The country's disaster-response infrastructure is compromised

There is a laundry list of ways that the government botched the response to the severe flooding in Texas over the last week. People weren't warned in time so more people likely died than they would have otherwise, and people aren't getting the support they need from FEMA in a timely fashion as they try to dig themselves out.

But, it wasn't just one thing causing these issues. It was call center cuts at FEMA, NWS/NOAA cuts, the administration's FEMA director having no experience in disaster relief, the admin's goal to destroy the emergency aid agency, the overfunding of ICE leading to budget shortfalls elsewhere, and Kristi Noem's rule of personally approving expenses above $100k herself...the list goes on.

A lot of people are talking about this.

However, not enough people are talking about what this means for you, as an individual American. It means:

1) You can no longer rely on the government to warn you of pending weather disasters.

2) You can no longer rely on the government to rescue you quickly in emergency situations.

3) You can no longer rely on the government to provide financial assistance for emergency essentials if your home burns down, is flooded, or is swept up by tornadoes.

As a result, you need to:

1) Consider moving out of areas prone to frequent floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, or earthquakes.

2) Consider saving extra money to have on hand in cash during disasters, in case you need to pay for food/water/clothes/hotel.

3) Consider keeping extra supplies on hand at home that could last 2-7 days in the event you are stranded in an extreme weather event (drinking water, canned food, generator).