Cuts to FEMA and Disaster Preparedness Will Disproportionately Harm Disabled Americans

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This post is part of the Tracking the Effects: Environmental History and the Current United States Federal Administration series edited by Jessica DeWitt and Shannon Stunden Bower. Submissions for this series are being accepted on an ongoing basis. Learn more here.


Last year saw two historic, devastating wildfires in California, the Palisades fire and Eaton fire. Those two fires alone resulted in 29 deaths, over 16,000 buildings destroyed, burning over 40,000 acres, and potentially over $100 billion in damage. These disasters were in addition to record-breaking temperatures in California and across the world. Increasing temperatures and other changes in the climate are making storms and natural disasters more frequent and more severe when they happen. Yet changes, cuts, and deletions by the current US federal administration are weakening individual and community preparedness and resilience to climate disasters – and the most marginalized American residents will be the ones harmed most by these actions.

Changes, cuts, and deletions by the current US federal administration are weakening individual and community preparedness and resilience to climate disasters – and the most marginalized American residents will be the ones harmed most by these actions.

Within the United States, there is one primary federal agency tasked with disaster and emergency response-effort coordination, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). FEMA was established in the late 1970’s, and sits within the Department of Homeland Security. While FEMA is responsible for responding to a wide range of disasters and emergency events, increasingly the agency is focused on natural disasters, as disasters and emergencies are becoming more frequent and severe with climate change. FEMA provides monetary and human resources support to states and local governments that may be overwhelmed, understaffed, and/or underfunded, allowing these governments to manage emergency response and recovery efforts. For example, during the Palisades fire, FEMA awarded the state of California a Fire Management Assistance Grant, which covered some of the costs of equipment and personnel.

While FEMA is key for communities during and after disasters, the agency also emphasizes preparedness prior to an event. FEMA hosts Ready.gov, which provides preparedness resources that are designed to meet the needs of diverse populations. On the website there are many different examples of building emergency preparedness kits for families and community centers, even at a low cost, which can be modified for specific needs. FEMA also maintains another preparedness portal, community.fema.gov, with resources, forums, and actions for community-based volunteers around the country. The goal of these efforts is to train Americans and save lives when disaster strikes.

Yet the current federal administration views FEMA and its work as part of the “government waste” they are trimming. FEMA is facing unprecedented budget cuts and may even be entirely shut down. Following a February 12 X-post from the director of the Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk, substantial cuts have been made to FEMA nearly every week since. Programs and resources that support emergency planning for both governments and individuals are disappearing. As one example, FEMA had established the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program to provide funding to increase resiliency in municipalities across the country. However it has now been defunded, cited as being “wasteful.” The community preparedness portal and the resources that it housed have also been removed. In terms of on-the-ground response and recovery work, the Americorps FEMA division “FEMA Corps” has already been defunded and removed from the FEMA website. This was one key route to additional hands-on disaster response and recovery work. Cuts to FEMA are projected to make emergencies more dangerous going forward.

Two people wearing tan cargo pants blue sweatshirts emblazoned with FEMA Corps in white letters face away from the camera. They are standing in front of a pile of boxes and facing a group of people in military fatigues unloading a truck.
FEMA Corps youth members arrive in New York to help in FEMA’s role in providing aid to the survivors of sub-tropical storm Sandy. FEMA Corps youth focus on disaster preparedness, response, and recovery activities, providing support in areas ranging from working directly with disaster survivors to supporting disaster recovering centers to sharing valuable disaster preparedness and mitigation information with the public. (Walt Jennings/FEMA). 11 March 2012. Defense Visual Information Distribution Service. Public Domain.

Outside of the FEMA, there have been additional budget and staffing cuts that will impact disaster preparedness across the country. The National Weather Service, as well as its parent agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have both been hit with intensive layoffs and budget cuts. The National Weather service in particular plays an integral role in sharing severe weather information, which is then distributed by more local and public facing streaming services. With substantial layoffs and cuts occurring just as the intensive storm season begins, average Americans will feel the loss of this service. Additionally, most state and local governments run on funding and guidance from FEMA. Although almost every state has its own emergency management site with resources, some states rely solely on direct links to federal level resources. Individual states likely could not handle the work of all disaster preparedness, response, and recovery without the support of a federal agency.

As President Trump continues to cut vital programs at the federal level that bear on all aspects of disasters and emergencies, everyone will be impacted negatively. Natural disasters strike communities all across the US and their abilities to respond and rebound depend greatly on support from FEMA and the federal government. But while these cuts will harm everyone, communities that have been historically underserved by the government will be hit the hardest. These individuals and communities are more likely to experience disaster events, they experience them more frequently, and they are more vulnerable during disasters. In particular, when individuals are members of multiple underserved communities, a circumstance known as intersectionality, these individuals experience multiple forms of discrimination in the context of one emergency event. In particular, disabled people in America have largely been ignored and left out of emergency planning and preparing for climate change, making them an extremely vulnerable population. Without intentional measures to address these harms, communities rendered more vulnerable by histories of structural racism, classism, and ableism will continue to experience unequal risks and impacts during disasters. Yet FEMA is currently removing language from agency documents that acknowledge structural risks during disaster, including “social vulnerability.”

As climate-related disasters, including wildfires, floods, and heatwaves, occur more frequently, planning for the millions of disabled Americans must become a priority.

Before, during, and after disasters, emergency management professionals must plan for disabled people, as their needs are often overlooked. If access services are not thoroughly planned, then the brunt of the work falls on emergency response teams, which tend to be overworked and understaffed. Planning for and executing accommodated approaches to disaster responses is not more intensive than “standard” planning, but when accommodations are not planned, unnecessary injuries and even deaths occur. As climate-related disasters, including wildfires, floods, and heatwaves, occur more frequently, planning for the millions of disabled Americans must become a priority. FEMA typically provides guidance to state and local governments about disaster management, but if these governments do not receive or integrate the advice, then disabled residents are often left to fend for themselves, or are dependent on support systems that are also experiencing the effects of the disaster. Attacks on FEMA threaten its ability to support states, who in turn support the diverse needs of their residents. FEMA has already cancelled previously offered emergency training for states and its 4-year strategic plan, even as hurricane season is quickly approaching.

While actions that are accessible are key, it is important to prioritize the preparedness information prior to disasters. Having emergency preparedness and response information easily available online and in formats that are easily understandable by most people helps residents stay safe and appropriately respond to disasters. In FEMA’s own training materials, they emphasize that “In an emergency, information is as critical to people as food and water.” When designing information to keep the public safe in emergency events, it is important to keep in mind how the diversity of languages and communication needs in the U.S. For example, there are over 7 million people in the US with an Intellectual or Developmental Disability (IDD), 1 in 5 speak a language other than English at home, and more than half of adult Americans have a reading level below 6th grade.  There are also an estimated 11 million Deaf and potentially 48 million hard of hearing Americans. Accessible communication, in multiple languages and modalities and at multiple reading levels, is key to addressing the needs of the US population.

In previous US federal administrations, there were noticeable strides in improving the accessibility of disaster preparedness and response. Hurricane Katrina in 2005 clearly exposed how underprepared support services were for people with disabilities. In 2007, FEMA’s Office of Disability Integration and Coordination was established to “maximize the inclusion of and accessibility for people with disabilities” before, during, and after disasters. Multimodal and multilingual emergency information was produced by FEMA under the Biden administration. For example, FEMA press briefings included American Sign Language interpreters and made information about applying for disaster assistance available in ASL and many other languages. FEMA also released videos about preparedness by and for disabled people, including Blind and hard of hearing people. Outside of FEMA, starting in 2021, the National Weather Service began a revamp of their Special Weather Statements. The goal of “hazard simplification” is to transition to plain language statements, allowing all people who read these messages to understand exactly what to do. All of these changes were to reduce inequities and minimize additional harms and risks experienced by vulnerable communities across the US during disasters.

A pictorial representation of the revamp progress for weather hazard simplification. There are two grey boxes. The top box says: What will remain the same? And includes two examples of weather hazard statements that will remain the same: watch and warning. Under Watch it reads 'What should I do? Prepare!' and includes actionable image icons for a shopping cart and a flashlight with batteries. Under Warning it reads 'What should I do? Take action! and includes actionable image icons for a tornado shelter sign and a 'turn around don't drown' sign. The bottom box says: What will change? 'Advisory' and 'Special Weather Statement' become 'Plain language headlines.' An event less serious than a Warning is happening. What should I do? Exercise caution to avoid impacts. The box then shows several different actionable image icons, including a slow sign, someone taking out trash, a person drinking water, and a scarf.
A pictorial representation of the revamp progress for weather hazard simplification. “Revamp Progress.” National Weather Service Hazard Simplification.

Beyond emergency management, the US federal government had been taking additional steps to increase accessibility for and reduce vulnerability of disabled Americans. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was amended in 2008 and 2010 under former President Obama, updating ADA standards to the digital age. Collectively, these changes strengthened internet accessibility, in recognition that a majority of Americans receive key information from internet-connected devices. Also in 2010, the Federal Plain Language Act was published, which requires government agencies to communicate in ways the “public can understand and use.” With guidelines released in 2011. More recently, during the heart of the Covid-19 pandemic, White House Sign Language Interpreters became mandated by law after a lawsuit from the National Association for the Deaf. This was a clear win for increased accessibility in relation to the lifesaving Covid-related announcements that were then continuously being broadcast for all Americans. And now, in 2025, all of the improvements that have made more accessible disaster preparedness and government information are being undone.

The refusal to provide accessible communication in multiple formats will impact the effectiveness of natural-disaster related information.

Importantly, the current federal administration is not just making disaster planning and response less accessible and inclusive. Rather, it is also rolling back access generally, as part of a broader push to end diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) initiatives across the government and country. On his first day in office, President Trump signed an executive order to “terminate, to the maximum extent allowed by law, all DEI, DEIA, and “environmental justice” offices and positions.”  The administration has also rescinded 11 ADA guidance documents that explained to businesses what complying means and helps individuals understand their rights. Additionally, President Trump has signed an Executive Order declaring English the official language of the United States. This serves to undo a previous executive order from 2000 that required government agencies to make services and information available to Americans “limited in their English proficiency.”  That previous order was the basis by which people who use other languages could request and expect translators or interpreters. It is now less likely that government agencies will provide alternative formats. This further increases the stigmatization of the millions of people who do not conform to supposed “standardized English.” The changes are already taking effect. Since the new federal administration took office, sign language interpreters have been removed from both White House press conferences and social media posts. The refusal to provide accessible communication in multiple formats will impact the effectiveness of natural-disaster related information.

A white woman interpreter with short brown hair and in a dark suit is signing in front of the American flag and other ceremonial flags.
A Department of Defense sign language interpreter participates in the Pentagon Community 9/11 observance at the center courtyard of the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., Sept. 11, 2013. Defense Visual Information Distribution Service. Public Domain.

Beyond undoing progress made by previous federal administrations in improving disaster communication and information accessibility, it remains unclear if the Trump administration will continue ongoing work. For example, the plain language changes in advisories by the National Weather Service were intended to debut in 2026 – will the administration continue those efforts?  Additionally, there are multiple laws – not just ADA – that require communication to be accessible during emergencies. As the National Association of the Deaf lays out, these include regulatory responsibilities for the federal government to comply with anti-discrimination, telecommunications access, and disaster recovery laws.  Yet there is growing concern from legal scholars and analysts that the Trump administration is breaking the law and defying the constitution. This concern includes matters related to FEMA, such as freezing aid for Oregon in defiance of a court order.

Currently, many disability-led organizations are rallying to maintain lifesaving resources. International organizations and influential individuals are maintaining information sources in signed languages for the millions of deaf people around the world. Autistic advocates have developed their own plain language resources for the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. These efforts cannot replace all the work that has historically been shouldered by FEMA, but considering the critical nature of accessible information, they will make a difference to vulnerable communities. And there is no indication that Americans support harmful budget cuts to FEMA. The Trump administration recently invited public comments about people’s experiences with FEMA. Analysis by NRDC found that as of this week, 98% of respondents expressed support for FEMA – and not to eliminate it. 

As these services and resources are eliminated, vulnerable Americans are being abandoned to deal with the effects of climate-related natural disasters on their own. This is in itself a disaster.

The rapidity of change during the first six months of the current US federal administration will make it difficult for scholars and future historians to understand the meaning and significance of policy shifts. Budget cuts to FEMA and deletion of its online resources will further complicate their work. While analysis and interpretation is a task to be dealt with sooner rather than later, there are currently serious consequences to vulnerable and underserved Americans that are not being accounted for in terms of disasters. As these services and resources are eliminated, vulnerable Americans are being abandoned to deal with the effects of climate-related natural disasters on their own. This is in itself a disaster.

Feature Image: Disability Integration Information Available at Health Fair. FEMA Disability Integration staff speak with a survivor about access and functional needs for survivors with disabilities during and after a disaster. FEMA in collaboration with different voluntary organizations and the Disaster Case Management program, organize fairs to provide health and vital information to survivors through the island. 10 January 2023. FEMA/ Michael Medina Latorre.
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Abigail Block and Kaitlin Stack Whitney

ABIGAIL BLOCK is undergraduate at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) majoring in American Sign Language (ASL) Interpreting and minoring in Environmental Studies. She is also the 2024-2025 Aberg Family STS Research Fellow who has spent the past two years researching how climate-related disaster preparedness campaigns by US government agencies are failing to serve people with IDDs equitably. | KAITLIN STACK WHITNEY is an assistant professor in the Science, Technology & Society Department at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). NTID is one of the colleges within RIT and one of the two publicly funded colleges for Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) people in the US.

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