Communities across the country are grieving after catastrophic flash flooding swept through central Texas over the July 4 weekend, claiming more than 100 lives. The tragedy underscores a hard reality: extreme weather events are no longer rare anomalies. In recent years, deadly flash floods have struck areas of western New York, Tennessee, Kentucky, Vermont, and beyond.
Flash flooding is particularly dangerous because it does not follow a predictable season. Unlike hurricanes or wildfires, these events can occur almost anywhere, at any time, and with little warning. When torrential rainfall overwhelms the ground’s ability to absorb water, entire neighborhoods can be submerged within minutes, leaving little time to react.
What these disasters do not discriminate by is politics. Floodwaters do not recognize party lines, voting districts, or state borders. In their aftermath, survivors need swift assistance and coordination—not partisan conflict. Historically, disaster response in the United States has relied on trained professionals at the federal, state, and local levels working together with a shared goal: saving lives and supporting recovery.
That long-standing framework, however, may be on the verge of a major shift.
A changing approach to federal disaster management
Early in his second term, President Trump signaled a reexamination of the federal government’s role in disaster response by creating a review council focused on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The administration raised concerns about the agency’s effectiveness, pointing to tens of billions of dollars in annual disaster spending while arguing that many communities still lack timely support when crises strike.
Those concerns were reinforced in May when Homeland Security leadership testified before Congress about plans to redefine FEMA’s mission, placing greater responsibility on states, local governments, and individuals to drive preparedness and resilience efforts.
By early June, the administration went further, announcing intentions to gradually wind down FEMA’s operations, with the possibility of dissolving the agency after the current hurricane season and shifting disaster response responsibilities directly to state governments.
In short, the structure Americans have relied on for decades may soon look very different.
Weighing the trade-offs of state-led disaster response
Transferring more disaster management authority to states presents both potential advantages and serious challenges.
On one hand, having fewer layers of coordination could streamline emergency response. Disasters often trigger a complex web of agencies across multiple levels of government, and simplifying that structure could reduce delays and confusion during critical moments.
On the other hand, states would face immense financial and operational pressure. At the same time federal agencies such as the National Weather Service and NOAA are experiencing staffing and budget reductions, states may lack the forecasting, technical expertise, and funding necessary to fill the gap. Disaster response is expensive, and absorbing these costs raises difficult questions: Will states need to raise taxes, cut other essential services, or rely on new funding mechanisms to pay for emergency preparedness and recovery?
Another unresolved issue is mitigation funding. Investments in disaster prevention—such as flood control, infrastructure upgrades, and early warning systems—are widely recognized as cost-effective, often returning multiple dollars in savings for every dollar spent. How those programs would be funded and administered in a post-FEMA landscape remains unclear.
An uncertain future with high stakes
Redefining disaster management in the United States is no small task. Policymakers at every level will need to address not only who responds when disaster strikes, but how early warning systems are maintained, how mitigation efforts are financed, and how recovery is coordinated when lives and billions of dollars are on the line.
As extreme weather events become more frequent and severe, these decisions grow increasingly urgent. Whether responsibility ultimately rests with federal agencies, state governments, or a new hybrid model, one reality is unavoidable: the next disaster is not a matter of if, but when.
The question now is whether the nation will be ready—and who will be in charge when the waters rise again.
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