A Billion Dollars in Hawaii. 300,000 Acres in Oklahoma. And It's Still March.

Source: Tondé Christian/Texas County Emergency Management

Plus, what women in emergency management need to hear: take up that seat

Welcome back to This Week in Disasters! This newsletter combines expert perspectives with a weekly roundup of upcoming threats, recent natural disasters, and available survivor assistance. If you’re a Risk, Insurance, Employee Assistance, or Emergency Management professional (or you’re just really curious about disasters in the United States!) you’re in the right place.

Major Disasters of the Last Week

Forecasted Risks for Next Week

Severe thunderstorms will make a return across the Plains and Mississippi Valley, with multiple rounds possible Monday through Thursday as moisture surges north ahead of a developing surface low. Damaging winds, large hail, and tornadoes are all on the table.

Wildfire danger remains extreme across the central and Southeast U.S. Critical fire weather conditions — record-low fuel moisture, high temperatures, and gusty winds — will persist through at least mid-week across the High Plains and southern Plains, where over 1.4 million acres have already burned this year. NC, SC and GA are also facing red flag warnings over the weekend.

High winds pose a standalone threat late next week, with a deepening surface low expected to develop over eastern Colorado or Wyoming around April 2–4, bringing potentially damaging gusts across the southern Rockies and central High Plains.

Flash flooding is possible in parts of the central and southern U.S. as the same storm system that drives severe weather also taps Gulf moisture and produces heavy, slow-moving rainfall. Flood-prone areas along the Plains and Mississippi Valley should monitor conditions.

Flooding in Oahu. Source: USARPAC (@USARPAC), X post, March 2026

Disasters in the Headlines

Hawaii Asks Feds to Cover 90% of Kona Low Recovery Costs

GovTech / Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Trump Extends the Work of FEMA Reform Council

The Hill

Wildfires Rip Through Unusual Parts of U.S., Raising Fears of a Brutal Season

Washington Post

BRIC Notice of Funding Opportunity

FEMA.gov

PRO PERSPECTIVE

Women in Emergency Management: "Take Up That Seat."

Carrie Speranza, Director of Emergency Management Solutions at Esri, has spent more than two decades navigating disasters, leadership, and the realities of being a woman in a field that has long been male dominated.

Her career began the way many emergency management careers do: in the field.

She was 22 years old and would go on to respond to seven hurricanes in two years. “It is a very rough and tumble type of environment. There’s not a lot of time for niceties.”

In those early deployments, she was typically the youngest person in the room and one of the only women on site, navigating a field culture that was overwhelmingly male.

Later, in consulting, she found a very different model. At Dewberry, she was mentored by what she calls the “league of extraordinary women,” professionals slightly ahead of her in their careers who modeled leadership, delivery, and confidence.

“Believe it or not, I was very shy and quiet in the beginning of my career,” she says. “I learned by observing.” Eventually, those women pushed her forward. “They finally said it’s time for you to speak up. We want to hear from you.”

That encouragement shaped her leadership style. But outside that circle, the imbalance was stark.

“I would go everywhere else and I was the only woman in the room,” she says. “And that lasted for a very long time.”

Speranza does not frame the experience as victimhood. She frames it as reality.

“Sometimes people say inappropriate things,” she says. “And as long as it wasn’t too alarming, I just let it roll off.”

But when credibility is questioned, she is direct. “I’m not going to apologize for being direct,” she says.

Recently, when a colleague asked why she was on a call and what role she played, she responded by holding him to the same standard. “When the gentleman asked me why I was there and what position I held and why it mattered, I then asked him the same thing”

Her advice for younger women in emergency management is practical and honest.

“It’s going to hurt. You’ll feel the sting,” she says. “But don’t ever apologize and feel shy or quiet. Stand your ground. Take up that seat.”

Leadership in emergency management requires clarity, credibility, and resilience. For Speranza, that includes refusing to shrink in rooms where she has earned her place.

Active Federal Major Disasters

There is usually a 60 day window to apply for help after a disaster is declared.  The following disasters are still actively taking applications from survivors for financial support.

The following disasters are actively taking applications from survivors for financial support. To apply, survivors can visit DisasterAssistance.gov or call the FEMA Helpline at 1-800‑621‑3362.

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