After last year’s derecho, FEMA put Kevin Comeaux up in a hotel, and Gwendolyn went to stay with her sister. Because they had no insurance and FEMA assistance wouldn’t cover the full cost of repairs, they couldn’t afford to fix the house.

FEMA is “fully activated in preparation for Hurricane Season,” and is “shifting from bloated DC-centric deadweight to a lean, deployable disaster force that empowers state actors to provide relief for their citizens,” according to a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the agency.

Amid uncertainty around the future of FEMA, state and St. Tammany parish officials encouraged people to focus on this hurricane season.

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he plans to phase out the Federal Emergency Management Agency after this year’s hurricane season, offering the clearest timeline yet for his administration’s long-term plans to dismantle the disaster relief agency and shift responsibility for response and recovery onto states.

Jefferson County's EMA director says emergency response is primarily driven by local agencies and will continue to be.