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Dr. Samantha Montano Profile picture
Dr. Samantha Montano
@SamLMontano
Working on disaster justice & the climate crisis. Emergency Management PhD. Author of 📚DISASTEROLOGY 📚 she/her #EMGTwitter
3 subscribers
Oct 6 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
Two big hurricanes in the span of two weeks is why I spend so much time harping about the ~capacity~ of our emergency management system.

If Milton manifests in the way it’s looking like it will we are going to need to start watching resources more closely. A high level way of thinking about this is
1. What resources do we have sitting around that can be sent to Florida
2. What response resources can we pull from the Helene areas that aren’t needed there anymore
Oct 5 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
Shoutout to journalists working to cover this absolute mess & try to provide clarity (especially for survivors) in a moment of physical & informational crisis.

🧵of articles I’m quoted in w/ accurate information about FEMA and Helene #EMGTwitter Washington Post: FEMA deploys to rough terrain after Helene as it faces criticism, fights misinformation

Gift link:
wapo.st/4dBWqoq
Oct 4 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
This is a learning opportunity.

There are two parts to the emergency management system—the formal & informal.

The formal system includes all the hundreds/ thousands of government agencies, and big organizations like the Red Cross who expect to be involved when disasters happen Image The informal system is everyone else from small local nonprofits to mutual aid groups. It includes emergent groups and spontaneous volunteers. And, most importantly it includes the survivors of the event — yes, they are ACTIVE participants in response.
Sep 30 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
When big disasters happen people almost immediately start asking why the president isn't there.

I understand the instinct -- the visual of the country's leader being there in the midst of a crisis is strong. It might be temporarily comforting but operationally it's bad. When the president comes to town (even on a good day) everything has to shut down -- air space, roads, etc. First responders & other officials are reassigned to secure & facilitate the president's arrival.

In a disaster that means search & rescue stops, help to survivors stops.
Jun 3 • 11 tweets • 3 min read
FEMA loves to just slap us all across the face at every opportunity. Unbelievable. Image Everyone in EM hi-ed: hey our programs are really struggling and we could use some support.

FEMA: what if instead we make a pretend university that will be in perceived competition to your programs?

Well done everyone. 10/10. No notes.
Sep 29, 2023 • 15 tweets • 4 min read
With the flooding in NYC, many people are rightly concerned about how FEMA will be involved in the response given the (seemingly) impending shutdown.

I'm going to try and explain this as simply as possible based on my current understanding. #EMGTwitter The Disaster Relief Fund is the pot of $ used to pay for response & recovery when a community receives a Presidential Declaration.

For months, FEMA & White House have been asking Congress to refill the Disaster Relief Fund because it was very low.
Aug 17, 2023 • 20 tweets • 4 min read
People keep sending me this article so it's time for an uncomfortable thread about emergency managers. There is some really important context needed here. #EMGTwitter

civilbeat.org/2023/08/was-ma… I have found that in the midst of a response most people reveal they have a misperception about what and who emergency managers are...

The majority of emergency managers in the United States are only part-time. They usually double as the fire chief or are a retired firefighter
May 15, 2023 • 13 tweets • 4 min read
I'd like to share the final list of movies for the Disaster Film class I'll be teaching in the fall! #EMGTwitter

Before I do... some of you are going to be in a huff about certain movies not being included but I need y'all to be chill. (Some of you were not chill last time.) I assure you have given this a lot of thought and this is what's best for this particular course and my particular students. This is set in stone so there's no negotiation that needs to happen.

Okay, here we go.
May 15, 2023 • 13 tweets • 5 min read
I have never seen US emergency managers panic over anything as much as they do when someone suggests cutting EMPG funding.

So, we thought we should probably do a bit of research on it. #EMGTwitter

@Gerber_Chavez_ @amsavitt @tbcorbin & @DowneyDavia Image The Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) is a ~$355 million annual grant program that gives a few million dollars to each state for preparedness-related needs.

This is not a perfect program but for now, it's what we have.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/author/Z…
May 8, 2023 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
I want to highlight this Frontline from @yessfun.

A fire in New England (or the northeast, generally) is one of the future disasters that keep me up at night. It's not just the conditions changing but that we don't have the capacity to respond.

atmos.earth/wildfires-nort… We've done very little to prepare. The population has no clue how to respond, we don't have the people, or equipment to fight effectively. We don't have people with a depth of knowledge. We're not mitigating.
Oct 6, 2022 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
This disaster article is so terrible (and dangerous, frankly) that I'm going to use it as an example of what not to do in my media & disaster course.

nytimes.com/2022/10/05/us/… First of all, it's immediately clear that they have zero understanding of what FEMA does or how the US emergency management system works. As a result they're just parroting what a random group of people think FEMA should be doing... okay???

Oct 3, 2022 • 9 tweets • 3 min read
🧵Here's a thread of important things to keep in mind as this disaster unfolds.

#EMGTwitter 1. This wasn't a "natural disaster". Disasters result when there is an *interaction* between a hazard and us to the point that the impacts/ needs overwhelm our communities. There's always more than one factor that creates our risk.

Sep 30, 2022 • 16 tweets • 3 min read
Inspired by this NYT article -- What's the difference between "declaration cost-share" and "supplemental aid"?

We love an early morning disaster policy thread!

nytimes.com/2022/09/29/us/… Declaration Cost-Share.

When a state gets a Presidential Disaster Declaration (PDD) from the White House (at governor's request, through FEMA and per the Stafford Act) the usual agreement is that FEMA pays 90% of relevant costs for Public Assistance...
Sep 18, 2022 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
Fiona is the latest reminder that storm category does not tell you what the damage will be -- it's the geography & vulnerabilities of the communities. Also, that when communities are kept from the resources needed to rebuild *quickly* they are more vulnerable to the next hazard. This is why we need comprehensive emergency management reform at the federal, state/territory, and local levels. The Biden administration could do this. Members of Congress could *start* this conversation.
May 14, 2021 • 17 tweets • 5 min read
Folks, it's time. I'm watching it. A little solo Disasterologists At The Movies.

#DATM #EMGTwitter Whew. A pretty graphic opening wildfire scene, an explosion, and the classic 'family having breakfast together' to reel us in...
May 12, 2021 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
Sigh.

Everything old is new again. *stares in the entire body of emergency management research* Image
Feb 18, 2021 • 12 tweets • 3 min read
Hi.

COULD SOMEONE PLEASE GIVE US MONEY TO STUDY HOW CLIMATE CHANGE WILL IMPACT THE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM?

We don't even need that much money to do this! ok. I know I'm screaming but I'm actually 100% serious.

@BillGates -- I hear you're into climate adaptation now. Great! Give us money!!
Feb 17, 2021 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Among the many horrific things Rush Limbaugh did and said he was also a persistent disaster denialist.

It's a long list but in the past few years, he actively encouraged people not to follow hurricane evacuation orders (while evacuating himself). buzzfeednews.com/article/davidm… He persistently lied about climate change and their relationship to disasters.

nytimes.com/2020/09/15/bus…
Feb 17, 2021 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
This is another disaster where the needs are so geographically widespread that my best advice on giving is to just pick a person/group/ organization and give them money. My personal approach in a situation like this is to do the following:
1. Help anyone I know personally who needs help
2. Donate to any groups I've worked with before/ know they're effective
3. Local groups that serve marginalized people that haven't gotten many donations
Feb 17, 2021 • 12 tweets • 4 min read
They're also not connecting this to broader issues with our approach to emergency management.

If you're new around here (hi, welcome) and here's a thread on how democrats (including Biden) love to ignore emergency management. I often get comments about how my criticism of various democrats re: disasters is unfair because "at least they aren't Trump". 😅

Sure, democrats are not chucking paper towels at people but they also are not doing an effective job of meeting disaster-related needs.
Feb 17, 2021 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
A common genre of disaster tweet is someone making a snarky comment that blames disaster survivors for the disaster because of their state’s political affiliation.

A short thread. This is a problem for several reasons but the big one is that generally the same communities that tend to be most impacted by disasters are the same ones that are most likely to be kept from voting.