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#disaster

9 posts6 participants0 posts today

"Such inaction often hits rural and economically disadvantaged communities hardest because they lack the tax base to fund major flood prevention projects and often cannot afford to produce the data they need to qualify for state and federal grants, environmental experts and lawmakers said."

texastribune.org/2025/07/21/te

Photos and flowers hang on a fence as a memorial to flood victims.
The Texas Tribune · Texas lawmakers largely ignored recommendations aimed at helping rural areas like Kerr County prepare for floodingTexas lawmakers’ inaction on flood prevention often hits rural and economically disadvantaged communities the hardest, experts said.
Continued thread

The catastrophic #flooding in the #Texas Hill Country on July 4, in which 120 people were killed, was the final straw for Pagurek, acc/to 4 people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity…. #FEMA was slow to deploy response & search-&-rescue coordination teams, acc/to half a dozen current & former FEMA ofcls & #disaster experts. Several Democratic lawmakers have called for an investigation into the agency’s handling of the disaster.

Continued thread

Experts have said that responses during a #disaster can quickly total billions of dollars, & that requiring personal approvals for expenses of $100,000 & above could easily create bottlenecks.

“This decision was not made lightly, & after much reflection & prayer, it is the right path for me at this time,” Mr. Pagurek wrote in a resignation letter. His departure was first reported by CNN.

Mr. Pagurek could not be reached for comment.

Continued thread

Ken Pagurek, who worked with #FEMA’s search & rescue branch for more than a decade & served as chief for the past year, told associates that his concerns had been mounting since the start of #hurricane season and that the admin’s changes to the agency were causing “#chaos.”

He said he worried that a new policy that requires purchases of >$100k be personally approved by [dog killer] #KristiNoem, the #DHS secretary, could hurt #disaster response efforts that require speed & agility.

#FEMA Urban Search & Rescue Chief Resigns, Citing Agency ‘Chaos’, Colleagues Said

Ken Pagurek had told colleagues the #Trump admin was causing ‘#chaos’ inside FEMA & creating dangerous delays in #disaster response.

The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s urban search & rescue unit has resigned, telling colleagues he was frustrated by bureaucratic hurdles the Trump admin imposed that delayed the agency’s response to deadly #flooding in #Texas.

nytimes.com/2025/07/22/climate

Over the years, Texas legislators have declined to pass at least three bills that would create siren or alert systems, a tool that Kerr County officials tried to secure for years before the July 4 flooding.

propublica.org/article/texas-f

ProPublicaTexas Lawmakers Largely Ignored Recommendations Aimed at Helping Rural Areas Like Kerr County Prepare for Flooding
More from ProPublica

Today in Labor History July 17, 1944: Two ammunition ships exploded at Port Chicago, CA (now known as the Concord Naval Weapons Center). The explosion killed 322 sailors, including 202 African-Americans assigned by the Navy to handle explosives. The explosion could be seen 35 miles away in San Francisco, across the Bay. In response, 258 African-Americans refused to return to the dangerous work, initiating what would be known as the Port Chicago Mutiny. 50 of the men were convicted and sentenced to hard labor. 47 were released in 1946. During their court proceedings, Thurgood Marshall, working then for the NAACP, prepared an appeal campaign, noting that only black men had been assigned to the dangerous munitions loading job. At the time, navy had over 100,000 black sailors, but no black officers. Beginning in 1990, a group of 25 Congressional leaders began a campaign to exonerate the mutineers. However, Congress did not exonerate the men until 2019.

In the 1980s, activists regularly protested at the Concord Naval Weapons Center against U.S. arms shipments to the Contras in Nicaragua. These shipments were supposedly secret, and illegal under the Congressional Boland Amendment. The base shipped 60,000 to 120,000 tons of munitions each year to U.S. forces and allies, including the Contras. On September 1, 1987, a weapons train deliberately ran over veterans who were blockading the tracks, including Brian Willson, who lost both of his legs, and a portion of his frontal lobe, in the collision. Days later, activists dismantled the train tracks. And for years after, activists maintained a 24-hour vigil at the site. The FBI had been surveilling Willson for more than a year as a “domestic terrorist,” even though all of his activism and protests had been entirely nonviolent. The train crew had been told to not stop the train, even if protesters were on the tracks.

Art Recovery LA [Shared]v

Our Mission

Art Recovery LA is a collective of art conservation professionals in Los Angeles and throughout Southern California dedicated to assisting our communities to protect and restore their cherished belongings before, during, and after disasters. Through compassionate support, hands-on guidance, and shared knowledge, we are in service to community members and cultural organizations as they preserve their heritage and personal histories. Grounded in empathy, resilience, and community, we believe that healing begins when we come together to protect our stories, histories, and the objects that hold them.

welchwrite.com/blog/2025/07/16

#art#artwork#repair