Free Republic

President Biden issued an executive order Wednesday appointing a federal disaster coordinator to oversee long-term recovery efforts following the fiery derailment of a Norfolk Southern train that released toxic chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio, in February. The executive order, arriving more than seven months after the accident devastated the small Ohio town near the Pennsylvania state line, will direct the Federal Emergency Management Agency to name a coordinator to oversee a comprehensive assessment of any unmet needs that haven’t been addressed by Norfolk Southern and would qualify for federal assistance. This order stops short of a federal disaster declaration, which...

On September 6th, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced its designation of 483 Community Disaster Resilience Zones. Community Disaster Resilience Zones will build disaster resilience across the nation by driving federal, public and private resources to the most at-risk and in-need jurisdictions. Designated zones will have prioritized support to access federal funding and technical assistance for resilience and mitigation projects. Dr. Ned Gardiner of the CEE division, program manager for Climate-Smart Communities Initiative (CSCI), negotiated with the awardee of the CSCI grant as well as with FEMA to have CSCI included in the FEMA announcement. On September 6th, FEMA announced...

The reason there’s a screen around burned areas in Lahaina? It’s the law. https://health.hawaii.gov/cab/files/2015/09/Hawaii-Fugitive-Dust-Fact-Sheet-Oct-2014-.pdf They are supposed to do as much as they can to prevent drift. A friend just came back from there and said many are restricted from access because of extremely high levels of asbestos. The homes were built during an era when asbestos was a popular element in building materials and is the primary reason there’s so much. He also said, all the work he saw, everyone was wearing full respirators and they were being checked for proper fit. The service dogs that are being used...

The federal government agency tasked with leading the response to natural disasters has its hands full as more than 1,000 Americans remain missing following wildfires that devastated the Hawaiian island of Maui. FEMA nonetheless is mandating a three-hour diversity training for employees that argues, among other things, that white supremacy is "ingrained in nearly every system and institution in the U.S." While it's unclear how many of FEMA's 20,000-plus employees were required to complete the training, internal emails reviewed by the Free Beacon indicate that the agency’s "resilience" division was advised of a requirement to complete one of three three-hour...

It's already being called "The Biden Curtain," as new videos from Lahaina, Maui, reveal miles of black curtains erected to prevent people from seeing what's happening at the origin site of this month's catastrophic wildfires in Hawaii. Geoff Cygnus, a citizen journalist on TikTok, posted the video, with a caption reading: "Miles and miles of black fencing being put up in Lahaina. Ground Zero is now behind the Biden curtain." "There seems to be a huge emphasis on ensuring that the media and anyone else can't see what's going on," Cygnus reported. "There are miles and miles of this black...

The Biden administration on Monday announced an additional $2.5 billion in climate resilience funds for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The funds include $1.8 billion through the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) competitive grant program and another $642 million through the Flood Mitigation Assistance program. The Department of Homeland Security earlier in May announced $160 million in funds for the two programs.

On Wednesday, October 4 at 2:20 p.m. ET, every TV, radio and cellphone in the United States should blare out the distinctive, jarring electronic warning tone of an emergency alert, accompanied by a notice along these lines: “This is a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System, issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, covering the United States from 14:20 to 14:50 hours ET. This is only a test. No action is required by the public."

York County didn't qualify to receive low-interest loans to help residents and businesses impacted by severe weather earlier this month. The announcement came after a federal survey team from the U.S. Small Business Administration visited the county this week to assess damage caused by tornadoes and severe storms on Aug. 7. The SBA didn't say why York County didn't qualify for assistance. The National Weather Service confirmed two tornadoes touched down – one in Manheim Township and the other in East Hopewell Township. Thousands of people were without power for up to a week. Some families said it will take...

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will hold a virtual summit on extreme heat preparedness Monday, DHS announced Thursday. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell will host local community leaders, who are set to offer pointers on extreme heat resilience strategies. “As extreme heat, worsened by the climate crisis, threatens the lives, safety, and security of communities everywhere, the Biden-Harris Administration is working across all levels of government to ensure communities have resources to protect the public and our nation’s critical infrastructure,” Mayorkas said in a statement.

Following the Maui fire disaster, there have been concerns of mishandling and a lack of transparency, with claims of media restrictions on the island. The current media landscape seems determined to maintain a positive image of Joe Biden, especially evident in the coverage of the Hawaii incident. Two significant aspects underscore this narrative. Firstly, there’s President Biden’s perceived aloofness, marked by his repeated “no comment” replies to early queries and frequent vacations during this crisis. His recent visit to Maui only magnified his public relations challenges. Secondly, there are concerns about the local administration’s measures, or lack thereof, which may...

A Smart City is an urban environment with omnipresent surveillance and data harvesting technologies that will monitor and record even the most intimate, personal details of everyone.The goal is to know everything about everybody: what you eat and drink, where you go, what you buy, who you meet, what you think, how you feel, your opinions, your habits, your health and vaccination status, and so on.Every. Little. Detail. The justification for this all-encompassing surveillance is that it is supposedly essential to “save the planet” from climate change. They also guarantee it will make your life more connected, safer and healthier.

Bungling U.S. government bureaucrats dispatched to the Maui disaster zone are shacked up in $1,000-a-night luxury hotels on the Hawaiian island, DailyMail.com can reveal. Officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have been slammed by locals over their slow response to the devastating wildfires that have claimed at least 114 lives and left thousands of people homeless after their houses were scorched to the ground. But that has not stopped the under-fire agency from splashing taxpayer cash to put up more than 1,000 of its personnel at four bank-breaking resorts in Wailea after the deadliest wildfire in the U.S....

.....the Biden administration sought $12 billion in emergency funding that would extend disaster relief programs while simultaneously requesting some $24.1 billion in military spending for Ukraine in the same package. That means that funding Hawaii’s needs for Maui’s recovery has been tied to funding to back Ukraine’s military.. .. .

A lawsuit filed Tuesday in the District of Columbia alleges that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Homeland Security did not properly consider renewable energy in rebuilding Puerto Rico’s power grid, making the island further susceptible to future climate disasters. The complaint, filed by a coalition of 10 community and conservation groups, accuses the federal agencies of misappropriating billions in federal recovery funds by conducting an incomplete environmental analysis. **SNIP** FEMA, the lawsuit alleges, has not properly considered sources such as rooftop solar and storage in rebuilding the grid, which was knocked out last September by...

OHIO'S MESSAGE TO TRUMP: 'Thank You for Not Forgetting About Us' [VIDEO]Ohioans are showing their gratitude.While on the ground in East Palestine former President and 2024 candidate Donald Trump was swarmed by residents who just wanted to say “thank you” for showing up.One resident asked Trump’s thoughts on Joe Biden not showing up.“It’s terrible,” Trump says, adding later that FEMA should have shown up a long time ago.Watch the clip above.

For three decades, Barbara Kugler has lived less than a block from the Norfolk Southern railway line that crosses through East Palestine, Ohio. Up until this month, the sound of an oncoming freight train’s warning whistle—long, long, short, long—used to be a comfort. But now when she hears it, she tenses. “For thirty years that sound meant home. It was part of the rhythm of our lives,” says Kugler, 52, who was born and raised in a town one mile away and spends her days minding her grandkids. “Now I find myself flinching every time I hear it because I...

Just started speaking.......

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg acknowledged Tuesday that he "could have spoken sooner" about the disastrous Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, that has caused serious health and environmental concerns because of the hazardous chemicals it was transporting. The 38 cars that derailed roughly two weeks ago [cut] "I have followed the normal practice of transportation secretaries in the early days after a crash, allowing NTSB to lead the safety work and staying out of their way," he said. "But I am very eager to have conversations with people in East Palestine about how this is impacted them." [cut]...

After former president Donald Trump announced his potential visit to the town of East Palestine, Ohio, where a train derailment led to the release of deadly chemicals, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reversed its course.Moments after he announced his trip to the town, FEMA offered its support to East Palestine.Tomorrow, we'll supplement federal efforts by deploying a Senior Response Official & a Regional Incident Management Assistance Team to support ongoing operations, including incident coordination & ongoing assessments of potential long term recovery needs.https://t.co/pVLIm5tE3h — FEMA (@fema) February 18, 2023However, the agency previously stated that Ohio was "ineligible" to receive...

VIDEOJust a coincidence? After a couple of weeks of the federal government largely ignoring the toxic chemical disaster in the derailment of a train at East Palestine, Ohio, they did a complete U-turn IMMEDIATELY after President Donald Trump announced he would be visiting the scene of the disaster. Most notably, FEMA which had kept insisting that it wouldn't be going to East Palestine suddenly declared it would be going there right after Trump's announcement. Even when President Trump is out of the White House he STILL gets more good work done than the sleepy clown currently residing there due to...