Who pays for California's wildfires?

Oct 28, 2019
Multiple wildfires continue to burn in California, prompting evacuations, preventive power outages and a scramble for funds to pay to fight the fires.
A home burns during the deadly 2018 Camp fire in Northern California.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

FEMA officials in the hot seat over disaster preparedness

Jun 12, 2019
The agency's acting chief and President Trump's nominee for the permanent job face questions as recovery from past disasters drags on.
Activists rally in support of Puerto Rican families displaced by Hurricane Maria, on the steps of City Hall, April 19, 2018 in New York City.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Repeated flooding leaves small North Carolina town looking for answers about its future

Nov 6, 2018
The Atlantic hurricane season officially has a few more weeks to go, but already this year has been deadly and destructive. The mainland U.S. took a hit from Hurricane Michael in October and Hurricane Florence the month before. Florence devastated many parts of North Carolina, including areas far from the coast. For many small communities, […]
A roadway is flooded by remnants of Hurricane Matthew on Oct. 11, 2016 in Fair Bluff, North Carolina. The town was devastated again by Hurricane Florence in 2018. 

Strong demand for cleanup crews in North Carolina

Oct 18, 2018
After recent storms, residents are still struggling to get back to normal amid mountains of debris.
“This is heart wrenching, you know?” says Randy Campbell, who with his crew clears debris after disasters. “We just come in and help clean it up and make some money doing it.”
Andy Uhler/Marketplace

Strong demand for cleanup crews in North Carolina

Oct 18, 2018
After recent storms, residents are still struggling to get back to normal amid mountains of debris.
“This is heart wrenching, you know?” says Randy Campbell, who with his crew clears debris after disasters. “We just come in and help clean it up and make some money doing it.”
Andy Uhler/Marketplace

How a chef helped serve 3.6 million meals in Puerto Rico

Sep 13, 2018
“Every time we made contact with a community, we kept going back, and we kept going back, every day without missing a beat,” José Andrés says.
With schools closed or only open for a short time, children across the island were a priority.
Photo courtesy of World Central Kitchen

Hurricane Florence is a big test for FEMA. Is it ready?

Sep 11, 2018
Hurricane Florence is expected to hit several states along the Eastern Seaboard, including North and South Carolina, and Virginia, on Thursday. More than a million people have been ordered to evacuate. Federal agencies are scrambling to coordinate the relief supplies that are probably needed in the days ahead. This will be the Federal Emergency Management […]
 Contractors apply a FEMA tarp to a home damaged by Hurricane Maria and without electricity on Dec. 20, 2017 in Morovis, Puerto Rico. 
Mario Tama/Getty Images

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It’s official: FEMA wasn’t equipped to handle the devastation of Hurricane Maria

Sep 5, 2018
A new report by the Government Accounting Office doesn’t bode well for future disaster relief.
 A flooded street is seen as people deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Maria on Sept. 25, 2017 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. 
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Thousands of families displaced by Hurricane Maria are living in hotels. The FEMA program that pays for that is about to end

Jun 15, 2018
Since Hurricane Maria ravaged Puerto Rico in September 2017, thousands of people have fled the island to come to the mainland. Many of them — some 1,600 families — have been staying at hotels paid for by the Transitional Shelter Assistance program from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. But the program will expire at the end of […]

For older Puerto Ricans, limited housing is a barrier to mainland life post-Hurricane Maria

Jun 8, 2018
Older evacuees in FEMA's transitional shelter program have special concerns when seeking affordable housing on the mainland.
A flag of Puerto Rico is seen on a damaged house in Yabucoa, in eastern Puerto Rico, on Sept. 28, 2017.
HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP/Getty Images