Rural North Dakota Counties in Tough Spot When Preparing For Disasters

(Adobe Stock via Prairie News Service)

(By Mike Moen. Prairie News Service) – Spring storm season is here, and local officials who prepare for emergency responses after a natural disaster say it’s a hard time to get plans together.

That includes a manager from one of North Dakota’s rural counties.

Emergency management directors have long dealt with resource challenges, but a new report from ProPublica outlines the growing uncertainty for this line of work. The report points to Federal Emergency Management Agency overhauls sought by the Trump administration, including staffing cuts, grant cancellations and disruptions, outlining how those changes impact local partners.

Angela Herda, emergency manager for Nelson County, said government shutdowns haven’t helped either. “We get trained through FEMA,” she said, “and so if they’re not being funded, they can’t send out their people to train us.”