Hurricanes
The Panic Over an Imaginary Militia 'Hunting FEMA' Did More Damage Than the Actual Threat
Someone did allegedly threaten first responders, but the panic may have done more damage.
The Remarkable Redneck Air Force of North Carolina
The relief effort after Hurricane Helene is powered by private citizens, and volunteers have discovered that it's better to ask forgiveness than permission.
Brian Trascher: Has FEMA failed North Carolina?
The Vice President of the United Cajun Navy, Brian Trascher, discusses effective disaster response and the problems with FEMA.
What Happens When FEMA Buys Your House?
As hurricane damage mounts, the government is buying—and sometimes seizing—homes in flood-prone areas, sparking concerns over property rights and accusations of discrimination.
FEMA Should Stick to Disaster Recovery and Quit Social Engineering
Goal 1 of FEMA's strategic plan is to "instill equity as a foundation of emergency management."
Floridaposting
Plus: Kamala's Florida possibility, Columbia's Hamas sympathizers, and more...
The Hurricane Election
Plus: FEMA conspiracy theories, journalists killed in Gaza, and more...
How Milton Friedman Can Help Us Get Through Hurricane Milton
To give storm victims the best chance at recovery, let local knowledge and markets guide decisions.
NOAA Billion-Dollar Weather Disasters Are Not Evidence of Climate Change
Weather and climate disaster losses as a percentage of U.S. GDP have not increased between 1990 and 2019, a new study finds.
How Florida Cut Red Tape To Fast-Track Hurricane Repairs
Bureaucracy usually mires construction projects in delays. Florida is trying to buck that norm.
Is Florida Finally Fixing Its Broken Homeowners Insurance Market?
Floridians spend millions litigating insurance disputes after hurricanes. There's a better way.
Do the Proud Boys Deserve To Be in Prison Forever?
Plus: A listener question concerning porn verification laws.
Subsidized Flood Insurance Makes Storm Damage Worse
It's high time for Congress to end a program that routinely goes into debt providing subsidies to wealthy people living in high-risk areas.
This Scientist Used To Spread Climate Change Alarmism. Now She's Trying To Debunk It.
The doomsday consensus around climate change is "manufactured," says scientist Judith Curry.
The Jones Act Is Driving Up Prices and Making Crises Worse
The legislation, which forbids shipping anything between American ports in ships that are not U.S. built and crewed, is just another a special deal that one industry has scammed out of Congress.
The Shameless Attack on a Climate Change Dissenter
We couldn't find any negative review of physicist Steven Koonin's Unsettled that disputed its claims directly or even described them accurately.
Wealthy Connecticut Residents Received Millions in Federal Dollars After Hurricane Sandy
It shouldn't be the federal government's responsibility to protect wealthy homeowners from the inevitable.
This Military Spending Bill Will Make Puerto Rico's Next Hurricane Disaster Even Worse
The maritime industry inserted some protectionism into the National Defense Authorization Act.
Netflix Teams Up With the Obamas To Produce Big Government Propaganda
The G Word, a new documentary, only occasionally covers serious issues. But it opts not to do honest reporting.
Texas Roofer Arrested in Florida for Helping Hurricane Victims
He's fully licensed, but not in the right state.
Here's What the Media Get Wrong About Hurricanes
No, a big storm does not require big government.
Storms and Reforms
Plus: The editors unpack a philosophical question from a listener concerning foreign policy.
Feds Allow Single Foreign Ship To Deliver Fuel to Hurricane-Ravaged Puerto Rico
It’s only one vessel, but the U.S. domestic shipping cartel, protected by the awful Jones Act, is screaming about it.
Government Subsidies Encouraged Millions To Move Into Hurricane Ian's Destructive Path
Plus: Reason livestream on right-wing populism, the government can't solve the fentanyl crisis, and more...
In the Aftermath of Hurricane Fiona, the Jones Act Is Screwing Over Puerto Rico Again
The island is begging the Biden administration to allow foreign ships to bring fuel to help restore power. But entrenched maritime interests balk at competition.
Where Did Puerto Rico's Disaster Relief Go?
After a Category 1 hurricane made landfall Sunday, a million Puerto Rican households are still without power.
Weather and Climate Disasters Are Declining Globally
Increasing weather damage costs are not reliable evidence for climate change.
Hurricane Ida, Climate Change, and Falling Trends in Global Deaths From Natural Disasters
The risk of dying from extreme weather since the 1920s has dropped by 99.75 percent.
Federal Court Rules Against Plaintiffs in Second Hurricane Harvey Takings Case
The ruling may well be both correct and consistent with the same court's earlier ruling in favor of a different set of plaintiffs arising from the same events. But the opinion does still have a few notable flaws.
Court Rules Federal Government Flooding of Homes During Hurricane Harvey is a Taking
The decision is significant in itself and has important implications for other cases where the government deliberately damages private property in the process of coping with natural disasters.
Boat Company and Border Officials Tell Different Stories About Rejection of Dorian-Displaced Bahamians
Plus: Support for Sanders and Harris drops, Trump fears losing his fans to socialists, and more...
How 'Price Gouging' Can Help Floridians in Hurricane Dorian's Path
High prices can bring much-needed supplies into a disaster zone.
The Price of an Erratic President
Even if Trump doesn’t follow through on his bad ideas, the uncertainty is still a drag.
Is Climate Change Loading Tropical Storm Barry Up With Extra Rain?
Research suggests that inundations are increasing because climate change makes hurricanes linger longer. The good news is that normalized losses from hurricanes aren't increasing.
As Tropical Storm Barry Approaches, the GAO Highlights FEMA's Past Failings
Unclear and contradictory procedure guidelines slowed down relief efforts in Puerto Rico in 2017. Will it happen again this year? Probably.
What Happened at the House Science Committee Hearing on the State of the Climate, and Why It Matters
Extreme weather events around the globe have tripled since the 1980s, but what's happening in the U.S.?
Is Climate Change Making Hurricanes More Destructive?
Not yet in the United States, new studies suggest
Report: 38 Percent of FEMA Employees Aren't 'Qualified' for Their Jobs
At the height of the agency's deployments in the summer of 2017, 54 percent of staff were serving in a capacity for which they were not fully qualified.
Texas Court Rules Deliberate Flooding of Private Property by State Government in Wake of Hurricane Harvey can be a Taking
The ruling concerns flooding of property undertaken by the San Jacinto River Authority in order to mitigate the effects of Hurricane Harvey. Issues raised in the case are similar to those at stake in ongoing federal court litigation.
Natural Disasters Are Destroying a Lower Percentage of Humanity's Stuff Since 1990
Absolute losses increased, but the proportion of losses relative to global GDP has dropped
Trump Blames Hurricanes for Growing Budget Deficit. Entitlements Are the Real Problem.
Trump blaming the budget deficit on hurricanes is much the same as those on the left who are trying to pin the blame on last year's corporate tax cuts.
State AGs in Michael's Path Agree to Stop the Flow of Needed Goods
Price gouging is not the evil many officials make it out to be.
North Carolina Woman Won't Be Punished for Sheltering Pets During Florence
But she never should have faced criminal charges in the first place.
Criminal Charges for North Carolina Woman Who Sheltered Pets During Hurricane Florence
Tammie Hedges is facing upward of a dozen charges related to the medical care she freely provided to the animals.
2 Female Mental Health Patients Die in Back of Police Van Fleeing Florence Floods
But several questions remain unanswered.