Persistent wildfires, hurricanes, and tornadoes have led to FEMA exhausting its financial resources allocated for disaster management over the past year.
Following the allocation of approximately $20 billion from Congress to tackle hurricane season, FEMA now has around $11 billion left in its Disaster Relief Fund, as revealed by administrator Deanne Criswell on Wednesday. This indicates that FEMA has spent over $9 billion of its fresh funds within less than a week, prior to Milton's landfall on Wednesday night.
This rapid expenditure can be attributed to the numerous previous disasters, such as hurricanes, wildfires, and tornadoes, that the agency is currently managing alongside Milton and Helene. Consequently, Congress might need to authorize additional billions in disaster funding for FEMA sooner than anticipated. Here's what you need to know:
How did FEMA spend $9 billion so soon?
Due to a lack of funds earlier this year, Congress initiated the 2025 fiscal year budget for FEMA, providing it with an estimated $20 billion to utilize in response to Helene and Milton.
On Wednesday, Criswell acknowledged that almost $9 billion of this allotted amount has already been spent since FEMA emerged from its initial funding for immediate needs (a designation signifying that the agency focuses solely on immediate storm response, pausing long-term recovery projects) on October 1.
Primarily, the funds have been directed towards reimbursing communities in Texas, California, and New Mexico that have been affected by earlier hurricanes, wildfires, and tornadoes. Approximately $7 billion to $8 billion has been used to compensate other states for their earlier disaster recovery projects, while the remaining remnant has been allocated for Helene and Milton's recovery and response.
“In August, we had put a halt to recovery projects funding for all the other ongoing disasters,” Criswell confirmed to reporters. “Once I was granted the authority to spend against the budget, we began to reimburse communities for their recovery projects, along with the funding we are providing for Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton.”
Why is FEMA spending so aggressively?
To summarize, the US has been hit by an exceptional number of severe weather disasters this year.
At present, the United States is approaching 23 to 24 billion-dollar extreme weather incidents, based on Adam Smith's estimates – a meteorologist from NOAA who assists in compiling the government's statistics for expensive extreme weather events. These events include hurricanes Debby, Helene, and Milton, as well as the possibility of incorporating a separate cluster of severe summer storms.
Beyond hurricanes, wildfires continue to burn through multiple areas in California and other western states. Additionally, Hurricane Beryl struck Texas in the summer, with its remnants resulting in extensive flooding across multiple northern states. Furthermore, a series of powerful thunderstorms and tornadoes ravaged Texas and other states this spring, causing power outages and destruction.
“This is the most significant number of open disasters I have seen in my tenure with FEMA, which is a consequence of the increasing frequency of such events,” Criswell stated during her press conference. “We had a remarkably active tornado season earlier this year, and we witnessed catastrophic and unprecedented flooding across many states during the spring. Additionally, we have been confronted with wildfires across much of the western United States.”
How much additional funding will FEMA request from Congress?
At present, it is difficult to determine the exact amount. Time is needed for states and municipalities to conduct thorough damage assessments and submit their disaster assistance requests to the federal government.
Criswell indicated on Wednesday that FEMA is continuously monitoring the balance of its disaster relief fund and may need to seek additional funding from Congress sooner than they had originally anticipated, though she did not specify an exact date.
Smith speculates that the impacts of Helene and Milton will likely incur a cost "in the multiple tens of billions of dollars," but emphasizes that accurate numbers will require more time to calculate.
Congress is not expected to reconvene until after the November elections, but representatives from the affected states are demanding immediate action if required. Typically, disaster aid is attached to a larger spending bill, but given the deadline is not until December 2025, it is possible that Congress may have to address this as a standalone bill when they return in November.
It should also be noted that the hurricane season is not expected to conclude until the end of November, leaving the possibility of more storms forming.
Despite the funding allocation for FEMA's response to Hurricanes Helene and Milton, the agency has already spent over $9 billion due to ongoing recovery efforts from previous disasters, such as hurricanes, wildfires, and tornadoes. This high expenditure has prompted speculations about the need for additional disaster funding earlier than anticipated.
With numerous severe weather disasters this year, including Hurricanes Debby, Helene, and Milton, wildfires in California, and strong summer storms, FEMA is managing an exceptional number of open disasters, leading to aggressive spending.
