Welcome to Meteorology Matters. If you want to
learn even more about weather and climate change,
you can follow me, meteorologist Rob Jones, on
Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. On Instagram,
I'm Meteorologist. On TikTok, it's TV Meteorologist.
And on YouTube, search for Rob Jones Hurricane.
That's also where you'll find the Meteorology
Matters playlist. Sounds good. On today's show,
we're diving into some major developments with
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
and recent disaster trends. You know, you shared
some pretty concerning information that suggests
a potentially really challenging future for disaster
response. Right. And it's especially true when
you consider this really alarming increase in
major weather related events. Yeah, absolutely.
So let's try to unpack this. The heart of what
you've been looking at seems to be this potential
shift in how the nation prepares for and responds
to major disasters. And all of this is happening
right when these events are seemingly becoming
more and more frequent. Yeah. It really seems
like a critical moment. So let's start with FEMA,
the Federal Emergency Management Agency. OK.
The information you've highlighted paints a picture
of some pretty serious turmoil within the agency.
Yeah. There have been some really concerning
reports. You know, there's this apparent aim
of the Homeland Security Secretary, Kristi Noem,
to eliminate FEMA. Wow. I mean, that's a pretty
big deal. And there have been these meetings
between top officials from FEMA and the Department
of Homeland Security. OK. And they're literally
talking about shutting down the agency. So what
would that even look like? Well, that's the big
question. You know, some are even saying we should
just skip the whole FEMA review council thing.
The council that was just formed, right? Yeah,
but just get rid of it. To speed up the dismantling
of the agency. Exactly. And what's really worrying
is that this is all happening as we're heading
right into hurricane season. That's a problem.
One FEMA official even said that usually by March,
they've got all their hurricane plans finalized.
Right. But this year, everything's on hold because
of all this uncertainty. So it's really raising
questions about whether they'll even be ready.
And it's not just future planning that's being
affected. Right. There's this new rule that requires
Secretary Noem's team to personally approve the
renewal of terms for lots of female workers.
Like a lot of workers. And this is effective
immediately. It's a huge shift. And it's not
just some administrative positions. It's the
people who are actually out there on the ground
responding to disasters. The boots on the ground.
Exactly. The people who verify damage, the ones
who operate those recovery centers, the ones
who are helping victims register for aid. So
the essential workers? All of them. You know,
we're talking about the cadre of on -call response
employees, the reservists. local hires, temporary
full -time employees. It's a huge chunk of FEMA's
workforce, something like 74%. Wow, that's most
of FEMA. Exactly. And a lot of these positions
are term positions, which means they could easily
just expire and not be renewed. So what happens
if there is a major disaster and FEMA doesn't
have enough people to respond? It's a scary thought.
And what's really concerning is that states are
apparently afraid to speak up about these changes
because they don't want any fallout. So they're
worried about repercussions? Yeah. They're worried
that if they complain, they might get less support
from FEMA in the future. So everyone's just kind
of stuck? Basically. And it means that instead
of focusing on getting ready for hurricane season,
FEMA officials are spending all their time trying
to justify why they need to keep certain employees.
That seems like a Huge distraction. It is. It's
a huge waste of time and resources. Yeah. And
then there's the financial side of things. Over
$100 billion in grant money. And disaster assistance
was frozen because of executive orders. That's
a lot of money. It's a huge amount. And a lot
of that money was supposed to go to immigration
programs and sanctuary cities. But there were
also funds for other things like fire departments
and hurricane recovery efforts. So basically
all FEMA payments that weren't directly related
to individual disaster assistance were paused.
Right. So states and localities and nonprofits
are all waiting for reimbursements. What was
that about some FEMA? employees being fired.
Yeah, four employees, including the chief financial
officer, were let go because they approved grant
money to New York City for migrant sheltering.
Okay. And the Department of Homeland Security
basically accused them of laundering forbidden
funding. Wow. So now everyone at FEMA is terrified
of losing their jobs if they make even the smallest
mistake. It must be a very tense environment.
It is. Especially since there's also a hiring
freeze in place so FEMA is losing staff and they
can't replace them. It's like they're being squeezed
from all sides. Exactly. And then to add to all
of this, the acting administrator of FEMA sent
out an email about a plan to reduce FEMA's workforce.
They're talking about consolidating functions
and maybe changing the geographic footprint.
major overhaul. It is, but the final decisions
are going to be made by the FEMA Review Council
and it's unclear how that will play out. Okay.
The Department of Homeland Security is backing
all of this. They say they're all about eliminating
waste, fraud, and abuse. So the administration
is fully behind these changes. It seems that
way. And all of this is happening while there's
this bipartisan effort in Congress to actually
make FEMA independent. from the Department of
Homeland Security. Really? Yeah. There's this
bill called the FEMA Independence Act. It would
make FEMA a cabinet level agency that reports
directly to the president. The idea is to cut
through all the red tape and make FEMA more responsive.
I guess it makes sense given the increasing number
of disasters. It does. And it shows that there's
at least some bipartisan agreement on the importance
of having a strong disaster response agency.
So let's shift gears now. and talk about the
actual increase in major disaster declarations.
The data from NOAA and FEMA is pretty startling.
It is. In 2024, there were 90 major disaster
declarations in the U .S. 90? 90. That's almost
double the 30 -year average of 55. That's a huge
jump. It is. And if you do the math, it works
out to one new major disaster declaration every
four days. And that's not even counting all the
emergency declarations. In 2024, there were a
total of 108 disaster and emergency declarations.
So that's like one every three days. So we're
seeing an increase across the board. Exactly.
And it's affecting a lot of people. In 2024,
137 million people were living in areas affected
by a major disaster or emergency declaration.
That's 41 % of the population. That's a lot of
people. And for major disaster specifically,
it was 116 million people, or 34%. of the population.
So it's a significant portion of the country
that's being impacted. It is. And the summer
months were particularly bad, especially July
and August. At one point, there were 10 major
disasters active at the same time. 10 at the
same time. 10. And during a hurricane season,
there was an average of four major disasters
active every day. So for most of the year, there
was at least one major disaster happening somewhere
in the US. Yeah. For 73 % of the year, to be
exact. That's crazy. And if you add up all the
days that were spent under major disaster declarations
in 2024, it comes to 929 days. That's like two
and a half years. Two and a half years of major
disasters. If you include emergency declarations
too, it's 1251 days. That's a lot. It is. And
it's expensive. In 2024, there were 27 separate
billion -dollar weather and climate disasters
in the U .S. Billion with a B. Billion with a
B. According to NOAA, and that's not even counting
things like chemical spills or other non -weather
related disasters. So what's driving this increase
in disasters? Well, climate change is a big factor.
Climate scientists are saying that as the air
gets warmer, it can hold more water vapor, which
means we're seeing heavier rainfall during hurricanes
and thunderstorms. Which makes those storms more
intense. Exactly. And a lot of our infrastructure
was designed based on past climate conditions,
not the conditions we're seeing now. So we're
not prepared for these more intense storms. Right.
And that means we're more vulnerable to things
like flooding. It's all pretty alarming, especially
when you consider the state of FEMA right now.
It is. Former FEMA Chief Dean Criswell has talked
about how hurricane seasons are getting longer,
spring severe weather is getting worse, and fire
season is basically year round now. So it's not
just our perception, it's actually happening.
It is. And it's putting a huge strain on FEMA.
Right. And then there's this talk of downsizing
FEMA and changing how it operates. It's a really
tough situation. There's a lot of uncertainty
about what the future holds for FEMA. And that's
making it hard for them to plan and prepare for
the next disaster. And the next disaster is always
coming. Exactly. And it's probably going to be
worse than the last one. That's a sobering thought.
But what can we do? Well, we need to start taking
climate change seriously and investing in things
that will make our communities more resilient.
Like stronger building codes. Exactly. And early
warning systems and things like flood barriers.
We need to be proactive, not reactive. That makes
sense. And what about FEMA? Well, that's the
big question, isn't it? Whether they'll be able
to adapt to this new reality of more frequent
and more intense disasters. And whether they'll
even be around to do it. Yeah. So for everyone
listening, it's a good time to start thinking
about your own preparedness. What can you do
to get ready for the next disaster? What resources
are available in your community? These are important
questions to ask. Definitely. Well, this has
been a really eye -opening conversation. I agree.
It's a lot to take in. It is. But it's important
information. So I encourage everyone listening
to follow me, meteorologist Rob Jones, on Instagram,
TikTok, and YouTube. I share a lot of information
about weather and climate change, and I try to
make it as accessible and engaging as possible.
That's great. You can find me on Instagram at
Meteorologist, on TikTok at TV Meteorologist,
and on YouTube, search for Rob Jones Hurricane.
That's also where you'll find the Meteorology
Matters podcast playlist. Thanks for listening.
Thanks for having me. I'll see you next time
on Meteorology Matters. See you. Bye.