An Unusually Quiet Week for Disasters

Photo: WPBF

Plus, How 24LA Turned Community Action into Long-Term Recovery

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 an HR, 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

There were a few weather events though:

Forecasted Risks for Next Week

A storm system is likely to sweep through the Southeast beginning late Saturday and will last until at least Sunday. Regardless of snowfall, cold air is expected across the South.

A series of winter systems will bring repeated rounds of snow to the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley, and interior Northeast from Friday through early next week, with the heaviest accumulations in lake-effect and snowbelt areas, while Arctic air and gusty winds behind the storms will lead to dangerously cold wind chills across much of the region.

Extremely elevated fire weather across parts of Oklahoma and Texas today due to 40-60 mph wind gusts, paired with low relative humidity and dry fuels. 

Disasters in the Headlines

HB179 Introduced to Alabama Legislation

HB179

The invisible costs of wildfire disasters in 2025

United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction

Senators hold bipartisan secret meeting to reshape FEMA

Politico

Asheville plans $17 million small business recovery program, delayed

Prism News

The challenges of fire-resistant rebuilding

Marketplace

PRO PERSPECTIVE

What Grassroots Recovery Can Teach the Disaster System

As the anniversary of the LA Fires passes, it’s worth looking beyond commemoration to models that can inform future recovery. One standout is 24LA, a grassroots organization whose community-first approach delivered outsized impact after the fires. Their work offers practical lessons for insurers, state recovery leaders, and employers alike: how local trust accelerates recovery, how flexible support reaches people faster, and how mission-driven coordination can fill critical gaps left by traditional systems. The video highlights not just what 24LA did, but why their model is both effective and replicable. Watch the video here.

Here’s what worked with 24LA:

• Two for LA started as an immediate grassroots response to the LA fires, turning a simple Instagram post and a borrowed bar space into a major community donation hub.

• By evolving from one-time donations into a family matching and “shoppable store” model, Two for LA is creating long-term, people-centered recovery for Los Angeles families.

• The initiative has since distributed over $4–5 million in new goods, engaged more than 1,300 volunteers, and supported at least 10,000 people impacted by the fires. 

  
  

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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