Two very different approaches to emergency preparedness unfolded simultaneously in the spring of 2025.
In Washington, the FEMA Review Council convened its inaugural meeting on May 20th. "FEMA is slow and clunky and doesn't solve the needs of those who need it the most," Texas Governor Greg Abbott told the council. Their mission was clear: streamline disaster response, cut bureaucratic red tape, make the system more efficient. Tampa Mayor Jane Castor emphasized the need for "cutting red tape, reducing the bureaucracy, and simply making the system easier and simpler to better serve Americans."
Meanwhile, across Europe, a different conversation was taking place. The European Commission urged all citizens to "stockpile enough food and other essential supplies to sustain them for at least 72 hours in the event of a crisis." Sweden distributed updated survival guides to millions of households. Finland took stock of its "50,500 emergency shelters that could shelter a possible 4.8 million people." Estonian hospitals began installing generators and distributing satellite phones to emergency crews.
The question I have to ask is: Which group was preparing for the world we actually live in?
That question took on new urgency just this month when catastrophic flooding struck the Texas Hill Country on July 4th. The Guadalupe River rose 26 feet in 45 minutes. More than 120 people died, including dozens of children at summer camps. Over 150 remain missing. It happened so fast that warning systems couldn't keep up—the very scenario Europeans are now measuring their preparedness against.