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US forecasters warn of above-average hurricane season

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FEMA projected to deplete its disaster relief fund

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Residents, towns, foundations try to boost prep, response

By David Sherfinski

RICHMOND, Virginia, June 19 (Thomson Reuters Foundation)

- H is home wrecked by flooding, Texas resident Kevin McKinney

had to borrow money from his wife's retirement fund to cover

some of the cost of repairing damage wrought by the aftermath of

Hurricane Harvey in 2017.

"I had three feet (0.9 meters) of water in my home for eight

days," McKinney told the Thomson Reuters Foundation, saying 500

fellow residents had "lost everything" due to flooding in the

storm's wake.

Nearly seven years on, and with forecasters projecting an

especially fierce hurricane season, McKinney fears another big

storm could strike his neighborhood in the city of Richwood.

Several deadly storms have already hit Texas this year.

"You look at the projections this year ... (and) I think

we're in pretty (big) trouble," McKinney said. "I hope not, but

we all are on pins and needles."

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

has forecast up to 25 named storms and an 85% chance of more

hurricane activity than normal.

"This year we're exceptionally concerned about the Texas

coast, Florida Panhandle, South Florida, and the Carolinas,"

said Alex DaSilva, lead hurricane forecaster for the weather

forecasting company AccuWeather.

At the same time, concern is growing that the federal

government may already be running out of funds to respond to

weather-related disasters that are becoming more frequent and

destructive due to climate change.

The latest projections by the Federal Emergency

Management Agency (FEMA) suggest its disaster relief fund - used

to respond to major disasters - is forecast to run a deficit by

September, as it had been on track to do last year.

"I hope last year was an anomaly, (but) the fact is we are

trending towards ... more costly disasters, which is going to

necessitate that fund being available and robust," said Chad

Berginnis, executive director of the Association of State

Floodplain Managers.

NEED 'FAR EXCEEDS' RESOURCES

When the fund approached depletion last year, FEMA had to

move to an "immediate needs" designation - essentially delaying

non-emergency projects that could bolster preparation for

disasters in the future - before Congress authorized additional

money.

"There are large and complex projects, and it can really

throw those projects off when you have a delay in payment or

reimbursement," said Berginnis, a former state hazard mitigation

officer in Ohio.

"While the delay issue is problematic, we live right now in

a time where the need for doing hazard mitigation or resilience

far exceeds the available resources, even at the federal level."

A FEMA spokesperson said the agency continues to work with

the Biden administration and Congress to ensure sufficient

funding is available.

The agency in January announced a series of reforms, like

streamlining applications for assistance, intended to get relief

to disaster survivors more quickly.

Immediate assistance post-disaster can be spotty.

McKinney said he eventually got $30,000 worth of help from

FEMA after Harvey but added that there appeared to be no logic

to how money was doled out in his area.

"Some people only got four or five thousand (dollars)

because they had a two-story home and some of us got $30,000,"

he said.

LOCAL SOLUTIONS

As FEMA's ability to respond to and prepare for disasters

becomes more strained, community groups and foundations across

the country are stepping up to fill the gaps.

In hurricane-prone Florida, the Miami Foundation set up

a revolving resilience fund after the Surfside apartment

collapse in 2021. The fund initially started with about $5

million and has since swelled to $8 million.

"If you've ever gone through a hurricane, you know that

after the storm hits it is all chaos," said Nikisha Williams,

managing director of collective impact at the Miami Foundation.

"And when you have the money and the time to prepare, you

are able to just help out in a different way - you're able to

help people, you're able to buy supplies when they are, on some

level, cheaper than they are if the storm already hits and then

the surge pricing goes up."

Post-Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, residents have taken

steps to accept "living with water" through novel uses of new

drainage strategies and absorbent plant life.

Berginnis pointed to other local-level efforts such as the

stormwater management system that has been in place for some

time in Charlotte, North Carolina.

In South Holland, Illinois, a small village south of

Chicago, local officials have launched a rebate program for

homeowners who reduce flood risk on their properties, he added.

"It's encouraging that you don't have to be a big,

sophisticated community to do it ... you just need to have the

will to do it and a mechanism to go forward," he said.

(Reporting by David Sherfinski; Editing by Helen Popper. The

Thomson Reuters Foundation is the charitable arm of Thomson

Reuters. Visit https://www.context.news/)