DHS Cancels Extreme Weather Comms Grant While Bodies Still Being Recovered in Texas

[riversedge]

Source: TPM


July 10, 2025 1:12 p.m.

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Two years ago, DHS awarded a $3 million grant for something called the “Empower Project,” which planned to leverage New York’s Mesonet data to “build a next-generation scalable decision-support tool suite for the emergency management enterprise.” What Empower was meant to do was coordinate disaster response in extreme weather events and specifically make sure there was effective “last mile” communications between forecasters, state disaster officials and local officials on the ground in specific areas. In other words, it aimed at improving precisely the kind of “last mile” coordination and communication that fell short in Texas. If locals officials aren’t notified effectively and on time, it doesn’t matter how great the data collection towers are.


.............But on Tuesday the grant recipients at State University of New York, Albany were notified by DHS in a termination form dated July 8th that the entire grant was being “terminate[d] for the convenience of the Government.” The order, signed by DHS contracting officer John Whipple, instructed researchers to immediately cease work on the project.

The Albany Times Union reported earlier this morning that Sen. Chuck Schumer has written a letter to Noem asking her to reconsider the decision.

Read more: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/dhs-cancels-extreme-weather-comms-grant-while-bodies-still-being-recovered-in-texas

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Reposted by emptywheel
‪Josh Marshall‬ ‪@joshtpm.bsky.social‬
· 1h
NEW: Sec. Noem has now admits "last mile" disaster communications weren't up to par in the Texas catastrophe. But while bodies were still being recovered on Tuesday DHS canceled a $3 million grant focused on improving precisely those kinds of "last mile" comms. talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/dhs-c...

NEW: Sec. Noem has now admits "last mile" disaster communications weren't up to par in the Texas catastrophe. But while bodies were still being recovered on Tuesday DHS canceled a million grant focused on improving precisely those kinds of "last mile" comms. talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/dhs-c...

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm.bsky.social) 2025-07-10T17:14:49.787Z