FEMA Director Sounds Alarm Over Disaster Funding After Recent Hurricanes

The director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said on Wednesday that her agency needs more disaster-related funding due to back-to-back hurricanes Helene and Milton. In a Senate hearing, FEMA Director Deanne Criswell said that FEMA has paid nearly $8 billion in federal assistance in response to hurricanes Helene and Milton and that as of Wednesday, its disaster relief fund had less than $5 billion left, she said. Overall, the agency has more than 100 disasters on its books and is still paying to help with recovery efforts. “These needs have rapidly exhausted our available funds, and without a supplemental, our ability to respond to new disasters could be jeopardized,” Criswell told the Senate hearing....