Cuts hit National Weather Service, FEMA ahead of hurricane season

Acting FEMA chief fired weeks before hurricane season
Cameron Hamilton, FEMA's acting administrator, was fired weeks ahead of hurricane season.
Hurricane season is fast-approaching, but the federal agency charged with responding to disasters is "not ready" as the Trump administration aims to dismantle FEMA and shift responsibility to states.
"As FEMA transforms to a smaller footprint, the intent for this hurricane season is not well understood, thus FEMA is not ready," a FEMA internal review obtained by CBS News states.
How is FEMA preparing for hurricane season?
Big picture view:
David Richardson, a former Marine Corps officer who served in Afghanistan, Iraq and Africa, has taken over as acting head of FEMA after the Trump administration fired Cameron Hamilton, the previous acting administrator. Hamilton was fired earlier this month after he told Congress he doesn’t want to see FEMA eliminated as President Donald Trump has proposed.

FILE - The Rocky Broad River flows into Lake Lure and overflows the town with debris from Chimney Rock, North Carolina after heavy rains from Hurricane Helene on September 28, 2024, in Lake Lure, North Carolina. With 2025 hurricane season just days a
Richardson, the new FEMA head, does not appear to have any experience in managing natural disasters. He currently serves as the Department of Homeland Security's assistant secretary for countering weapons of mass destruction.
RELATED: Acting FEMA director replaced after saying he doesn't want to dismantle agency
He warned staff not to get in the way of his mission to carry out Trump’s wishes.
What they're saying:
"I will run right over you," he told them. "I will achieve the president’s intent. I am as bent on achieving the president’s intent as I was on making sure that I did my duty when I took my Marines to Iraq."
In the memos obtained by The Associated Press, Richardson told the agency it would be conducting a "Mission Analysis" of the organization to identify "redundancies and inefficiencies" while also clarifying the organization’s "core" mission and "deterring mission creep."
He also listed tasks to be accomplished in the coming weeks — including providing internal assessments of the agency’s preparedness for 2025; a list of all known gaps "in preparedness or core capabilities"; a list of lessons learned from past disasters; and an overview of "disaster aid before FEMA’s existence and the role of states and the federal government coordinating disaster management."
FEMA in disarray
Dig deeper:
The "mission analysis" FEMA is undergoing comes at a time when FEMA is in a period of immense turmoil. According to The New York Times, more than a dozen senior leaders at FEMA have resigned or been fired. That’s on top of the 1,000 FEMA employees who have resigned or been terminated since Trump took office in January.
RELATED: NOAA releases hurricane forecast for 2025 Atlantic season
Hurricane season starts June 1.
National Weather Service offices critically understaffed
Why you should care:
FEMA isn’t the only agency dealing with massive cuts and staffing issues that could hamper disaster response: Nearly half of the National Weather Service’s field offices are dangerously understaffed, according to data obtained by The Associated Press.
RELATED: Nearly half of National Weather Service offices critically understaffed, report warns
In dozens of locations, the teams responsible for issuing life-saving alerts are working with vacancy rates of 20% or more — what experts define as crisis-level.
These vacancies are not just numbers — they translate into slower response times, skipped damage assessments, and fewer weather balloon launches that inform national forecasts. And with severe weather season peaking, meteorologists are warning that the consequences of these shortfalls could be deadly.
Why does Trump want to abolish FEMA?
The backstory:
President Donald Trump has suggested that individual states, not the federal government, should take the lead on hurricanes, tornadoes and other crises. He has been sharply critical of FEMA's performance, particularly in North Carolina after Hurricane Helene.
Through a January executive order, Trump established a review council tasked with "reforming and streamlining the nation’s emergency management and disaster response system," according to Homeland Security. The 13-member council is chaired by Homeland Security Director Kristi Noem and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Hawley demands FEMA help after Midwest tornadoes
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) said Monday that local communities are facing "devastation" and they need federal assistance after the tornado outbreak in Kentucky and Missouri.
This issue — how much states, as opposed to the federal government, should pay for disaster recovery — has been a growing concern, especially at a time of an increasing number of natural disasters that often require Congress to repeatedly replenish the federal fund that pays for recovery.
But states often argue that they are already paying for most disaster recoveries on their own and are only going to the federal government for those events truly outside of their ability to respond.
The Source: This report includes information from CBS News, The New York Times, The Associated Press and previous LiveNow from FOX reporting. FOX's Austin Williams contributed.