Currently limited to 300 high priority positions (I didn't catch which).

Just announced by Cynthia Cooch (AA for Mission Support) at the agency-wide town hall.

She also announced that COREs stand to be up for renewal for one year at a time, going forward. I really hope they revisit this plan and bring back the two and four year appointments... I don't want to have to wonder if I need to search for a job every single year.

(Edited to correct Cooch's first name)

Welcome to the DRR Community

Disasters are not natural. Risk is built over time, through unsafe planning, weak infrastructure, poor communication, inequality, and decisions that leave people exposed.

This community is a space to talk about how we reduce that risk before disasters happen.

Here, we discuss disaster risk reduction, climate resilience, preparedness, early warning, local action, humanitarian response, recovery, policy, data, technology, and community-based solutions.

You are welcome here if you are a practitioner, student, researcher, volunteer, government official, humanitarian worker, local leader, journalist, or simply someone who wants to understand disasters better.

What you can share here:

1. Useful reports, tools, articles, and resources
2. Field experiences and lessons learned
3. Questions about DRR, climate risks, preparedness, and resilience
4. Case studies from communities, cities, schools, and institutions
5. Training, fellowship, job, and learning opportunities
6. Critical reflections on what is working and what is not

A few expectations:

Be respectful.
Share sources when possible.
Avoid fear-based misinformation.
Ask honest questions.
Keep the focus on learning, action, and reducing risk.

This is not just a space to talk about disasters after they happen.

It is a space to ask the harder question:

What could have been done before?

Has anyone transitioned from EM into a different field altogether? Or does anyone have suggestions of EM experience that will transfer into a different career field?

The president has staffed the agency in charge of federal disaster response with a rotating cast of fools—and it’s showing.

H.R.4669 - FEMA Act of 2025 (119th Congress) Sponsor: Rep. Graves, Sam [R-MO-6] (Introduced 07/23/2025)

Has changes in:

Cosponsors (1 new, 72 total) Cosponsor: 05/12/2026: Rep. Craig, Angie [D-MN-2]

What is the FEMA Act

Cabinet-Level Independence: The bill re-establishes FEMA as an independent, cabinet-level agency (moving it out of the Department of Homeland Security) to provide the Administrator with a direct line to the President.

Regional Empowerment: It grants FEMA Regional Administrators increased authority to make funding decisions and work directly with state governors and local officials.

Public Assistance (PA): Transitions from a reimbursement model to a grant-based model. It introduces block grants for small disasters ($1 million–$10 million) and requires FEMA to provide 25% of emergency work funding within 10 days of a declaration.

Individual Assistance (IA): Mandates a universal application system to consolidate various federal aid programs. It also requires "plain-language" communications to survivors to replace complex legal jargon.

Mitigation & Resilience: Expands eligibility for projects involving utility resilience, broadband, and cybersecurity. It also offers higher federal cost shares for communities that adopt modern building codes.

Real-Time Dashboards: FEMA must establish public portals to track project approvals, cost estimates, and disbursement statuses.

Safe Harbor Protections: Protects local governments from retroactive penalties if they followed FEMA's written guidance in good faith.

Anti-Politicization: Strictly prohibits political discrimination in the delivery of disaster assistance and requires a GAO review of all existing FEMA regulations.

I've been a county EM for a couple of years. I get a whole bunch of Tier II reports every year, and I don't know what I should be doing with them. I keep them on file, but that's about it.

My state requires that any Tier II report sent to an EM/LEPC also needs to be submitted to the state. It is then logged in an online portal that every EM in the state is given access to for their county. It's also sent to our fire departments.

Most of our Tier II materials are crude oil, fuel storage, and some manufacturers have chemicals that require reporting. Over all, nothing major. I estimate I get about 20 or so Tier II reports every year.

Hey everyone,

I’m a firefighter/paramedic and I’m looking for some real-world career advice from people who have either promoted in the fire service, moved into prevention/emergency management, or left public safety for another government/admin role.

I’m considering finishing a bachelor’s degree in Fire Service Administration, but I’m trying to think long-term. I may stay in the fire service and pursue promotion, prevention, training, emergency management, or fire marshal-type work. But I also want to keep the door open in case I eventually leave suppression or leave the fire service altogether.

My question is:

How transferable is a BS in Fire Service Administration outside of traditional fire department roles?

I understand it fits well for fire leadership, training, prevention, community risk reduction, emergency management, and public safety administration. But I’m wondering how it is viewed by employers outside the fire service, such as:

- City/county government
- Emergency management
- Public safety analyst roles
- Safety/risk management
- Code enforcement or compliance
- State agency program coordinator roles
- Disaster recovery/FEMA-related work
- Training or education roles

For anyone who has hired for these roles, worked in them, or made a similar transition:

Would a Fire Service Administration degree limit me if I ever wanted to leave the fire service?
Or is the degree still viewed as transferable because of the leadership, administration, emergency management, budgeting, personnel, and public safety background?

I’m not looking for perfect academic advice as much as real-world opinions from people who have seen how this degree is actually viewed in hiring.

Thanks in advance.

I've been prepping for my furbabies and want to run drills with them. Do you have tips on how to put them into a carrier quickly? They are trained to be put in the carrier, but not during stressful moments like emergencies

There was a question prompted by u/FrontBuy4465 a few days ago about "How are things right now?". I brought this up to the EM Expert I work with and he went and created this response.

I found his response both heartfelt and interesting, and was curious to see how (especially as it is a direct reply to a post in this subreddit) others here would take to it. Are there any parts that you agree/disagree with? Is any of this news to people in the field?

Hi everyone, I left the medical field last year as I realized I didn't enjoy it. I am really interested in EM and received an offer to work as a Disaster Recovery Team Lead with AmeriCorps (specifically with SBP). After deep diving in this group, I am nervous to take this opportunity bc I am worried I won't be able to make a career in it w the current job market. (For reference I am 26 w no prior experience in EM but lots of leadership experience)

I also have the opportunity to work as a 911 dispatcher which has some relation to EM and I would actually have a livable wage. However, it is not as hands on as I would like compared to the AmeriCorps gig.

Just looking for some advice from those that are established in the field. Thanks!

Episode 2 — Katrina…

I have a background in industrial and systems engineering. After college I wiggled my way into a job with a power utility company doing distribution grid design work. A big part of this job was traveling around and doing storm recovery work, which was frequent in tornado alley. I have since left the power company to work in MEP engineering in higher ed and I am in the process of getting my PE license. I have a lot of valuable government funded project management experience now, but I really miss doing disaster response. I loved the organized chaos; I loved being out in the field; I loved how each day was different from the next; And most importantly I loved seeing the tangible results of helping people.

My question is, are there any grad school programs you can recommend that are more heavily focused on infrastructure and it's renewal/recovery?

Feels like the last few seasons have shifted things quite a bit — longer seasons, stronger storms, earlier advisories, but tighter response timelines.

In theory, we have more data than ever. In practice, teams are being asked to make critical decisions earlier, then adjust quickly as forecasts evolve.

For those working in emergency management, is that actually making coordination easier or harder? Where do things tend to break down once forecasts start changing?

So last year I was trying to get ahead of the FEMA shutdown curve and applied to a bunch of contractor positions, one was IEM, who as of yesterday sent me an email to interview tomorrow. I am still a FEMA reservist and am obviously hoping to get back to work within the next few months. I know that I can’t work for both as a conflict of interest and or contractor/employee. Anyone with a similar situation or general advice. I believe the IEM position is essentially a roster spot with no guarantees of working. What to do..?