FEMA overhauls disaster assistance program as climate crisis fuels more destructive extreme weather

By Ella Nilsen, CNN

(CNN) — The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is changing the way it responds to natural disasters, it announced Friday, as the climate crisis fuels more extreme weather events and causes more destruction to people’s homes.

The measures include giving wider access to an immediate $750 per person impacted by extreme weather, which can include storms, hurricanes, fires and tornadoes. The rules will take effect on March 22.

The overhaul of FEMA’s system comes after years of criticism that disaster survivors have to jump through hoops to access assistance that’s needed immediately. Other criticisms include inequity of who can access help, and inadequate payouts to help people rebuild damaged homes.

Deanne Criswell, who heads FEMA, told reporters on Thursday that the uptick in extreme weather called for a faster and more streamlined assistance program.

“The fact that Mother Nature is not letting up, the fact that we are breaking records year after year as disasters become deadly, more frequent, and more severe — we need to be better prepared to recover from natural disasters faster and more effectively,” Criswell said, adding that the changes were the most significant in two decades.

Criswell acknowledged criticisms of long wait times and additional red tape survivors have to navigate in the immediate aftermath of a disaster, and as they try to rebuild their homes.

“What I can tell all of you is that we can do better and that the survivors deserve better,” Criswell said.

Under the new approach, more survivors of disasters will be eligible for a one-time $750 payment, which is disbursed to help with costs like food, shelter, and evacuation, and make access to funds for home repairs easier.

FEMA will also establish a new fund for immediate housing, aimed at giving survivors flexibility on what kind of accommodation to stay in, including friends’ and relatives’ homes.

“This benefit is going to bridge the gap for those who need rental assistance and keep survivors housed in the aftermath of an event,” Criswell said.

The human-caused climate crisis is fuelling an increase in the severity and number of extreme weather events. Governments around the world are having to pour more money into disaster response.

FEMA is also stripping previous requirements making disaster survivors apply for US Small Business Administration loans before they are considered eligible for funds for personal property losses. It’s also scrapping a previous insurance cap that prevented disaster survivors getting additional assistance to help rebuild their homes.

“We are eliminating red tape, expanding eligibility, and establishing new benefits so that we can get more survivors more support,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters. “Today we are delivering for the people who most need our help, when they need it most.”

In addition, FEMA will implement several more changes to attempt to connect more people to assistance, making it easier for late applicants to get in the queue for assistance and making the appeals process easier for those who are denied. The agency is also rolling out new websites for disaster and temporary lodging that are intended to be easier for survivors to navigate.

Criswell said FEMA “took a hard look” at its assistance programs as it planned the overhaul. “We knew that there was so much more we could be doing to help survivors get the assistance that they need to get back on their feet,” she said.

The funding for the new programs will still come from the agency’s disaster relief fund, which came close to running out of money last year amid a record number of billion-dollar disasters, combined with delays in Congress passing a spending bill to replenish it.

In 2023, the US experienced 28 separate weather and climate disasters costing at least $1 billion in damage, according to a final tally from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Last year saw deadly disasters, from Maui’s wildfires to historic summer floods in New England. But the costliest disaster was the drought impacting the South and Midwest, which decreased crop yields and lead to a saltwater intrusion into southern Louisiana’s water supply. The drought impacts alone cost around $14.5 billion.

The agency has found itself responding to disasters year-round. Just a few weeks into 2024, strong coastal and winter storms have not let up. A major coastal storm surge and heavy rain battered Maine, leading to historic flooding in some parts of the state – and its second such storm this year. FEMA officials are already starting to assess that storm’s damage in Maine.

CNN’s Angela Dewan contributed to this report.

This story has been updated.

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