With hurricane season less than two weeks away, U.S. federal disaster agency FEMA has cut its training for state and local emergency managers.
Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that reducing or cutting training could leave storm-prone communities less prepared to deal with hurricanes’ aftermath.
Forecasters predict an intense hurricane season in 2025 and say forecasts already indicate eerie similarities to the destructive 2024 season. One key indicator for this year’s forecast is the warm waters in the Gulf and Caribbean, which fuel storm development.
Shore Daily News reports that AccuWeather predicts 13 to 18 named storms in 2025, including seven to 10 hurricanes, three to five major hurricanes, and three to six direct impacts on the United States.
Another alarming prediction from AccuWeather is that the season is expected to start fast. Forecasters predict the season, which begins June 1, will then have a lull followed by a pick-up from September through November, like last year’s pattern.
‘Don’t Get In My Way’ FEMA Acting Director Warns
FEMA’s decision to cut training couldn’t come at a worse time.
The 2024 season was one of the costliest on record. AccuWeather estimates that storms in 2024 caused approximately $500 billion in total damages and economic losses.
President Donald Trump recently fired FEMA’s acting chief, Cameron Hamilton, a day after Hamilton told lawmakers the agency should be preserved. His sentiments come amid unprecedented layoffs across federal agencies as the administration prioritizes reducing the federal workforce.
Hamilton’s successor, David Richardson, reportedly told FEMA employees that he would “run right over” any staff opposed to his implementation of Trump’s vision for a smaller agency. On a call, the Associated Press reports, he warned the 20% of staffers he estimates could resist change.
“Don’t get in my way if you’re those 20% of the people,” Richardson said, according to the AP. “I know all the tricks. I am as bent on achieving the president’s intent as I was on making sure that I did my duty when I took my Marines to Iraq.”
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