U.S. Disaster Assistance History Shows Constant Change

6/13/25 – We had a decentralized system of disaster assistance for almost 200 years before FEMA.

But more than 60% of the U.S. population has never known life without FEMA. So my post about President Trump’s intention to dismantle the agency caused considerable fear and anxiety. This post may help reassure those people. While change is always difficult, it’s possible. We had a decentralized system before. And we are still here.

More than 100 Programs Before Consolidation under FEMA

Before President Carter formed FEMA in 1979, disaster relief was a collection of scattered, fragmented federal, state, and local relief efforts. More than 100 programs existed on the federal level alone across HUD, USDA, DOE and other departments. The situation was chaotic and duplicative.

However, a recent announcement by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and President Trump indicated that FEMA will be disbanded after this hurricane season. Its responsibilities for disaster response will return to the states, according to Trump.

It appears we are coming full circle. How did we get here? Below is a brief history of disaster relief efforts in the U.S. dating back to 1802.

Early Federal Involvement (1802-1930s)

The first legislative act of federal disaster relief in U.S. history followed a devastating fire in Portsmouth, New Hampshire in December 1802. The destruction of large areas of the city’s seaport threatened commerce in the newly founded United States. In 1803, the U.S. Congress provided relief to affected Portsmouth merchants by suspending bond payments for several months.

In 1900, the first federal government disaster mitigation effort was in Galveston. The government assisted local and state groups with building the seawall.

Up through the 1930s, federal support was ad hoc. Congress passed more than 128 one-off disaster relief bills—each tailored to a specific event. There was no overarching federal policy.

During the New Deal era in the 1930s, agencies such the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (1932) and the Bureau of Public Roads (1934) began offering loans and disaster-related rebuilding funds for public infrastructure. (But the 1953 RFC Liquidation Act terminated its lending powers in an effort to fulfill President Dwight Eisenhower’s vision of limiting government’s involvement in the economy.)

From Civil Defense to Disaster Relief (1940-1960s)

On September 30, 1950, Congress passed the Federal Disaster Relief Act. It let the federal government assist states during disasters, by empowering the President to declare a “major disaster” and provide limited federal assistance. The President retained this function in various incarnations until 1973. But, overall, federal efforts still remained highly fragmented.

On December 1, 1950, President Harry Truman created the Federal Civil Defense Administration (FCDA). It focused on nuclear threats, civil defense and disaster relief. Then in 1958, the FCDA merged into the Office of Defense and Civilian Mobilization.

In the 1960s, several major disasters drove change. Events like the Great Alaska Earthquake (1964) and Hurricanes Betsy (1965) and Camille (1969) spurred federal involvement.

The Flood Control Act of 1965 gave the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers greater authority to implement flood control projects.

The National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 created the NFIP to address flood risk via insurance. 

Toward Coordination (1970s)

As stated above, by the early 1970s more than 100 programs addressed disaster response across numerous federal agencies.

In 1974, President Nixon signed the Disaster Relief Act. It standardized presidential disaster declarations and improved federal assistance.

During the Carter administration, momentum grew to consolidate scattered federal disaster and civil defense functions under one roof. An executive order formed FEMA on April 1, 1979.

Early FEMA Years (1979 – 1988)

FEMA quickly began coordinating disaster and civil defense efforts, managing the national flood insurance rollover, and responding to events like Love Canal and Three Mile Island. 

The Robert T. Stafford Act in 1988 set the foundation for FEMA-led responses following federal declarations. It also encouraged state and local disaster planning.

Expansion and Reform (1990s – 2000)

The next two decades saw both expansion and reform for FEMA. The Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska in 1989 led to the Oil Pollution Act of 1990. This act specified federal response roles for oil-related disasters.

The Federal Response Plan in 1992 created an interagency framework for coordinated disaster response under the Stafford Act.

The Emergency Management Assistance Compact in 1996 enabled interstate mutual aid during disasters. It facilitated resource sharing when federal help wasn’t triggered.

In 2000, the Disaster Mitigation Act further amended the Stafford Act to emphasize preparedness and planning, including pre-disaster grants.

Post-9/11 and Modernization (2001–present)

After the 9/11 attacks in 2001, FEMA played a key role in emergency coordination, accelerating policy development. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 placed FEMA under DHS (effective 2003), integrating it into broader national security efforts .

The widespread devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, led to the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006. It reestablished FEMA as a distinct agency within DHS, defined FEMA’s primary mission, and designated the FEMA Administrator as the principal advisor to the President, the Homeland Security Council, and the Secretary of Homeland Security for all matters relating to emergency management in the United States.

In 2008, a National Response Plan aligned response partners from government, NGOs, and the private sector.

Then in 2018, the Disaster Recovery Reform Act updated the Stafford Act again to bolster pre-disaster mitigation funding and resilience-building measures.

Key Takeaways

Emergency assistance is constantly evolving in the U.S.

1. Fragmented federal assistance endured until the 1970s
   Relief efforts were hampered by dozens of distinct agencies and programs—resolved only when FEMA centralized federal coordination.
2. Shift from response to resilience
   Over time, legislation and policy have increasingly emphasized preparedness and mitigation, not just post-disaster relief.
3. Partnership model
   Disaster response in the U.S. is a layered system where local → state → federal coordination is essential, supported by mutual aid compacts and NGOs.

Important to Texas

In reorganizing disaster assistance yet again, I hope that we can retain its best aspects. Disaster assistance is too important to just disappear. The chart below makes that clear. It shows the total amounts of assistance FEMA has offered Texas and other disaster-prone states/territories since its inception.

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