Stories by Thomas Frank

President Trump is the first president in at least three decades to deny governors’ requests for funding that’s meant to protect people and property

FEMA and NOAA officials are being forced to skip major hurricane and flood conferences ahead of disaster season because of Trump administration restrictions on travel for federal employees

An internal FEMA memo says the agency is canceling future and existing grants that help states and tribes prepare for floods, tornadoes and other disasters

Revelations that Trump's Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem plans to abolish or shrink the Federal Emergency Management Agency sent shock waves through state and local emergency responders

A previously undisclosed FEMA review could block disaster assistance to millions of undocumented people and deter legal immigrants from seeking help in extreme weather

The Federal Emergency Management Agency must show in one week whether it is complying with a judge’s ruling that blocks the Trump administration disaster aid freeze

Court documents indicate the administration has begun a campaign to block states from receiving funds for projects that would reduce climate-related damage

The delivery of disaster aid is on the Government Accountability Office's High-Risk List for the first time as climate-related costs soar, Federal Emergency Management Agency staffing lags, and the Trump administration makes further cuts

After firing 200 first-year employees this weekend, FEMA was directed "to make a list" of anyone who worked on climate or equity

President Donald Trump’s sudden move to freeze federal grants is hitting states where people are struggling to recover from wildfires and hurricanes

President Trump has revoked a 1994 directive that required agencies to protect minority or low-income areas from pollution and health hazards

Damages from the recent fires in the Los Angeles area could overwhelm California’s already stressed insurer of last resort

President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security and its disaster agency has said people aren’t driving temperature increases and declined to accept federal climate money for disaster preparedness as governor of South Dakota

The Small Business Association has announced that loans to those affected by hurricanes and other disasters have been halted to wait for more money from Congress. But the House speaker says nothing will happen until after the presidential election

Without more funding, FEMA may be forced to restrict spending and suspend rebuilding projects

Florida is scrambling to clear storm-damaged areas before Hurricane Milton makes landfall

The conservative Project 2025 playbook for a possible Trump presidency calls for cutting aid for disasters such as Hurricane Helene

Hurricane Helene fueled catastrophic flooding from Florida to Appalachia, leaving millions without power

Days after Hurricane Beryl hit Houston and left millions without power, the city was hit with a dangerous heat wave

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is requiring any construction project it funds to be elevated above local flood levels

The CDC’s new Heat and Health Index looks at the vulnerability of 32,000 neighborhoods to extreme heat using demographic and health statistics

The Department of Housing and Urban Development long refused to pay cooling costs for public housing, but climate-change-fueled heat waves have underscored the public health need

Places beset by heat waves should receive FEMA disaster funds just as those hit by hurricanes or flooding do, labor unions, green groups and public health advocates argue in a new petition

Poorer households face climate-related dangers during heat waves amid climbing electricity costs, a report by state energy officials warns