My heart goes out to all the folks whose lives have been upended by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. As the warming of Earth’s oceans and atmosphere continues unabated—due to humanity’s inability to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels—tropical storms have become supercharged and more destructive over a much wider area.

Such was the case recently when America’s southeastern states were hit by Hurricanes Helene (September 26-28) and Milton (October 9-10). It’s not just their wind speeds that make these storms deadly. Their size, speed, and capacity to hold more moisture can wreak havoc over more extensive areas. What’s more, their rapid intensification has alarmed our meteorologists. Within just two days, the unusually warm water of the Gulf of Mexico transformed Hurricane Helene from a relatively weak tropical storm into a historic Category 4 hurricane for this time of the year. Not to be outdone, Hurricane Milton took just over 48 hours to intensify from a tropical depression to a Category 5 Hurricane, according to NOAA Climate.gov. This is bad news. Millions of people in their projected path may not have sufficient time in which to evacuate to safety.

After making landfall on Thursday night, September 26, 2024, along Florida’s Big Bend with wind speeds up to 140 mph (225 kph) and a storm surge of up to 15 feet (4.6 meters), Hurricane Helene veered northeastwards toward Central Georgia and onward for over 500 miles (804 kilometers) across South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. With an expansion of about 200 miles (322 kilometers) and supercharged with moisture, Helene washed away roads, commercial buildings, homes, vehicles, and felled power lines. Millions of people across these six states are now without power, cellphone connection, and access to water.

When a natural disaster of this magnitude occurs, it matters knowing that there’s help to rebuild our lives. State government officials, regardless of their political affiliation, know that they can call on the federal government for emergency assistance. After the protocol for approving Major or Emergency Declarations from affected states, Democratic President Joe Biden coordinated a federal response together with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

You would think that during a natural disaster of such magnitude, we would be able to put aside our political differences. Not so, for some among us. The opposition Master of Chaos and his minions soon spread disinformation and outright lies about the selective or lack of federal response, jeopardizing FEMA’s work on the ground. To counter the threats to the safety of their staff and volunteers, the Agency was forced to set up a line/link to tackle the false rumors.

Check out the following links for more information:

• If you live in any of the disaster zones, you can learn more about FEMA’s response and how you can obtain assistance.
• You can also find resources to help you recover from the disaster at USA.gov.
• If you’ve experienced flooding and have flood insurance from FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program, learn more about filing your flood insurance claim at How Do I Start My Claim.

While California has its full share of natural disasters, due mainly to wildfires and flash flooding, the city where we live has not yet suffered a major natural disaster. Given our ongoing climate crisis, I know that it’s just a matter of time. No place is safe from a climate change disaster. Just ask the folks in Asheville, a city of over 93,000 people in western North Carolina, who promoted their city as a climate change haven. After all, they’re located in a mountain region, hundreds of miles away from both coasts.

In addition to dealing with the latest disinformation and lies about FEMA, we the people have a real challenge. Will the Agency have the funds necessary to deal with an increasing number of multi-state natural disasters, like we now face after Hurricanes Helene and Milton?

I’ve learned from FEMA’s official government website that the Agency—established in April 1979 by Democratic President Carter—became better prepared to deal with natural disasters during Republican President Trump’s administration. The historic Atlantic hurricane season and extreme wildfire disasters in 2017 alerted his administration to the need for building a culture of preparedness and reducing FEMA’s complexity. To implement these goals, the U.S. Congress passed the Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018. “The legislation is a landmark law that highlights the federal government’s commitment to increasing investments in mitigation and building the capabilities of state, local, tribal and territorial partners.”

There’s proposed legislation right now before the U.S. Congress, known as the Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act, to increase FEMA’s budget to no less than $15 billion “to address climate-related disasters, including hurricanes, flooding, extreme heat, and wildfires, of which not less than $3 billion shall be used to carry out the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program under section 2036 of the [1974] Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act.”

As presented by Democrat Senator Chris Van Hollen (Maryland) and House Representative Jerry Nadler (New York), the Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act would levy charges on companies that extract and refine fossil fuels in the U.S. to create a $1 trillion fund to address “harm and damages” caused.  The bill was presented on September 12, 2024, before Hurricanes Helene and Milton devastated the southeastern states, the majority of which are governed by Republicans. Perhaps, this bill may gain some traction. Perhaps not.

The Heritage Foundation Mandate/Project 2025 presents a very dismal diagnosis of FEMA’s fiscal health. In “Chapter 5: Department of Homeland Security,” Ken Cuccinelli calls for needed reform as “the lead federal agency in preparing for and responding to disasters…is overtasked, overcompensates for the lack of state and local preparedness and response, and is regularly in deep debt” (p.153). He regards FEMA’s operational system and relationship with the states as vulnerable to favoritism and misappropriation of funds.

In case you had forgotten like me, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was created by Republican President George W. Bush in 2002, following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. FEMA became a distinct agency within the DHS in 2006 because of the historic and deadliest Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. Cuccinelli’s “primary recommendation is that the President pursue legislation to dismantle the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).” In such an event, FEMA could be moved to the Department of the Interior or the Department of Transportation.

Whether or not FEMA is decoupled from the Department of Homeland Security, the Agency will face even greater pressure and costs in responding to natural disasters across our homeland. For our part, we must work at building connections within our communities. In the immediate aftermath of a disaster, before help arrives, our survival would depend on taking care of each other. The stories of courage and generosity, during this latest natural disaster, warm my heart.