FEMA’s Work Following Harvey vs. Maria: Disaster Relief Difficult but Effort Counts

In addition to the disappointingly sluggish nature of federal relief efforts in general, it is clear that the timeline for recovery on the mainland is markedly different from that of a U.S. territory. At this point there is no concealing the double standard.

Emma Fiala
By Emma Fiala
With photographs of hurricane damage on Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands below them, Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, left, Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., attend a Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources hearing on hurricane recovery, Nov. 14, 2017, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP/Jacquelyn Martin)

Three months after Hurricane Harvey hit Texas, more than 47,000 flood victims continue to live in hotels. Tens of thousands more are living with relatives, in barely habitable homes, or scraping by with other arrangements. Local Houston officials estimate that Harvey destroyed or damaged more than 311,000 individual housing units -- a whopping

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With Natural Disasters On The Rise, Volunteers Are Stepping In Where FEMA Falls Short

Where the government fails, ordinary Americans are stepping in to look out for one another, a model that is proving increasingly effective.

Jason Casella | We Do Better
By Jason Casella | We Do Better
Volunteer rescue boats make their way into a flooded subdivision to rescue stranded residents as floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey rise Monday, Aug. 28, 2017, in Spring, Texas. (AP/David J. Phillip)

Opinion -- Recently, I’ve been reading and hearing a lot about groups like the Cajun Navy, which rescued hundreds of people during Hurricane Harvey. The organization formed spontaneously in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and is stimulating a new and much-needed conversation. When you compare the voluntary provision of important public services by

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FEMA Investigator Claims World Trade Center ‘Vault Contents Emptied Before Attack…

In a shocking report published by The Sun, former Federal Emergency Management Agency employee Kurt Sonnenfeld says he has evidence proving that certain insiders were privy to the attacks, perhaps even including President George W. Bush.

Mac Slavo
By Mac Slavo
The twin towers of the World Trade Center burn behind the Empire State Building in New York.(AP Photo/Marty Lederhandler)

The attacks of September 11th, 2001 will forever be mired in doubt and suspicion by millions of people who saw the events live on their televisions. Almost immediately following the attacks theories began to emerge. Were the hijackers operatives for a Western intelligence service? How did a passport from one of the terrorists survive completely

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State Of Emergency Declared As Massive Wildfires Spread Across 5 States

Four other states also fighting massive blazes, including drought-stricken California.

Nadia Prupis
By Nadia Prupis
U.S. Forest Service emergency workers in Washington state cut brush as wildfires rage near residential areas. (Photo: AP)

Three firefighters were killed this week and President Barack Obama on Friday issued an emergency order over wildfires raging through central Washington state. Emergency workers from Australia and New Zealand have been flown in to help the crews currently fighting blazes in five states, including Washington, California, Montana, Idaho, and

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What Happened After Congress Announced Rising Sea Levels? Very Little

Congress acknowledged climate change through the rising of sea levels last year, but no progress has been made on how to protect from the future risks of flooding.

Theodoric Meyer, ProPublica
By Theodoric Meyer, ProPublica

  Congress did something unusual last year. It passed a bill that acknowledged that sea levels are rising — i.e., that climate change is happening. The measure in question, buried near the end of a 584-page transportation funding bill, also required some modest action: That the Federal Emergency Management Agency use “the best

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Hurricane Sandy Victims Still Waiting On Federal Insurance Payments

One year after the storm, New Jersey residents report being “treated like criminals” for demanding their insurance payments.

Trisha Marczak
By Trisha Marczak

A year after Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc on New Jersey’s shore, home and business owners are still wading through a mess of red tape, calling out the government for delaying payments and aid while refusing to answer complaints. The sentiment among those still waiting for flood insurance policies through the government’s National Flood Insurance

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