When Hurricane Idalia was approaching Florida, you could see its size and speed, but the agency leading the federal response saw something else: bills.
According to FEMA director Deanna Criswell, the agency’s emergency management relief fund has a balance of only $3.4 billion, which is likely not enough to cover future expenses.
“We started with atmospheric rivers in California in January, extreme tornadoes in the spring, [then came]the wildfires, and now we are in peak hurricane season,” Criswell says. “So today, I am directing the implementation of immediate needs funding.”
Criswell adds that the agency will prioritize the $3.4 billion it has left for Idalia,the Maui fires, and other extreme weather. This plan leaves the agency short for the rest of the fiscal year, largely because of the record-breaking amount of weather-related disasters.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says a new record has been set for the first seven months of the year, with 15 events causing more than $1 billion dollars in damages each.
FEMA is now asking Congress for $12 billion more, in hopes of getting through the fiscal year.
