’ Personal Information

WASHINGTON — The Federal Emergency Management Agency wrongly released to a contractor the personal information of 2.3 million survivors of devastating 2017 hurricanes and wildfires, potentially exposing the victims to identity fraud and theft, a government watchdog reported Friday. The …

Last Customers Being Reconnected to Puerto Rico Power Grid

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Crews were preparing Wednesday to shut down generators that have powered an island off Puerto Rico’s coast — the last customers to be reconnected to the U.S. territory’s main power system 18 months after Hurricane …

Devastating Nebraska Floods Threaten to Stretch into the South

BROWNVILLE, Neb. — Emergency officials in Southern U.S. states kept a wary eye on the Missouri and Mississippi rivers as massive flooding that killed four people and caused more than $1 billion in estimated damages to homes, businesses and crops …

Climate Advocates Cheer Trump Policy Shift on Flood Insurance

About the photo: A member of a search and rescue team wades through floodwaters after Hurricane Florence in Carolina Beach, North Carolina on Sept. 17, 2018. Photographer: Callaghan O’Hare/Bloomberg Climate advocates say an overhaul of the nation’s flood insurance program …