As disasters loom, emergency managers say they aren’t counting on FEMA

The Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters in Washington. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images) By Scott Dance and Brady Dennis

Preparation for the unknown was always in Alan Harris’s job description as emergency manager for Seminole County, Florida, where thousands of homes suffered flood damage during Hurricane Ian in 2022. But as hurricane season begins this year, there is a fresh layer of uncertainty to contend with.

The Trump administration has declared a desire to reshape a federal disaster response system widely considered to be too complicated and winding, and has already taken steps to upend it.