The Lucy Bickers, who lived in Swannanoa, who received support from Fema after the Hurricane Helene had damaged her property, kept a sign to support the government's disaster authority, while on the path of USAM 24, 2025 in Swannanoa, North Carolina, US President Donald Trump's automotive.
Jonathan Drake | Reuters
While the Trump administration is moving to the process of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the changes for homeowners could make it more difficult to recover from a natural disaster, experts say.
This underlines a point insurance expert: Fema helps states and individuals in the event of a nationwide natural disaster, but according to Charles Nyce, risk management and an insurance professor at Florida State University.
“There are many different things that the Fema does really well, but one of the things they are not designed for is a replacement for insurance cover for individuals,” said Nyce.
How the Fema could change
President Donald Trump said in a press conference on June 10, he planned to “start phases [FEMA] From “after this year's hurricane season, which extends from June 1 to November 30th.
Trump also said that the government “spend less money” and “publish it directly from the president's office”: “We will do it much differently.”
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“In the next few months we will work on reforms and what Fema will look like in the future as a different agency like in the Department of Homeland Security,” said DHS Secretary Kristi Noem in the briefing.
When asked about the potential changes, a Fema spokesman CNBC announced that the “Laser concentrated” agency was on the disaster reaction for this hurricane season and the “protection of the American people”.
The Department of Homeland Security proposed to reduce 646 million US dollars from the FEMA budget for the 2026 financial year, as a letter from the Office for Management and Budget in May. In April, the FEMA announced that it would end a program for disaster prevention and reduction that returns the financing of 882 million US dollars to the Ministry of Finance.
Such actions are “ruthless”, Senator Raphael Warnock, DG.A. wrote to Noem in a letter dated June 5.
The administration and the DHS “have” worked arbitrarily and responsibly to reduce the nation's leading disaster reaction agency without practicable alternative or sense of direction, “he wrote.
More is held responsible for the citizens to be prepared.
Charles Nyce
A risk management and insurance professor at Florida State University
“The FEMA will not be able to operate in the past,” said Jeremy Porter, head of the effects of the climate at First Street Foundation, a non -profit research organization that focuses on the climate cranic.
He and other experts say that the proposed changes to the administration would take more responsibility to determine the financial resources to help individuals to recover from natural disasters.
Which types of auxiliary feman offers
While the Fema offers grants and resources to help individuals and communities recover from physically declared disasters, the help is interpreted as a supplement for something that is not covered by its home owner insurance policy, said Nyce.
The way the agency helps individual homeowners is to grant small grants for non -insured losses, said Nyce. For example, the money can cover temporary apartments for a day or week.
From 2010 to 2019, the average payment for individual help via FEMA was USA 3,522. This goes from a report 2024 of the Brookings Institution, a non -party think tank in Washington, DC,
The agency also offers disaster loans with low interest rates via the small business association that cover losses that are not covered by insurance, grants or other resources. According to a Fema publication from the beginning of this month, interest rates for homeowners and tenants, 4% for companies and 3.25% for non -profit organizations at up to 30 years can only be 2.688%.
“They are really designed in such a way that people only have enough money to find out what their next steps are,” said Porter.
As a rule, the Fema will support the emergency management agency of a state after a catastrophe, said Nyce. But now is the expectation that states will play a major role in disaster recovery.
“With cuts at the federal level for the recovery of disasters, it will put more financially burden on the states to enable relaxation,” said Nyce.
“More of a responsibility about the citizens to be prepared”
It is uncertain how much and what kind of natural disaster aid will be available for individuals for individuals after the agency has passed, say experts.
“It is more likely to be responsible for the citizens,” said Nyce.
One way to do this is to take a closer look at your house insurance protection. See whether you have to make changes to your guideline. You may also need additional cover, e.g. B. flood insurance.
Make sure you have enough supplies to commit yourself for yourself for one or two or three days, said Nyce. This includes dry food, batteries, water and a radio. It is also wise to collect important financial documents to save in a safe place.
If civil servants in their region advise the residents to evacuate in view of a catastrophe, they also want to consider, instead of trying to protect at home, he said.
“It can be more prudent,” said Nyce.