WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.399 Welcome to the Meteorology Matters podcast. Great 00:00:02.399 --> 00:00:05.719 to be here. We spend so much time, understandably, 00:00:06.040 --> 00:00:09.279 focused on the immediate power of big storms. 00:00:09.699 --> 00:00:11.640 You know, the wind, the rain, the flooding. The 00:00:11.640 --> 00:00:13.960 crisis itself, yeah. Exactly. We think about 00:00:13.960 --> 00:00:16.620 something like Hurricane Helene, and that initial 00:00:16.620 --> 00:00:19.359 damage is just, well, immense. But the thing 00:00:19.359 --> 00:00:22.000 is, that physical destruction, that's really 00:00:22.000 --> 00:00:24.870 only half the story. Maybe less than half. That's 00:00:24.870 --> 00:00:27.109 so true. The storm hits the headlines. Absolutely. 00:00:27.589 --> 00:00:29.550 But for the communities, for the actual people 00:00:29.550 --> 00:00:32.369 on the ground, the real fight, the long fight. 00:00:32.640 --> 00:00:35.000 often starts after the sky is clear. Right. It 00:00:35.000 --> 00:00:37.079 becomes this whole other battle, a bureaucratic 00:00:37.079 --> 00:00:39.840 one, a financial one. And if that goes wrong, 00:00:39.880 --> 00:00:42.500 it can be devastating in its own way. Oh, absolutely. 00:00:42.619 --> 00:00:45.340 It can cripple local governments, leave families 00:00:45.340 --> 00:00:48.460 vulnerable for, I mean, years. So our mission 00:00:48.460 --> 00:00:51.200 today, for you listening, is to really get into 00:00:51.200 --> 00:00:53.259 that aftermath. The part we don't always see, 00:00:53.299 --> 00:00:56.600 we need to understand these cascading risks, 00:00:56.700 --> 00:00:59.159 the financial traps, the administrative hurdles 00:00:59.159 --> 00:01:00.799 that are built into the systems that are supposed 00:01:00.799 --> 00:01:02.899 to help us recover. going to be looking at some 00:01:02.899 --> 00:01:05.140 recent research that's really peeled back the 00:01:05.140 --> 00:01:07.400 layers on this. It's showing significant delays, 00:01:08.019 --> 00:01:11.340 some really surprising, frankly, inequities in 00:01:11.340 --> 00:01:14.200 federal disaster funding. And we'll focus particularly 00:01:14.200 --> 00:01:16.939 on how these systems played out after Hurricane 00:01:16.939 --> 00:01:19.739 Helene. Yeah, and it's a complex picture. We'll 00:01:19.739 --> 00:01:21.920 start sort of high level looking at the national 00:01:21.920 --> 00:01:24.480 picture, the preparedness grants states need 00:01:24.480 --> 00:01:27.420 before disaster hits. OK. Then we'll zoom right 00:01:27.420 --> 00:01:30.439 into North Carolina, post Helene, and see how 00:01:30.439 --> 00:01:33.739 local governments got caught in this reimbursement 00:01:33.739 --> 00:01:35.519 crisis. That financial nightmare, basically. 00:01:35.540 --> 00:01:37.900 Pretty much. And finally, maybe the most important 00:01:37.900 --> 00:01:39.540 part, we have to look at the individual level, 00:01:39.980 --> 00:01:42.760 the homeowners. Because the research shows these 00:01:42.760 --> 00:01:45.700 stark, measurable differences in who actually 00:01:45.700 --> 00:01:47.840 gets the help they need. It sounds like a system 00:01:47.840 --> 00:01:50.780 that maybe unintentionally ends up favoring those 00:01:50.780 --> 00:01:53.159 who already have more resources, more ability 00:01:53.159 --> 00:01:55.859 to just fight the system. That's definitely a 00:01:55.859 --> 00:01:58.280 theme that emerges. Persistence and privilege 00:01:58.280 --> 00:02:00.379 seem to pay off. Yeah. Which isn't how disaster 00:02:00.379 --> 00:02:03.129 agent work is it? No, it really isn't. Okay, 00:02:03.230 --> 00:02:05.290 let's unpack this. So let's start at the beginning, 00:02:05.450 --> 00:02:08.569 before the storm even arrives. You'd think state 00:02:08.569 --> 00:02:10.849 emergency management agencies, the frontline 00:02:10.849 --> 00:02:13.469 folks, would be fully equipped, ready to go. 00:02:13.689 --> 00:02:16.870 That's the ideal, right? Funded, staffed, poised. 00:02:17.210 --> 00:02:19.430 But the research suggests they're often dealing 00:02:19.430 --> 00:02:21.870 with their own crisis before the main one hits, 00:02:22.509 --> 00:02:24.810 specifically around these federal grants they 00:02:24.810 --> 00:02:28.150 depend on. Exactly. It's a preparedness paradox. 00:02:28.949 --> 00:02:31.349 Officials across the country are reporting, you 00:02:31.349 --> 00:02:34.680 know, serious cuts, new rules. big delays in 00:02:34.680 --> 00:02:36.599 getting these federal security grants. And these 00:02:36.599 --> 00:02:38.979 aren't just minor funds, are they? No, not at 00:02:38.979 --> 00:02:41.259 all. This jeopardizes their basic ability to 00:02:41.259 --> 00:02:43.219 get ready and respond. And we're not just talking 00:02:43.219 --> 00:02:46.020 about hurricane prep anymore. These grants cover 00:02:46.020 --> 00:02:48.219 the whole spectrum of threats they now face. 00:02:48.360 --> 00:02:50.039 Right, the job's gotten bigger. Much bigger. 00:02:50.400 --> 00:02:52.639 And this uncertainty, the not knowing when the 00:02:52.639 --> 00:02:55.379 money will arrive, that seems to cause its own 00:02:55.379 --> 00:02:58.199 problems. There was this quote from Hawaii's 00:02:58.199 --> 00:03:01.300 emergency management agency. They called it grant 00:03:01.300 --> 00:03:05.409 purgatory. Grant Purgatory. That really nails 00:03:05.409 --> 00:03:08.370 it, doesn't it? It captures that feeling of being 00:03:08.370 --> 00:03:11.530 stuck because states don't know when or even 00:03:11.530 --> 00:03:14.629 if the funds will show up. It shrinks the window 00:03:14.629 --> 00:03:16.990 they have to actually spend the money effectively 00:03:16.990 --> 00:03:20.469 before the grant period expires. So practically, 00:03:20.750 --> 00:03:22.590 what does that look like on the ground? How does 00:03:22.590 --> 00:03:25.590 being stuck in Purgatory hurt their readiness? 00:03:26.229 --> 00:03:29.409 Well, it forces bad decisions, essentially. They 00:03:29.409 --> 00:03:31.919 end up having to rush. crucial training sessions. 00:03:32.259 --> 00:03:34.340 Maybe they pay higher rates because it's last 00:03:34.340 --> 00:03:36.939 minute. OK. Or they make hurried purchases for 00:03:36.939 --> 00:03:39.780 equipment, possibly missing out on bulk discounts. 00:03:40.039 --> 00:03:41.840 And maybe worst of all, they hold off hiring 00:03:41.840 --> 00:03:43.740 people. Because they can't guarantee the salary. 00:03:43.979 --> 00:03:47.060 Exactly. So when the disaster does hit, they're 00:03:47.060 --> 00:03:48.919 already short staff. They might not have the 00:03:48.919 --> 00:03:51.580 best trained people or the right equipment bought 00:03:51.580 --> 00:03:55.180 efficiently. It's wasteful and dangerous. Now, 00:03:55.340 --> 00:03:57.520 the research hints that maybe this is part of 00:03:57.520 --> 00:03:59.800 a bigger strategy, a push from the federal level 00:03:59.800 --> 00:04:02.319 to shift more responsibility onto states and 00:04:02.319 --> 00:04:04.120 local governments. Is that the official line? 00:04:04.400 --> 00:04:06.360 Well, that's certainly a stated philosophy we've 00:04:06.360 --> 00:04:09.860 seen mentioned, shifting responsibility. But 00:04:09.860 --> 00:04:12.800 the Department of Homeland Security, DHS, they 00:04:12.800 --> 00:04:15.000 give a different reason for tightening the screws 00:04:15.000 --> 00:04:17.100 on these grants. What's their rationale? They 00:04:17.100 --> 00:04:19.779 talk about recent population shifts, which is 00:04:19.779 --> 00:04:22.740 a bit vague, honestly. And they also mentioned 00:04:22.740 --> 00:04:26.439 needing to be responsive to new and urgent threats 00:04:26.439 --> 00:04:28.980 facing our nation. Which to be fair is true. 00:04:29.180 --> 00:04:30.740 Right. Like you said, it's not just floods and 00:04:30.740 --> 00:04:33.920 hurricanes anymore. Exactly. Now it's cyber attacks, 00:04:34.360 --> 00:04:36.839 potential terror threats, pandemics. These things 00:04:36.839 --> 00:04:40.060 are complex, expensive to prepare for. They require 00:04:40.060 --> 00:04:42.139 totally different skill sets, different technology. 00:04:42.319 --> 00:04:45.060 Which makes the grant money for salaries, for 00:04:45.060 --> 00:04:47.819 training, for software even more critical than 00:04:47.819 --> 00:04:50.720 before. Precisely. The need goes up, but access 00:04:50.720 --> 00:04:52.839 seems to be getting harder. And then there was 00:04:52.839 --> 00:04:56.379 this specific, almost bizarre example of administrative 00:04:56.379 --> 00:04:59.899 friction, a new rule tied to immigration policy 00:04:59.899 --> 00:05:02.420 that actually stamped grant money in its tracks. 00:05:02.660 --> 00:05:04.980 Yeah, this was a really stark case involving 00:05:04.980 --> 00:05:07.899 the Emergency Management Performance Grant, the 00:05:07.899 --> 00:05:10.360 EMPG. Okay, what's that one for? It's foundational. 00:05:10.519 --> 00:05:14.259 About $320 million nationwide. It pays for the 00:05:14.259 --> 00:05:17.480 basics, salaries, training, day -to -day operations 00:05:17.480 --> 00:05:20.019 for state emergency teams. So essential stuff. 00:05:20.259 --> 00:05:22.939 Absolutely essential. And FEMA, which is part 00:05:22.939 --> 00:05:26.199 of DHS, they officially obligated the money on 00:05:26.199 --> 00:05:28.560 September 29th. They basically said, OK, states, 00:05:28.699 --> 00:05:30.699 the money's approved. It's coming. Green light. 00:05:30.740 --> 00:05:33.300 Go ahead and plan. Right. But then, literally, 00:05:33.600 --> 00:05:36.560 the very next day, bang, the funds were put on 00:05:36.560 --> 00:05:38.759 hold. Just like that. Why? A new directive came 00:05:38.759 --> 00:05:42.490 down. States suddenly had to submit new population 00:05:42.490 --> 00:05:45.310 counts, and these counts had to specifically 00:05:45.310 --> 00:05:49.110 exclude anyone removed from the state pursuant 00:05:49.110 --> 00:05:51.430 to the immigration laws of the United States. 00:05:51.810 --> 00:05:54.970 Wow, okay, that sounds complicated. Extremely. 00:05:55.230 --> 00:05:57.550 And they also had to explain exactly how they 00:05:57.550 --> 00:06:00.709 calculated that exclusion, the analogy. So states 00:06:00.709 --> 00:06:02.870 are ready to gear up for disaster season, the 00:06:02.870 --> 00:06:05.589 money is legally theirs, and suddenly this completely 00:06:05.589 --> 00:06:08.269 separate political issue, immigration enforcement... 00:06:08.439 --> 00:06:10.120 freezes everything. That's what happened. It 00:06:10.120 --> 00:06:12.199 created this massive administrative roadblock. 00:06:12.259 --> 00:06:14.180 What made it so difficult to comply? Couldn't 00:06:14.180 --> 00:06:17.060 they just pull the numbers? If only it were that 00:06:17.060 --> 00:06:19.339 simple. The federal government doesn't exactly 00:06:19.339 --> 00:06:21.990 have a neat tidy, instantly accessible database 00:06:21.990 --> 00:06:25.209 of everyone removed for immigration reasons broken 00:06:25.209 --> 00:06:27.250 down state by state that they can just hand over. 00:06:27.569 --> 00:06:30.949 Right. The term removed from the state is legally 00:06:30.949 --> 00:06:33.389 fuzzy too. So states would have had to spend 00:06:33.389 --> 00:06:36.310 who knows how much time, legal resources, just 00:06:36.310 --> 00:06:38.790 figuring out what the directive meant. Then they'd 00:06:38.790 --> 00:06:41.269 have to invent a way to gather data from potentially 00:06:41.269 --> 00:06:44.269 dozens of different sources, justify that method. 00:06:44.569 --> 00:06:46.829 All while the clock is ticking on disaster season 00:06:46.829 --> 00:06:49.029 and their grant funding is locked up. Exactly. 00:06:49.319 --> 00:06:52.209 Sounds like a recipe for paralysis. an intentional 00:06:52.209 --> 00:06:54.870 bottleneck almost, based on a requirement that 00:06:54.870 --> 00:06:57.389 was practically impossible to meet quickly. What's 00:06:57.389 --> 00:07:00.990 fascinating here is how something seemingly straightforward 00:07:00.990 --> 00:07:03.910 like funding disaster preparedness gets tangled 00:07:03.910 --> 00:07:06.189 up in these other political or administrative 00:07:06.189 --> 00:07:09.069 agendas. It really is. It shows how these complex 00:07:09.069 --> 00:07:11.769 federal rules, even if they have some other stated 00:07:11.769 --> 00:07:14.629 policy goal, can directly weaken our ability 00:07:14.629 --> 00:07:17.569 to prepare for emergencies right when we need 00:07:17.569 --> 00:07:20.050 that certainty the most. It just gums up the 00:07:20.050 --> 00:07:22.899 works. Okay, so that's the pre -disaster picture. 00:07:23.420 --> 00:07:26.459 Readiness is already strained. Now let's shift 00:07:26.459 --> 00:07:29.720 to what happens after the storm hits. Hurricane 00:07:29.720 --> 00:07:32.980 Helene and the situation in North Carolina. This 00:07:32.980 --> 00:07:35.519 is where that strain really seemed to break the 00:07:35.519 --> 00:07:38.019 system. Yeah, the focus shifts from preparedness 00:07:38.019 --> 00:07:41.600 grants to reimbursement. After Helene, more than 00:07:41.600 --> 00:07:44.279 a year later, many local counties in North Carolina 00:07:44.279 --> 00:07:47.199 were facing, I mean, potential financial ruin. 00:07:47.420 --> 00:07:50.360 Not from the storm damage itself, but because 00:07:50.360 --> 00:07:52.720 the federal money they were owed wasn't arriving. 00:07:53.139 --> 00:07:55.279 Precisely. It was these huge, unusual delays 00:07:55.279 --> 00:07:57.860 in FEMA paying them back for the cleanup costs. 00:07:58.199 --> 00:08:00.120 Local governments have to act immediately, right? 00:08:00.259 --> 00:08:02.399 They clear the roads, rescue people, haul away 00:08:02.399 --> 00:08:04.439 mountains of debris. They pay for that up front. 00:08:04.680 --> 00:08:06.759 They have to. It's legally required. They operate 00:08:06.759 --> 00:08:09.100 on tight budgets, often balanced budgets by law, 00:08:09.360 --> 00:08:11.800 and they float massive amounts of cash. Assuming 00:08:11.800 --> 00:08:14.019 FEMA's public assistance program, the PA program, 00:08:14.199 --> 00:08:16.040 will reimburse them reasonably quickly. Let's 00:08:16.040 --> 00:08:18.759 look at Yancey County, North Carolina. The research 00:08:18.759 --> 00:08:21.240 used it as a really stark example. How much did 00:08:21.240 --> 00:08:23.300 they end up spending on cleanup after Helene? 00:08:23.500 --> 00:08:27.939 Almost $50 million. $50 million. Okay, that's 00:08:27.939 --> 00:08:30.120 a lot for any county, but especially a rural 00:08:30.120 --> 00:08:33.139 one. How much had FEMA paid back after a full 00:08:33.139 --> 00:08:37.559 year? $4 million. Just $4 million out of nearly 00:08:37.559 --> 00:08:42.070 $50 million spent. Wow. That's... What, less 00:08:42.070 --> 00:08:44.570 than 10 %? Yeah, an enormous gap. And get this, 00:08:44.710 --> 00:08:47.190 the county manager pointed out that Yancey County's 00:08:47.190 --> 00:08:50.169 entire annual budget for everything, police, 00:08:50.629 --> 00:08:54.590 schools, roads, the works, was only $37 million. 00:08:55.070 --> 00:08:57.090 Wait, so the cleanup bill alone was more than 00:08:57.090 --> 00:08:59.409 their whole operating budget for the year? Correct. 00:08:59.590 --> 00:09:03.110 About $37 million just for debris removal. They 00:09:03.110 --> 00:09:05.070 spent years worth of revenue in a few months, 00:09:05.269 --> 00:09:06.850 and the reimbursement basically wasn't coming. 00:09:07.000 --> 00:09:09.740 That's just mathematically impossible. How can 00:09:09.740 --> 00:09:11.860 a county possibly absorb that? They can't. It's 00:09:11.860 --> 00:09:14.200 utterly unsustainable. And Yancey wasn't alone. 00:09:14.740 --> 00:09:16.779 Avery County nearby had a similar story. What 00:09:16.779 --> 00:09:19.320 happened there? A commissioner there mentioned 00:09:19.320 --> 00:09:22.320 hauling away over a million cubic yards of vegetative 00:09:22.320 --> 00:09:24.460 debris. Think about that volume. The cost was 00:09:24.460 --> 00:09:27.220 $53 million. OK. Their total county budget for 00:09:27.220 --> 00:09:30.379 the year, $42 million. Again, spending more on 00:09:30.379 --> 00:09:32.879 cleanup than their entire annual budget. Yeah. 00:09:33.440 --> 00:09:35.139 The commissioner had this quote. He just said, 00:09:35.370 --> 00:09:38.230 That math don't math. No kidding. It perfectly 00:09:38.230 --> 00:09:40.990 captured the impossible spot they were in. They 00:09:40.990 --> 00:09:43.629 had to raid their reserve funds, dip into every 00:09:43.629 --> 00:09:45.669 possible account just to try and keep paying 00:09:45.669 --> 00:09:47.950 the contractors who were doing the actual cleanup 00:09:47.950 --> 00:09:50.610 work. This sounds like a crisis caused entirely 00:09:50.610 --> 00:09:54.610 by delayed paperwork, not the storm itself. And 00:09:54.610 --> 00:09:56.769 was there also a feeling that North Carolina 00:09:56.769 --> 00:09:59.289 maybe wasn't getting its fair share compared 00:09:59.289 --> 00:10:02.179 to neighbors? There was. Looking at the initial 00:10:02.179 --> 00:10:04.500 public assistance money obligated by FEMA right 00:10:04.500 --> 00:10:07.059 after Helene, the numbers do raise questions. 00:10:07.379 --> 00:10:09.559 How so? North Carolina obviously had massive 00:10:09.559 --> 00:10:12.059 damage, hundreds of roads, bridges destroyed, 00:10:12.899 --> 00:10:15.440 research cited damage to something like 73 ,000 00:10:15.440 --> 00:10:18.779 homes. Huge impact. OK. Yet for debris removal 00:10:18.779 --> 00:10:22.720 specifically, FEMA initially obligated $132 million 00:10:22.720 --> 00:10:25.059 for North Carolina. All right, $132 million. 00:10:25.299 --> 00:10:27.080 How does that compare? We'll look next door. 00:10:27.519 --> 00:10:29.539 Georgia also had significant damage from Helene. 00:10:29.629 --> 00:10:32.230 They received $690 million for debris removal. 00:10:32.370 --> 00:10:36.230 Whoa. $132 million versus $690 million. That's 00:10:36.230 --> 00:10:38.110 a massive difference. What about other states? 00:10:38.509 --> 00:10:42.350 Florida got $192 million. Tennessee got $159 00:10:42.350 --> 00:10:45.639 million. Even looking at the total public assistance 00:10:45.639 --> 00:10:48.399 picture, not just debris, North Carolina was 00:10:48.399 --> 00:10:52.059 initially down for about $849 million, while 00:10:52.059 --> 00:10:55.460 Georgia was set for $922 million. So across the 00:10:55.460 --> 00:10:57.179 board, North Carolina seemed to be getting less, 00:10:57.259 --> 00:10:59.320 especially for debris removal, despite having 00:10:59.320 --> 00:11:02.980 really extensive damage. Why such a big gap was 00:11:02.980 --> 00:11:05.360 it just different types of damage different rules? 00:11:05.639 --> 00:11:07.679 It's tough to say definitively there could be 00:11:07.679 --> 00:11:10.120 multiple factors But officials in North Carolina 00:11:10.120 --> 00:11:11.960 certainly felt the new level of bureaucratic 00:11:11.960 --> 00:11:14.279 review and scrutiny Was part of the reason for 00:11:14.279 --> 00:11:16.159 that lower initial number and that just made 00:11:16.159 --> 00:11:19.179 the later payment delays even worse Exactly compounded 00:11:19.179 --> 00:11:21.179 the problem. In fact, North Carolina's governor 00:11:21.179 --> 00:11:23.799 estimated the state still has over 40 billion 00:11:24.120 --> 00:11:26.700 billion with a B in its own unfunded needs from 00:11:26.700 --> 00:11:29.059 Helene. So they felt shortchanged on the initial 00:11:29.059 --> 00:11:31.059 federal amount and then the money they were promised 00:11:31.059 --> 00:11:34.120 got stuck. A double whammy. So low obligations, 00:11:34.279 --> 00:11:36.720 slow payment. Either way, it leads to this cash 00:11:36.720 --> 00:11:39.340 flow crisis for local governments. And the official 00:11:39.340 --> 00:11:41.399 reason given for these delays, these new layers 00:11:41.399 --> 00:11:44.139 of red tape. The stated reason coming from the 00:11:44.139 --> 00:11:46.519 secretary overseeing FEMA payments at the time, 00:11:46.700 --> 00:11:49.720 Kristi Noem, was about rooting out fraud, waste 00:11:49.720 --> 00:11:53.940 and abuse. Increasing accountability, making 00:11:53.940 --> 00:11:56.639 sure taxpayer money is spent wisely, that's the 00:11:56.639 --> 00:11:58.840 official rationale. Okay. Fighting fraud is important, 00:11:58.860 --> 00:12:02.299 obviously. Of course. But state and local officials 00:12:02.299 --> 00:12:04.960 on the ground, they were singing a very different 00:12:04.960 --> 00:12:08.159 tune. They described the result as just paralyzing 00:12:08.159 --> 00:12:11.179 bureaucracy. Delays far beyond anything they'd 00:12:11.179 --> 00:12:14.360 seen before. Abnormal. was a word used a lot. 00:12:14.700 --> 00:12:17.580 They felt the new system actually created massive 00:12:17.580 --> 00:12:19.799 inefficiency. And the research spelled out what 00:12:19.799 --> 00:12:21.820 this new red tape actually involved. It wasn't 00:12:21.820 --> 00:12:24.019 just one extra step. No, it was like a triple 00:12:24.019 --> 00:12:26.240 layered approval process, almost stacked on top 00:12:26.240 --> 00:12:28.120 of each other. Triple layer. OK, what were the 00:12:28.120 --> 00:12:30.320 layers? First, you still had the standard FEMA 00:12:30.320 --> 00:12:32.399 process for reviewing claims, which is already 00:12:32.399 --> 00:12:34.500 pretty detailed and time consuming. Right. That's 00:12:34.500 --> 00:12:37.379 letter one. Layer two. The DHS secretary herself 00:12:37.379 --> 00:12:41.320 had to personally sign off on every single expense 00:12:41.320 --> 00:12:44.960 over $100 ,000. Every single one. Over a hundred 00:12:44.960 --> 00:12:47.220 grand. That must be thousands of claims after 00:12:47.220 --> 00:12:49.539 a major hurricane. You'd imagine so. It sounds 00:12:49.539 --> 00:12:51.480 like an incredible bottleneck right there at 00:12:51.480 --> 00:12:55.080 the top. Okay, so standard FEMA, then the secretary's 00:12:55.080 --> 00:12:57.720 personal sign -off. What's the third layer? The 00:12:57.720 --> 00:13:00.399 third hurdle was getting clearance from a new 00:13:00.399 --> 00:13:03.139 system run by a Department of Government Efficiency 00:13:03.139 --> 00:13:06.559 called Defend the Spend. Defend the Spend. Yeah. 00:13:06.730 --> 00:13:09.750 Another complex clearance site they had to navigate. 00:13:10.389 --> 00:13:12.929 As one state official apparently put it, maybe 00:13:12.929 --> 00:13:14.830 the intention was good, maybe they wanted to 00:13:14.830 --> 00:13:17.169 streamline things, but the effect was building 00:13:17.169 --> 00:13:20.230 three review systems where one used to be. So 00:13:20.230 --> 00:13:22.529 instead of catching fraud more efficiently, it 00:13:22.529 --> 00:13:25.509 just drowned legitimate claims in paperwork. 00:13:26.029 --> 00:13:28.330 That seems to be the consensus from the people 00:13:28.330 --> 00:13:30.570 trying to get reimbursed. They felt they were 00:13:30.570 --> 00:13:32.789 proving the same expenses three different times 00:13:32.789 --> 00:13:34.870 to three different entities. This really highlights 00:13:34.870 --> 00:13:37.289 that conflict, doesn't it? The top level says 00:13:37.289 --> 00:13:39.889 we need this to stop fraud, but the local level 00:13:39.889 --> 00:13:43.289 says this is stopping legitimate recovery. Is 00:13:43.289 --> 00:13:45.610 there any actual evidence this triple system 00:13:45.610 --> 00:13:48.110 caught significant fraud that the old system 00:13:48.110 --> 00:13:50.429 missed? That's the key question. And the research 00:13:50.429 --> 00:13:53.269 didn't point to clear evidence of that. State 00:13:53.269 --> 00:13:56.230 emergency managers tend to argue that major fraud, 00:13:56.610 --> 00:13:59.029 the sophisticated stuff, usually gets caught 00:13:59.029 --> 00:14:01.529 later. during detailed audits after the money 00:14:01.529 --> 00:14:04.129 has flowed. Right, not by adding more upfront 00:14:04.129 --> 00:14:06.570 approval steps for time -sensitive things like 00:14:06.570 --> 00:14:09.350 getting roads cleared. Exactly. They argue these 00:14:09.350 --> 00:14:12.149 pre -approval layers mainly just slow down payments 00:14:12.149 --> 00:14:15.409 to legitimate contractors who did essential work 00:14:15.409 --> 00:14:18.090 immediately after the storm. That hurts the local 00:14:18.090 --> 00:14:21.009 economy, risks contractor bankruptcy, and doesn't 00:14:21.009 --> 00:14:22.850 necessarily stop someone determined to commit 00:14:22.850 --> 00:14:25.190 fraud later in the process. Okay, if we connect 00:14:25.190 --> 00:14:28.519 this to the bigger picture... What's the ultimate 00:14:28.519 --> 00:14:31.620 danger for these counties forced to carry these 00:14:31.620 --> 00:14:34.019 huge debts for so long? If we connect this to 00:14:34.019 --> 00:14:37.080 the bigger picture, the biggest risk is to their 00:14:37.080 --> 00:14:40.240 credit ratings. Ah, the bond ratings. Precisely. 00:14:40.799 --> 00:14:42.759 This is a massive deal, especially in a state 00:14:42.759 --> 00:14:45.700 like North Carolina. They have historically super 00:14:45.700 --> 00:14:48.360 strict fiscal rules. Counties literally cannot 00:14:48.360 --> 00:14:50.360 run deficits or carry debt like this. That's 00:14:50.360 --> 00:14:52.039 why they usually have such good bond ratings, 00:14:52.220 --> 00:14:54.740 right? Exactly. They've historically had more 00:14:54.740 --> 00:14:56.860 AAA bond ratings than almost anywhere else because 00:14:56.860 --> 00:14:59.659 of that discipline. But that strength suddenly 00:14:59.659 --> 00:15:01.740 became a huge weakness when FEMA wasn't paying 00:15:01.740 --> 00:15:04.200 its bills. Walk us through why that bond rating 00:15:04.200 --> 00:15:06.360 matters so much to the average person living 00:15:06.360 --> 00:15:10.080 there. If it drops from AAA to, say, AAA. So 00:15:10.080 --> 00:15:13.360 what? It costs everyone money. A lower BOG rating 00:15:13.360 --> 00:15:16.600 tells lenders, this county is now a slightly 00:15:16.600 --> 00:15:19.230 riskier bet. Okay. So the next time the county 00:15:19.230 --> 00:15:21.250 needs to borrow money, maybe to build a new school, 00:15:21.389 --> 00:15:23.950 fix a bridge, upgrade the water system, they 00:15:23.950 --> 00:15:26.269 have to pay a higher interest rate on those municipal 00:15:26.269 --> 00:15:28.590 bonds they issue. Because they're seen as riskier. 00:15:28.750 --> 00:15:31.269 Right. And that difference in interest, maybe 00:15:31.269 --> 00:15:33.909 it sounds small, like half a percent, but compound 00:15:33.909 --> 00:15:36.549 that over the 20 or 30 years they're paying back 00:15:36.549 --> 00:15:39.129 that bond, it adds up to hundreds of thousands, 00:15:39.309 --> 00:15:41.730 potentially millions, in extra interest payments. 00:15:41.730 --> 00:15:45.139 Paid for by? Local taxpayers. So that bureaucratic 00:15:45.139 --> 00:15:48.159 delay on $100 ,000 reimbursement check from FINA 00:15:48.159 --> 00:15:50.860 ends up costing the whole community more money 00:15:50.860 --> 00:15:53.179 down the road for basic public services. It's 00:15:53.179 --> 00:15:55.659 a long -term financial drain caused by a short 00:15:55.659 --> 00:15:58.220 -term administrative failure. And in the meantime, 00:15:58.759 --> 00:16:01.100 communities are just stuck. There was that story 00:16:01.100 --> 00:16:03.679 about families waiting for buyout money. Yeah. 00:16:03.840 --> 00:16:07.519 Devastating. In one county, 111 families applied 00:16:07.519 --> 00:16:10.639 for a hazard mitigation buyout, basically selling 00:16:10.639 --> 00:16:12.580 their flood -prone properties to the government 00:16:12.580 --> 00:16:15.899 so they can move somewhere safer. A huge decision 00:16:15.899 --> 00:16:18.940 for those families. Life changing. FEMA apparently 00:16:18.940 --> 00:16:21.779 approved $16 million to buy about 40 of those 00:16:21.779 --> 00:16:24.480 properties, offering free storm value, a chance 00:16:24.480 --> 00:16:26.500 to start over. That sounds like a good program 00:16:26.500 --> 00:16:29.720 in theory. In theory, yes. But the money just 00:16:29.720 --> 00:16:33.279 hasn't arrived. It hasn't been paid out. So these 00:16:33.279 --> 00:16:35.460 families are just waiting, living in campers 00:16:35.460 --> 00:16:38.000 or temporary housing? Exactly. They agree to 00:16:38.000 --> 00:16:39.720 the deal, they're waiting for the final paperwork, 00:16:39.779 --> 00:16:42.500 waiting for the check. And meanwhile, the seasons 00:16:42.500 --> 00:16:44.580 are changing, maybe winter's coming, and they're 00:16:44.580 --> 00:16:46.840 stuck in limbo. Likely because the funds are 00:16:46.840 --> 00:16:48.740 caught up in those same stalled approval layers 00:16:48.740 --> 00:16:52.320 we talked about. A federal promise just hanging 00:16:52.320 --> 00:16:56.620 unfulfilled. That's heartbreaking. Okay, so local 00:16:56.620 --> 00:16:58.700 governments are struggling, individuals are stuck 00:16:58.700 --> 00:17:02.559 in limbo. Let's shift focus entirely now to the 00:17:02.559 --> 00:17:04.599 individual homeowners trying to get direct help 00:17:04.599 --> 00:17:07.660 from FEMA, the individual assistants, or IA. 00:17:07.880 --> 00:17:09.960 Right, because the research shows that even when 00:17:09.960 --> 00:17:12.619 the money is flowing, it's not flowing equally. 00:17:13.380 --> 00:17:15.880 The bureaucratic hurdles and maybe even internal 00:17:15.880 --> 00:17:18.640 FEMA issues seem to create real disparities based 00:17:18.640 --> 00:17:21.819 on income. How significant are these disparities? 00:17:22.140 --> 00:17:24.380 The analysis is pretty stark. In those really 00:17:24.380 --> 00:17:26.940 hard -hit rural counties like Yancey and Haywood, 00:17:27.319 --> 00:17:29.400 the research found homeowners with the highest 00:17:29.400 --> 00:17:32.420 incomes ended up receiving two to three times 00:17:32.420 --> 00:17:35.400 more FEMA housing aid than homeowners with lower 00:17:35.400 --> 00:17:37.599 incomes. Two to three times more. Wait, let's 00:17:37.599 --> 00:17:39.920 clarify IA. That's the money for basic repairs, 00:17:40.000 --> 00:17:41.799 making a home safe and livable again, right? 00:17:41.960 --> 00:17:43.960 Or for temporary rent. Correct. It's direct help 00:17:43.960 --> 00:17:46.680 to families. And technically, FEMA aid is supposed 00:17:46.680 --> 00:17:50.220 to be sort of blind to your income or your home's 00:17:50.220 --> 00:17:51.960 pre -storm value. It doesn't matter if you had 00:17:51.960 --> 00:17:54.660 a mansion or a mobile home. The goal is the same 00:17:54.660 --> 00:17:56.980 baseline habitability. That's the principle. 00:17:57.200 --> 00:17:59.980 Safe, sanitary, functional. You know, FEMA might 00:17:59.980 --> 00:18:02.900 cover repairs for one basic bedroom, one bathroom, 00:18:03.019 --> 00:18:05.660 maybe replace one fridge for a couple, regardless 00:18:05.660 --> 00:18:07.380 of what they owned before. It's about essential 00:18:07.380 --> 00:18:10.079 needs. But the reality in Haywood County, for 00:18:10.079 --> 00:18:12.019 example, was very different. What were the numbers 00:18:12.019 --> 00:18:14.759 there? In Haywood, the data showed households 00:18:14.759 --> 00:18:18.359 earning over $75 ,000 a year typically got around 00:18:18.359 --> 00:18:21.920 $22 ,000 in housing assistance. Okay. And those 00:18:21.920 --> 00:18:24.539 earning less than $75 ,000? They received about 00:18:24.539 --> 00:18:28.900 $8 ,000 on average. Wow. $22 ,000 versus $8 ,000. 00:18:29.200 --> 00:18:32.180 That is a huge gap for essentially the same program. 00:18:32.380 --> 00:18:34.599 It looks like a penalty for being lower income. 00:18:34.779 --> 00:18:37.039 It does function that way, even if it's not intentional 00:18:37.039 --> 00:18:39.299 discrimination written into the rules. The question 00:18:39.299 --> 00:18:42.140 becomes why. If the aid standard is the same, 00:18:42.440 --> 00:18:44.779 why does the person with less money get less 00:18:44.779 --> 00:18:47.059 help for similar damage? What does the research 00:18:47.059 --> 00:18:49.920 suggest causes this? It seems to be a combination 00:18:49.920 --> 00:18:52.619 of things, really boiling down to the process 00:18:52.619 --> 00:18:54.900 itself being incredibly difficult to navigate, 00:18:55.160 --> 00:18:57.279 especially if you lack resources. So it starts 00:18:57.279 --> 00:19:00.079 with the application and inspection? Yeah. The 00:19:00.079 --> 00:19:01.859 research mentioned that FEMA inspectors might 00:19:01.859 --> 00:19:04.099 sometimes undervalue the damage to more modest 00:19:04.099 --> 00:19:06.640 homes. Why would they do that? It could be subtle 00:19:06.640 --> 00:19:08.779 things. Maybe the home doesn't have standard 00:19:08.779 --> 00:19:11.750 building permits? or formal appraisal documents 00:19:11.750 --> 00:19:13.630 aren't readily available, which might be more 00:19:13.630 --> 00:19:17.230 common in lower income or rural areas. The inspector 00:19:17.230 --> 00:19:19.690 might default to a lower damage estimate if the 00:19:19.690 --> 00:19:22.009 paperwork isn't perfect. Or maybe they misjudge 00:19:22.009 --> 00:19:24.430 the type of damage, like calling structural damage 00:19:24.430 --> 00:19:27.549 just minor water damage. Exactly. They might 00:19:27.549 --> 00:19:29.950 use standardized methods that just don't capture 00:19:29.950 --> 00:19:33.150 the reality of fixing up an older or less conventionally 00:19:33.150 --> 00:19:35.569 built home. So the initial payout offer is low. 00:19:35.690 --> 00:19:38.390 And if you disagree, if you know the damage is 00:19:38.390 --> 00:19:41.150 worse, then you face the appeals process. And 00:19:41.150 --> 00:19:43.670 the research describes that process as just brutal 00:19:43.670 --> 00:19:46.750 and discouraging. The amount of documentation 00:19:46.750 --> 00:19:49.930 required, the back and forth, it's overwhelming. 00:19:50.250 --> 00:19:52.190 And that's where the resource gap really kicks 00:19:52.190 --> 00:19:55.069 in. Precisely. If you're already struggling, 00:19:55.230 --> 00:19:57.690 maybe you lost your job, you're living in a shelter, 00:19:57.849 --> 00:20:01.390 finding food. The idea of gathering contractor 00:20:01.390 --> 00:20:04.869 estimates, chasing down receipts from years ago, 00:20:05.049 --> 00:20:07.809 spending hours on hold with FEMA, it becomes 00:20:08.109 --> 00:20:10.289 almost impossible. Whereas someone with more 00:20:10.289 --> 00:20:12.970 financial stability may be paid leave from work. 00:20:13.049 --> 00:20:14.990 They have the luxury of time, as the research 00:20:14.990 --> 00:20:17.529 put it, and the mental energy. Look at the story 00:20:17.529 --> 00:20:19.250 of the hills. Here are the public school teachers. 00:20:19.490 --> 00:20:22.089 Right, both teachers. Schools were closed for 00:20:22.089 --> 00:20:24.490 seven weeks after the storm, but they kept getting 00:20:24.490 --> 00:20:27.309 their full paychecks. That stability was crucial. 00:20:27.890 --> 00:20:30.930 It allowed them, in their words, to pursue every 00:20:30.930 --> 00:20:33.309 dollar. They had the time and headspace to fight 00:20:33.309 --> 00:20:36.109 the bureaucracy. While others just can't. The 00:20:36.109 --> 00:20:38.670 stress, maybe PTSD from the disaster itself, 00:20:38.930 --> 00:20:41.089 makes battling paperwork feel insurmountable. 00:20:41.309 --> 00:20:43.970 Absolutely. For many, just surviving day to day 00:20:43.970 --> 00:20:46.309 takes everything they have. Aggressively pursuing 00:20:46.309 --> 00:20:48.609 aid isn't an option. Let's contrast the Hills 00:20:48.609 --> 00:20:50.730 story, who eventually got close to the maximum 00:20:50.730 --> 00:20:53.049 aid. Yeah, they showed incredible persistence. 00:20:53.150 --> 00:20:56.339 They kept pestering FEMA. as they put it, uploading 00:20:56.339 --> 00:20:59.039 documents, getting new estimates, appealing decisions. 00:20:59.500 --> 00:21:02.400 It took months. But it worked out in the end. 00:21:02.859 --> 00:21:05.339 Relatively speaking, yes. They got close to the 00:21:05.339 --> 00:21:09.559 max IA amount, around $32 ,500 back then. That, 00:21:09.740 --> 00:21:12.980 plus a GoFundMe that raised over $15 ,000 and 00:21:12.980 --> 00:21:15.430 held from volunteer builders. It allowed them 00:21:15.430 --> 00:21:17.750 to do something amazing. They actually moved 00:21:17.750 --> 00:21:20.109 their entire historic house off its foundation 00:21:20.109 --> 00:21:22.910 and onto higher ground, away from the creek that 00:21:22.910 --> 00:21:25.690 flooded it. Wow. So they could rebuild because 00:21:25.690 --> 00:21:28.490 they had the resources and the tenacity to fight 00:21:28.490 --> 00:21:31.230 the system and supplement the aid. Exactly. Now 00:21:31.230 --> 00:21:33.089 contrast that with Michelle Parker, about 40 00:21:33.089 --> 00:21:35.009 miles away in Haywood County. Her story was just 00:21:35.009 --> 00:21:37.250 heartbreaking, repeat disasters. Yeah. She and 00:21:37.250 --> 00:21:38.630 her husband, Jeff, had already lost their home 00:21:38.630 --> 00:21:40.849 once before, rebuilt, and then Helene wiped them 00:21:40.849 --> 00:21:43.220 out again. They applied for one of those hazard 00:21:43.220 --> 00:21:45.299 mitigation buyouts we mentioned, a process that 00:21:45.299 --> 00:21:47.480 takes years. In the meantime, they were living 00:21:47.480 --> 00:21:49.660 in a donated camper. Just trying to get basic 00:21:49.660 --> 00:21:52.339 rental assistance. Even that was a constant battle. 00:21:52.700 --> 00:21:56.519 Months of nagging FEMA, uploading papers, trying 00:21:56.519 --> 00:21:58.920 to understand these incredibly confusing letters 00:21:58.920 --> 00:22:01.579 they send out, endless phone calls. But she was 00:22:01.579 --> 00:22:04.880 dealing with all this stress. And then, the absolute 00:22:04.880 --> 00:22:07.759 tragedy, her husband died suddenly of cardiac 00:22:07.759 --> 00:22:10.210 arrest that June. Oh my goodness. In the midst 00:22:10.210 --> 00:22:12.809 of that grief, the system basically failed her 00:22:12.809 --> 00:22:16.130 again. Because then, major floods hit Texas in 00:22:16.130 --> 00:22:19.710 July. FEMA got overwhelmed. Resources shifted. 00:22:19.730 --> 00:22:21.990 I know. It has on the phone. They ballooned. 00:22:21.990 --> 00:22:24.450 From already long waits to two, even three hours 00:22:24.450 --> 00:22:27.009 on hold. Three hours on hold. And Michelle just 00:22:27.009 --> 00:22:29.269 gave up. She stopped trying to get the additional 00:22:29.269 --> 00:22:31.230 rental assistance she was likely entitled to. 00:22:31.730 --> 00:22:33.750 She told the researchers simply, I got tired 00:22:33.750 --> 00:22:36.009 of calling. I got tired of calling. That's... 00:22:35.799 --> 00:22:37.599 Says it all, doesn't it? When you're grieving, 00:22:37.720 --> 00:22:39.660 living in a camper. The idea of spending three 00:22:39.660 --> 00:22:42.960 hours on hold is just too much. It is. It shows 00:22:42.960 --> 00:22:45.200 how the system itself, the administrative burden, 00:22:45.339 --> 00:22:48.460 the long waits, becomes the barrier. Recovery 00:22:48.460 --> 00:22:50.420 becomes a privilege for those who have the time, 00:22:50.539 --> 00:22:53.799 the energy, the emotional reserves to keep fighting 00:22:53.799 --> 00:22:56.480 that battle. It's not just about the money. It's 00:22:56.480 --> 00:22:59.700 about the capacity to pursue it. Exactly. The 00:22:59.700 --> 00:23:02.079 bureaucratic load filters out the most vulnerable. 00:23:02.269 --> 00:23:05.150 And the terrible irony here is that FEMA actually 00:23:05.150 --> 00:23:07.049 knew this was a problem. They were trying to 00:23:07.049 --> 00:23:10.069 fix their outdated, confusing application system. 00:23:10.390 --> 00:23:13.470 That's right. Their main website, disasterassistance 00:23:13.470 --> 00:23:16.890 .gov, the place survivors apply. It's apparently 00:23:16.890 --> 00:23:19.470 built on tech that's like 17 years old. Ancient 00:23:19.470 --> 00:23:22.430 in tech terms. Totally. And survivors using it 00:23:22.430 --> 00:23:25.119 often just see the word pending. for weeks or 00:23:25.119 --> 00:23:28.160 months. No clear updates, no sense of where their 00:23:28.160 --> 00:23:30.119 application actually is. It's like a black hole. 00:23:30.339 --> 00:23:33.559 Not exactly user -friendly. Not at all. So FEMA 00:23:33.559 --> 00:23:36.539 wanted to modernize it, give people clear, maybe 00:23:36.539 --> 00:23:38.920 Amazon -style updates, application received, 00:23:39.339 --> 00:23:42.119 inspection scheduled, payment approved, transparency. 00:23:42.299 --> 00:23:44.220 That sounds like a great idea. Did they make 00:23:44.220 --> 00:23:46.319 progress? They had hired a really impressive 00:23:46.319 --> 00:23:49.329 team to do it. engineers, designers, product 00:23:49.329 --> 00:23:51.869 managers dedicated to overhauling this system. 00:23:52.029 --> 00:23:54.690 How big was that team? At its peak, research 00:23:54.690 --> 00:23:57.170 suggests there were at least 20 specialized in 00:23:57.170 --> 00:23:59.490 -house people working on this digital modernization. 00:23:59.789 --> 00:24:01.990 Okay, a serious effort. What happened? Well, 00:24:02.069 --> 00:24:04.690 this coincided with administration efforts to 00:24:04.690 --> 00:24:08.049 significantly cut FEMA's overall workforce. They 00:24:08.049 --> 00:24:10.410 lost maybe up to a quarter of their staff in 00:24:10.410 --> 00:24:12.710 some areas. And the modernization team? It just 00:24:12.710 --> 00:24:16.559 evaporated. That team of 20 or more experts shrank 00:24:16.559 --> 00:24:20.019 down to only two people. Two! Two people trying 00:24:20.019 --> 00:24:23.480 to fix and maintain a 17 -year -old system processing 00:24:23.480 --> 00:24:26.400 claims from massive disasters nationwide. It's 00:24:26.400 --> 00:24:28.000 staggering, isn't it? Think about trying to run 00:24:28.000 --> 00:24:30.339 a major online service with just two people on 00:24:30.339 --> 00:24:32.700 the back end during peak demand. It's impossible. 00:24:32.980 --> 00:24:36.359 So the hope for a more transparent, user -friendly 00:24:36.359 --> 00:24:39.819 system, basically... died. Pretty much. Without 00:24:39.819 --> 00:24:42.799 that dedicated in -house expertise, major improvements 00:24:42.799 --> 00:24:45.619 became incredibly unlikely. So survivors are 00:24:45.619 --> 00:24:48.440 still stuck with confusing communication, inconsistent 00:24:48.440 --> 00:24:50.720 information, and these unequal outcomes we've 00:24:50.720 --> 00:24:53.119 been talking about. The system remains opaque 00:24:53.119 --> 00:24:55.279 and difficult. Okay, let's try to pull all these 00:24:55.279 --> 00:24:57.539 threads together. We started out wanting to understand 00:24:57.539 --> 00:24:59.839 the risks after the storm, and the research seems 00:24:59.839 --> 00:25:02.480 to show this pattern, this bottleneck, really 00:25:02.480 --> 00:25:04.920 at every single stage. Yeah, it's like a pipeline 00:25:04.920 --> 00:25:07.400 that's clogged up at multiple points. And the 00:25:07.400 --> 00:25:09.319 failures aren't isolated. They compound each 00:25:09.319 --> 00:25:13.119 other. Right. So point one. Readiness is undermined 00:25:13.119 --> 00:25:15.420 before the storm because preparedness grants 00:25:15.420 --> 00:25:17.680 get delayed or frozen, sometimes for reasons 00:25:17.680 --> 00:25:21.440 completely unrelated to disasters like that EMPG 00:25:21.440 --> 00:25:24.119 issue. Which forces states into less efficient 00:25:24.119 --> 00:25:26.440 spending and leaves them short staffed when the 00:25:26.440 --> 00:25:29.759 crisis hits. Then, point two. After the storm, 00:25:30.160 --> 00:25:31.759 local governments doing the essential cleanup 00:25:31.759 --> 00:25:34.920 face potential bankruptcy because the reimbursement 00:25:34.920 --> 00:25:37.500 system gets bogged down by new layers of review, 00:25:37.799 --> 00:25:40.259 like defend the spend. Right, layers supposedly 00:25:40.259 --> 00:25:42.940 for fighting fraud, but which primarily just 00:25:42.940 --> 00:25:45.359 slow down legitimate payments, potentially damaging 00:25:45.359 --> 00:25:47.579 county credit ratings, and costing taxpayers 00:25:47.579 --> 00:25:50.380 more in the long run. And finally, point three. 00:25:50.759 --> 00:25:52.980 When individuals try to get help, the process 00:25:52.980 --> 00:25:56.079 itself is so burdensome and may be hampered by 00:25:56.079 --> 00:25:58.299 internal FEMA issues like the failed digital 00:25:58.299 --> 00:26:00.819 upgrade and staff cuts that it ends up favoring 00:26:00.819 --> 00:26:03.599 those with more resources. Yeah, creating these 00:26:03.599 --> 00:26:06.460 measurable income disparities where higher income 00:26:06.460 --> 00:26:09.579 folks get significantly more aid simply because 00:26:09.579 --> 00:26:11.819 they have the time and stability to navigate 00:26:11.819 --> 00:26:14.460 the brutal appeals process. So the bottom line 00:26:14.460 --> 00:26:17.119 seems to be a systemic slowdown across the board. 00:26:17.259 --> 00:26:20.579 Whether it's intentional policy choices, bureaucratic 00:26:20.579 --> 00:26:23.359 inertia, workforce issues, or political priorities 00:26:23.359 --> 00:26:26.299 interfering, the end result is that the money 00:26:26.299 --> 00:26:29.180 pipeline for recovery gets constricted. And crucially, 00:26:29.799 --> 00:26:32.539 at every stage of that slowdown, it's the most 00:26:32.539 --> 00:26:35.279 vulnerable who are hit hardest. The small towns 00:26:35.279 --> 00:26:38.299 with tiny staffs, the lower income families without 00:26:38.299 --> 00:26:41.099 savings or paid leave, they're the ones least 00:26:41.099 --> 00:26:43.369 equipped to fight the bureaucratic machine. Which 00:26:43.369 --> 00:26:45.430 leads to this really important question, doesn't 00:26:45.430 --> 00:26:46.990 it? This raises an important question. Yeah. 00:26:47.450 --> 00:26:49.769 We see the system rewards persistence. It rewards 00:26:49.769 --> 00:26:52.170 resources. It almost requires a certain level 00:26:52.170 --> 00:26:54.910 of privilege just to navigate disaster recovery 00:26:54.910 --> 00:26:58.329 successfully. So as these extreme weather events 00:26:58.329 --> 00:27:01.720 become more common, more intense. What can communities 00:27:01.720 --> 00:27:04.359 do, especially the smaller ones, the ones with 00:27:04.359 --> 00:27:07.339 fewer resources to begin with? How can they prepare 00:27:07.339 --> 00:27:10.119 not just for the wind and rain, but for the inevitable 00:27:10.119 --> 00:27:12.980 bureaucratic battle that comes afterwards? How 00:27:12.980 --> 00:27:15.359 do you build capacity for that fight? That is 00:27:15.359 --> 00:27:17.480 the question, isn't it? It shits the idea of 00:27:17.480 --> 00:27:19.720 resilience. It's not just about building stronger 00:27:19.720 --> 00:27:21.980 levies. It's about building stronger administrative 00:27:21.980 --> 00:27:24.779 muscle, better advocacy, maybe pre -disaster 00:27:24.779 --> 00:27:27.299 legal prep at the local level. That's a whole 00:27:27.299 --> 00:27:29.279 different kind of preparedness. A provocative 00:27:29.279 --> 00:27:31.710 thought indeed. something for all of us, especially 00:27:31.710 --> 00:27:34.450 community leaders, to really consider. Well, 00:27:34.470 --> 00:27:36.349 thank you for walking us through that complex 00:27:36.349 --> 00:27:38.890 and, frankly, quite sobering research. It's a 00:27:38.890 --> 00:27:41.349 crucial perspective on what happens long after 00:27:41.349 --> 00:27:43.650 the cameras leave. Absolutely. Important stuff 00:27:43.650 --> 00:27:46.369 to understand. Stay informed, everyone, and stay 00:27:46.369 --> 00:27:48.609 safe. And before you go, please do take a moment 00:27:48.609 --> 00:27:51.410 to like, follow, comment, or rate the Meteorology 00:27:51.410 --> 00:27:53.349 Matters podcast. It really helps others find 00:27:53.349 --> 00:27:55.289 the show. Yeah, definitely appreciate the support. 00:27:55.500 --> 00:27:58.119 And for more expert weather insights, be sure 00:27:58.119 --> 00:28:00.559 to follow meteorologist Rob Jones. You can find 00:28:00.559 --> 00:28:02.700 him on Instagram. His handle is meteorologist 00:28:02.700 --> 00:28:06.119 on TikTok. He's TV meteorologist. That's right. 00:28:06.299 --> 00:28:08.420 And check out his YouTube channel by following 00:28:08.420 --> 00:28:10.980 Rob Jones Hurricane. That's also where you can 00:28:10.980 --> 00:28:13.920 find the full playlist for this podcast, Meteorology 00:28:13.920 --> 00:28:16.400 Matters. Lots of great content there. Absolutely. 00:28:16.619 --> 00:28:18.039 Thanks again for tuning in. We'll catch you next 00:28:18.039 --> 00:28:18.220 time.