Blue State. Red State. Dead State.
Why Emergency Management Cannot Wait for Policy and Politics to Catch Up
The Wake-Up Call No One Ordered
The year 2025 has not been subtle.
Tornadoes tore through Arkansas. Wildfires devoured neighborhoods in California and Alaska. Flash floods drowned communities in Texas. Earthquakes rocked Myanmar and Thailand. Floods have swallowed parts of Algeria and Bangladesh, and this is just the beginning of the year.
This is not just a series of unfortunate events. It is a loud and painful truth.
Emergency Management systems are failing, not because of a lack of money or manpower, but because of a lack of mindset, mission, and muscle memory.
The question is no longer whether disasters will come.
The question is whether the people in the seats are ready to lead when the time comes.
It Is Not About the Party. It Is About the Person in the Seat
Let’s set the record straight.
It is not the President's job to evacuate your community.
It is not the Governor’s job to decide if your sirens work.
It is not the County’s fault if your EOC is undertrained and under-resourced.
The responsibility belongs to the person in the seat. The one who applied for the job. The one who signed the title. The one who cashes the check.
This role is not about optics. It is not a prize for retiring cops or fire chiefs with a Rolodex. This is about being ready when readiness is the only thing standing between life and death.
Reality Check: The Human Cost of Complacency
Let us look at what 2025 has revealed:
Texas Flash Floods (July): Over 83 people died in the Hill Country region, including at least 28 children. Sirens were not funded. Alerts were delayed. Families paid the price.
Los Angeles Fires: The Madre and Eaton Fires burned more than 100,000 acres combined. More than 30 people died. Officials knew the risk. Power lines and weather conditions had been flagged for years.
Bangladesh and Algeria Floods: Millions were displaced. Thousands perished. Basic early warning systems and response plans were either ignored or outdated.
Tornado Outbreaks: Arkansas was hit by EF4 winds at 190 mph. Over 126 tornadoes touched down in May alone.
Drone Interference in Rescue Operations: Civilian drones grounded air support during critical moments in multiple events this year.
Kerr County Sirens: FEMA warned four years ago. The county still had not funded basic flood alert systems by mid-2025.
The systems did not just break. They were never truly built for this level of chaos.
Why FEMA Reform Is Only the Beginning
There is a growing conversation about eliminating or overhauling FEMA. While FEMA is far from perfect, removing it would leave gaping holes in coordination, funding, and surge capacity.
The correct approach is reform, not retreat.
We must:
Refine FEMA’s role as a coordination and intelligence hub.
Shift routine responsibilities to states and localities, but only with funding and clear mandates.
End political appointments to emergency roles. Require certified professionals.
Develop national credentialing standards for all emergency management professionals.
Train elected leaders alongside responders. Decision-makers need EM literacy too.
If FEMA is eliminated or scaled back, will your team be able to operate independently?
That answer better be yes because help may not come.
Tactical Leadership: You Are the Plan
Here is what you can do right now:
Audit Your Alerts: Sirens, WEA, reverse 911. Test them quarterly. Publicly.
Train for Chaos: Include misinformation, media blowback, infrastructure loss, and drone interference in every drill.
Build Coalitions Now: Schools, churches, businesses, tribal partners. Do not wait until a disaster to exchange business cards.
Red Team, Your Plans: Invite critics into the room. Let them stress-test your strategy.
Engage the Community: Trust builds before the disaster. Do the work ahead of time.
Track the Science: Understand fire corridors, flood maps, and earthquake zones. Predict, prepare, and prevent.
Culture Shift: Stop Complaining. Start Contributing.
You are not “too busy” to get better.
You are not “underfunded” if you still subscribe to four streaming services and won’t pay for a $200 professional membership that could save lives.
The truth is, most people are more comfortable staying in familiar dysfunction than they are stepping into unfamiliar responsibility.
Leadership means taking the unfamiliar road.
This Is Not a Job. It Is a Duty.
Emergency Management is not a title. It is a trust. You hold the well-being of your entire community in your hands.
When kids die because of delayed alerts, undertrained teams, or inactive leadership, we cannot keep blaming politics.
This field must be about people. Not parties. Not retirements. Not popularity.
The Final Word: The Buck Stops Here
As President Truman once said, “The buck stops here.”
If you are in this role, then the buck stops with you.
No one is coming to save your community. You are.
So rise up. Lead better. Train harder.
And never forget that the difference between disaster and deliverance is the decision you make today.
Sources and References
FEMA Review Council (2025). Strategic Restructuring Proposals
Houston Chronicle (2025). Kerr County Siren Funding Failure
CBS News (2025). Madre Fire Scorches California
Wikipedia Contributors (2025). Texas Flooding and Tornado Outbreaks
Business Insider (2025). Drone Interference Grounds Rescue Aircraft
People's Trust Insurance (2025). Natural Disaster Threat Forecast
Caffrey, M. B. Jr. (2019). On Wargaming: How Wargames Have Shaped History
Quarantelli, E. L., & Dynes, R. R. (1977). Disaster: Theory and Research
And look for our recommendations on ways to increase crisis communications RESULTS (life safety actions taken by the public who receive these alerts), which should be implemented everywhere (Publishing on July 12, 2025): https://emnetwork.substack.com/p/crisis-communications-the-need-for
I appreciate this bold and necessary perspective. I agree that as local emergency managers, we must push toward greater resilience, readiness, and accountability regardless of politics, funding levels, or policy lag. We are the plan, and our communities look to us whether the systems around us are thriving or failing.
That said, I also believe we have to acknowledge the real-world constraints many of us face. If you don’t have leadership buy-in, whether from elected officials or senior administrators, your ability to act decisively can be limited. You do the best you can with the resources, authority, and influence you do have, while continuing to advocate for more.
It’s a balancing act between being realistic and being relentless.
We need a culture shift for sure, but we also need systemic support, consistent investment, and leadership that understands and values the role of emergency management before the disaster hits.
Kimber Campbell
Emergency Management
City of Surprise, AZ
Let me know if you'd like to make it more casual or add a specific example from your own experience.