Federal Emergency Management Agency News

Citing Climate Risk, Investors Bet Against Mortgage Market

NEW YORK — David Burt helped two of the protagonists of Michael Lewis’ book The Big Short bet against the U.S. mortgage market in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis. Now he’s betting against the market again, but this …

America’s Great Climate Exodus Is Starting in the Florida Keys

Lori Rittel is stuck in her Florida Keys home, living in the wreckage left by Hurricane Irma two years ago, unable to rebuild or repair. Now her best hope for escape is to sell the little white bungalow to the …

FEMA Officials Charged With Puerto Rico Hurricane Aid Fraud

Federal Emergency Management Agency officials who oversaw the reconstruction of Puerto Rico’s electrical grid and the former president of Cobra Acquisitions were arrested on fraud and conspiracy charges linked to recovery efforts from Hurricane Maria, according to federal prosecutors. FEMA’s …

Southern Illinois Village at Risk if no FEMA Levee Approval

PRAIRIE DU ROCHER, Ill. — The fate of a Mississippi River levee that’s awaiting a decision on federal accreditation could put a southern Illinois village at risk of destructive flooding, the village president says. If the levee in Prairie du …

Hurricane Victims Frustrated with Slow Housing Recovery

SPRING LAKE, N.C. — The heating and air conditioning in Carrie Johnson’s home — damaged by Hurricane Matthew in 2016 — still wasn’t fixed when Hurricane Florence flooded her house last September. Now, her home of over 50 years is …

Texas Housing Program Aims to Rebuild Faster after Disaster

HOUSTON — For Houston resident Scenacia Jones, the experience of getting her new home through an innovative way of building post-disaster housing was like an experiment. Jones and her two children had been living in a shelter for single parents …

Customs Says Hack Exposed Traveler, License Plate Images

Customs and Border Protection said Monday that photos of travelers and license plates collected at a single U.S. border point have been exposed in a malicious cyberattack in what a leading congressman called a “major privacy breach.” The federal agency …

U.S. Hurricane Season Is Unnecessarily Dangerous

Forecasters are expecting this year’s North Atlantic hurricane season to be roughly average, with about 14 named storms including six full-fledged hurricanes. Last week, the government finally dealt with the fallout from 2018, enacting a $19.1 billion relief package to …

Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana Face Flood of ‘Historic Magnitude’

Thousands of Arkansas, Oklahoma and Louisiana residents braced for more flooding on Wednesday, and some evacuated their homes, as forecasts of further rain drove fears that decades-old levees girding the Arkansas River may not hold. More than a week of …

Cost of Buying Out Flood-Prone Homes: $5B and Rising

About the photo: This June 14, 2008 file photo shows floodwaters in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Weeks after the latest massive floods in the Midwest, voluntary buyouts are again being considered in at least five states –Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana and …