Helene and Milton are both likely to be $50 billion disasters, joining ranks of most costly storms Monstrous hurricanes Helene and Milton caused so much complex havoc that damages are still being added up, but experts in economics, insurance and risk say they are likely to be in the pantheon of super-costly $50 billion disasters. AP News

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Fact checking falsehoods about FEMA funding and Hurricane Helene Rumors, misinformation and lies about the federal government’s response to Hurricane Helene have run rampant since the storm made landfall, especially around FEMA funding. NPR

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The claims have become so widespread that FEMA set up a response page to debunk many falsehoods around how disaster funding works and what the agency’s response has been. ...

FEMA to overhaul its disaster aid system after decades of criticism

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The agency announced on Friday that it will fundamentally overhaul the way it delivers aid to survivors, launching new programs to provide quick cash payments to those in need and eliminating much of the bureaucracy that hampers aid access. 

“This is really a transformational, deeply impactful, meaningful, and historic change in our provision of individual assistance to survivors of natural disasters,” said Alejandro Mayorkas, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees FEMA. “For too long, in the face of too many natural disasters and extreme weather events, survivors have had to overcome many barriers to access to federal assistance.”

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EU's disaster response fund at limit as climate crises mount The European Commission warned on Tuesday that the EU urgently needs more funding to respond to climate change-fuelled crises after its emergency aid reserve was exhausted in both 2021 and 2022 and natural disasters have increased this year. Kate Abnett Reuters

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