Is FEMA ready for hurricane season?

Here & Now Anytime

NPR

News

4.1 • 953 Ratings

🗓️ 3 June 2026

⏱️ 23 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This year's hurricane season begins with concerns that there are staffing issues at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, an agency that President Trump has targeted for overhaul. William Ray, the North Carolina director of emergency management, talks about his state's preparedness this year following widespread damage from Hurricane Helene in 2024.

We also spoke with acting FEMA administrator Bob Fenton about the increasing number of severe storms, which may make it harder for the federal government to respond effectively to hurricanes this season, even in a year when fewer than normal hurricanes are expected.

And, President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began the war on Iran together, and now the relationship is under strain, though both sides deny a major rift. We hear from Michael Koplow, chief policy officer of Israel Policy Forum.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	WBUR Podcasts, Boston.
0:06.4	There are still areas that very much look like they have just recently experienced the event.
0:12.2	You know, there are towns that may have been along rivers that still no longer exist.
0:17.3	It's been almost two years since Hurricane Helene devastated parts of North Carolina.
0:23.1	The state's emergency management director says they're preparing for the next big one.
0:28.6	It's Wednesday, June 3rd, and this is here and now anytime from NPR and WBOR.
0:34.0	I'm Chris Bentley.
0:42.9	Thank you. Bewar. I'm Chris Bentley. Today on the show, Israel's invasion of Lebanon has killed thousands and displaced more than a million
0:49.5	people. But it could get even worse.
0:53.1	The IDF doesn't have any great solutions as to what to do,
0:57.9	but there is a lot of pressure coming from Israelis and coming from IDF leadership
1:03.6	to expand IDF operations in Lebanon, including airstrikes in Beirut.
1:07.6	I think that's what we see Prime Minister Netanyahu wanting to do,
1:10.9	and President Trump is clearly restraining it. War, peace, and U.S. Israel relations coming up in about
1:17.4	10 minutes. Before we get to that story, though, it is officially hurricane season. The National Weather
1:24.2	Service forecasts 8 to 14 named storms through the end of November.
1:29.3	That's slightly lower than normal, but they say at least one of those storms is likely to be a major hurricane.
1:37.5	And this year, FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which responds to hurricanes, starts the season with its smallest disaster workforce in
1:46.7	five years. In a few minutes, we'll ask the acting administrator of FEMA about that. But first,
1:55.3	parts of North Carolina are still recovering from Hurricane Helene, which killed more than 100
2:00.3	people in September
2:01.6	2024.
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 26 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from NPR, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of NPR and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.