Nebraska task force returning from Harvey duty

Dave Kluthe is training coordinator of the Urban Search and Rescue Nebraska Task Force 1, and he says Nebraska crew members helped in at least 1,500 rescues since being deployed Aug. 26. The task force operations were funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The 80-member force is composed mostly of firefighters from Lincoln, Omaha and Papillion.

Board to look at hazard plan

Brown County Commissioners will consider a resolution and letter of commitment authorizing participation in the planning process and execution of a sub-grant agreement to update the Brown County All-Hazard Mitigation Plan Sept. 5. The resolution includes a sub-grant agreement with the Minnesota Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

FEMA’s reinsurance pilot program offers public-private example

The Federal Emergency Management Agency in Washington has piloted a reinsurance program through a consortium of 25 reinsurers that have agreed to indemnify the agency for flood claims on an occurrence basis./ REUTERS Legislative proposals to reform the National Flood Insurance Program explicitly support the use of risk transfer tools, which private-market stakeholders say is critical to expanding their participation in covering flood risk and ensuring there is not a repeat of 2005, when losses related to several major hurricanes helped put the program in debt to the tune of $24.6 billion.

FEMA establishes first recovery center in Houston

The agency is working to identify locations for additional centers, where residents affected by Tropical Storm Harvey can apply for aid, ask questions or solve problems, said agency spokesman Peter Herrick Jr. FEMA has received more than 507,000 applications for aid in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, and it has approved 114.7 million U.S. dollars in aid to 161,000 people so far, including for assistance with housing, paying for transportation, as well as medical and dental assistance. In a Sunday morning update, FEMA officials said President Donald Trump's approval of disaster assistance authorized the federal government to pick up 90 percent of the cost of debris removal.

POLITICO: Don’t Pay Any Attention to How Well the Harvey Response Is Going, Trump Still Sucks

This is to be expected. If it didn't appear in Politico then it might have been posted right here: It's an article of faith in American politics that big disasters are defining moments for presidents-creating a huge stage for political theater and also posing some of the biggest risks.

In Texas, not all heroes wear capes

For more than a week, the world watched as grim images from southeast Texas were broadcast on television and social media -- homes along the coast torn apart by hurricane winds, inland communities flooded by a record-setting tropical storm. The full extent of the devastation remains unclear, and FEMA chief Brock Long says the recovery effort will take years.

FL Fire Department Back at Full Staffing Levels

Sept. 01--The Bradenton Fire Department applied for and received an $847,384 grant in August, paid for by the Federal Emergency Management Agency through the Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response grant program. The funds will pay for the salaries for six new firefighters for the next three years, bringing the city's fire department to personnel levels not seen since prior to the Great Recession.

Sunday shows preview: Trump faces aftermath of Harvey

President Trump's handling in recent days of his first natural disaster as commander-in-chief will be in the spotlight Sunday as the morning shows focus on the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. Trump returned to Texas on Saturday for his second trip in less than a week after intense flooding rocked southeastern parts of the state and portions of Louisiana, displacing thousands and claiming the lives of at least 47 people .

Experts puzzle over how to make more people buy flood insurance

Rescue boats fill a flooded street at flood victims are evacuated as floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey rise Monday, Aug. 28, 2017, in Houston. ORG XMIT: TXDP401 Conception Casa, center, and his friend Jose Martinez, right, check on Rhonda Worthington after her car became stuck in rising floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey in Houston, Texas, Monday, Aug. 28, 2017.

Trump seeks $7.85 billion for Harvey relief, warns on debt ceiling

In a letter to U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan, White House budget director Mick Mulvaney said the request included $7.4 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Disaster Relief Fund and $450 million for the Small Business Administration's disaster loan programme. "This request is a down-payment on the president's commitment to help affected states recover from the storm, and future requests will address longer-term rebuilding needs," Mulvaney said.

Trump seeks an initial $7.9 billion in Harvey aid

President Donald Trump has sent lawmakers an initial request for a $7.9 billion down payment toward Harvey relief and recovery efforts. The request, expected to be swiftly approved by Congress, would add $7.4 billion to rapidly dwindling Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster aid coffers and $450 million to finance disaster loans for small businesses.