Hurricane Irma shows why America must change the way it funds disaster relief

Stop making FEMA have to beg for more money every time there is a big disaster

Sand covers Ft. Lauderdale Beach Blvd. after Hurricane Irma blew though Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
(Image credit: REUTERS/Carlo Allegri)

Hurricane Irma smashed into Florida over the weekend, directly hitting Key West and Naples on its way up the western Florida coast. Wind and flooding damage from torrential rains and a powerful storm surge was extensive, and at least five people have been killed in the state, in addition to 27 people in the Caribbean.

On Friday, Congress approved supplemental funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which had spent almost all its remaining cash responding to Hurricane Harvey. It was just in the nick of time, and badly needed as people begin to assess the wreckage left in the path of Irma.

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Ryan Cooper

Ryan Cooper is a national correspondent at TheWeek.com. His work has appeared in the Washington Monthly, The New Republic, and the Washington Post.