TALLAHASSEE, Florida — The Trump administration’s talk about drastically altering FEMA’s role in disaster recovery has generated heavy uncertainty. But hurricane season is now in full-swing, and with more experience in storm recovery than any other state, Florida’s local emergency management officials are trying to stay focused on staying prepared.
Florida’s storm season began June 1. With the most active, historically volatile stretch a couple of months away, county emergency managers have no time to plan for changes that the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the White House and conservative allies have been discussing for some time. Instead, the state’s disaster recovery network has decided to rely on itself — even if they may need federal assistance down the road.
Jonathan Lord, president of the Florida Emergency Preparedness Association, said most county managers determined the risk of a powerful storm is greater than six months of talk about ways to cut federal disaster funding.
“Emergency managers can’t let that noise blur what they need to do for their community,” Lord said. “Whatever our federal government decides to do, we at the local level will just morph or evolve our programs to adjust to that new reality.”
