Tropical Storm Harvey is headed right towards the coast of Texas. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) says it is gaining strength and will become a major hurricane.
The NHC is warning of an astounding 30" of rain, flash flooding and “life-threatening” storm surges:
This historic flooding comes during the very same week Trump’s newly appointed Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) administrator Brock Long has proposed changes in how the federal government responds to flood victims:
Brock Long, who was confirmed in June as the administrator at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said taxpayers shouldn’t be on the hook for homes that keep flooding, and the threshold for triggering federal public assistance after a disaster might be too low. He also expressed support for an Obama administration idea to make local governments pay more when a hurricane or flood hits.
President Obama tried shifting some of financial burden to the states and it did not turn out so well:
State and local governments cried foul after FEMA under President Barack Obama proposed shifting onto them the initial costs of rebuilding roads, bridges or buildings after a storm. And the 5 million households with federal flood insurance rely on that program for protection against hurricanes or floods; after Congress tried to rewrite that program five years ago to cut the federal subsidy, it had to beat a retreat in the face of voter anger.
Trump’s budget would eliminate all funding for floodplain mapping:
The administration is proposing to eliminate all funding for floodplain mapping. FEMA is responsible for mapping areas of the country at the highest risk of flooding. These maps are used by all communities to make day-to-day decisions on where to allow development. They also inform the design and location of public and private buildings and infrastructure. The Trump administration justifies this proposal by stating that the maps only benefit the five million people who buy flood insurance, but the fact is that all cities, towns, and states use these maps for many different purposes. With climate change raising sea levels and increasing flooding, this tool is needed more than ever to guide development away from areas that are prone to flooding now and in the future.
And while Trump’s selection of Brock Long won some praise from politicians on both sides of the aisle, Trump’s budget cuts are a problem for the agency:
In his budget blueprint for 2018, Mr. Trump wants to reduce FEMA’s state and local program grants by $600 million. The administration says many of the grants were not authorized by Congress.
Some of the budget cuts would slash programs aimed at mitigating flood damage by moving critical services out of flood zones:
The office of Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city could lose millions for programs under FEMA, including counterterrorism assistance grants. The Police Department uses the grants for its bomb squad, dog training, intelligence analysis, active-shooter training and on equipment to detect radiological and chemical attacks.
The budget also eliminates money for efforts to improve and redraw the nation’s flood maps and cuts about $90 million from the Pre-Disaster Mitigation Program. The program provides funding to local communities to move people to safer locations and to help rebuild schools, hospitals and police and fire stations so they can better withstand the impact of hurricanes and coastal storms.
As the National Hurricane Center continues to issue increasingly strong warnings for the Texas and Gulf Coast, Trump is busy tweeting tweeting eclipse memes of himself.
Buckle up, a major test of Trump’s leadership is barreling toward the Gulf Coast.