FEMA Funding for Long Term Recovery must be tied to a review of the disaster and steps provided for remediation against the next potential disaster. Not unlike a Consent Decree.
There are myriad examples where local and state governments have mismanaged or completely abdicated their responsibility to identify, plan, and then act on steps that can be taken to mitigate or even eliminate the severity of a disaster.
Case in point: California Wildfires. Forest Management, Mandatory brush clearance, underground or robust overhead power lines, desalination plants, mandatory minimum reservoir levels, insurance policies that are fair to both the company and insured, etc. should all be part of recovery funding from the federal level and shortcomings or the lack of each of these things clearly contributed to what will be an extremely expensive recovery.
ALL federal long term disaster recovery funds, regardless of the disaster or locality, should include a review of how the disaster could have been mitigated and required mandatory steps to be taken to ensure the local and state governments implement said policies as part of any funding provided.
Federal oversight should be likewise involved not unlike a consent decree because in most cases the local and state authorities have proven that disaster mitigation is not a priority or they’re inept in being able to manage such things.
As a qualifier, I have been a Disaster Responder for a number of decades now and in every large scale disaster I have responded to I have seen areas that could have been managed better, and in nearly all cases, that means actions and planning done in advance of the disaster.
Next, if fault is found for a disaster (Baltimore Bridge collapse, East Palestine Train Derailment for two examples) those responsible should be levied to repay the cost of the disaster even if it takes decades to do so. It is time that funding should start being recoverable instead of forgiven when there is a responsible party identified.
This is especially true of states which keep having the same disasters over and over again - high risk states should be required to implement a minimum level of planning, organization, disaster recovery infrastructure and equipment, etc. to be eligible for a certain percentage of the overall disaster recovery funding that the federal government provides.