NPR: Six Months After Floods, FEMA Failures Leave Texans Behind
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Last week, NPR reported that six months after catastrophic July 2025 flooding claimed over 130 lives across Central Texas, many survivors still struggle to access Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) support. Sabotaging Our Safety has raised concerns that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s cuts to FEMA’s funding and staff have left Texans vulnerable to the next disaster.
The Trump administration and Secretary Noem continue to claim that FEMA is deploying resources faster than ever under Trump, highlighting Texas as evidence. But the reality couldn’t be starker:
Noem’s bureaucratic requirements delayed Urban Search and Rescue teams by more than 72 hours while people were trapped in floodwaters
Noem fired hundreds of FEMA call center contractors the day after the floods began, making it nearly impossible for Texas families to apply for disaster aid
Now, Noem and the Trump admin could cut 50% of FEMA’s workforce, meaning slower disaster responses, fewer boots on the ground when communities need help, and American lives put at risk
The Trump administration left survivors to fend for themselves. Even by October, only about 20% of reviewed applications for FEMA disaster aid in Kerr County were approved.
Read an excerpt of the NPR story below.
National Public Radio: Six months later, the Texas Hill Country is still living with effects from flooding
In Kerr County, where much of the damage occurred, the official flood map was most recently revised in 2011. But after the disaster, questions arose about the accuracy of that map and whether it reflected current conditions along the river.
Flood maps can be inaccurate if they're outdated or fail to reflect changing conditions, such as heavier rainfall than usual — which is exactly what occurred on July 4. They can also change on a property-by-property basis: homeowners who elevate structures or cities that add new drainage can petition FEMA to revise flood designations for specific sites, without updating the map for the surrounding area.
That process was used at Camp Mystic. In the years leading up to the disaster, camp owners successfully petitioned FEMA to recategorize some buildings so they were no longer designated as being in a flood zone. The agency's records don't specify which buildings were removed from the map. Despite the adjustment, at least eight buildings — including four cabins that housed campers — sat within what FEMA defines as a floodway.
Months after the disaster, FEMA hasn't released updated flood maps for the region.
Criticism of the federal response has extended to FEMA's leadership. Then-acting FEMA Administrator David Richardson resigned in November after six months on the job following widespread scrutiny of the agency's handling of the Texas floods.
Richardson, a former Marine Corps officer, faced questions from state and federal officials about FEMA's response and whether it acted with sufficient urgency as the disaster unfolded.
He didn't travel to the region for days, later telling members of Congress during a committee hearing that he stayed in Washington, D.C. to "kick down the doors of bureaucracy."
And despite the scale of the disaster, many people have struggled to secure federal assistance.
A Texas Tribune analysis found that most Kerr County applications for FEMA disaster aid were either denied or never advanced beyond initial review. As of mid-October, only about 20% of reviewed applications were approved, leaving many families without federal help to rebuild or recover, and forcing local nonprofits to step in to fill the gaps.
