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Fires and floods are eviscerating US communities, intensifying the housing crisis • Alabama Reflector

Published

3 months ago

February 8, 2025

Staff Editor

alabamareflector.com – Robbie Sequeira – 2025-02-08 07:01:00

Fires and floods are eviscerating US communities, intensifying the housing crisis

by Robbie Sequeira, Alabama Reflector
February 8, 2025

This story originally appeared on Stateline.

After nearly a month, the Eaton and Palisades wildfires that ravaged California have been contained. But for Southern California and state agencies, another challenge lies ahead: helping people find homes.

The wildfires levied significant long-term damage, with thousands of homes destroyed, billions in damages and a worsening of the state’s housing and homelessness crises. Even before the fires, California already had a shortage of 1.2 million affordable homes, with Los Angeles County alone facing a deficit of 500,000 units.

“This tragic loss will certainly make the housing crisis more acute in multiple ways,” said Ryan Finnigan, an associate research director at the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at the University of California, Berkeley. “L.A. continues to need vastly more affordable housing, and people displaced from lost affordable units might need the most support to become stably housed again.”

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Even those displaced from market-rate or high-end housing will face challenges in an already tight market, with thousands searching for housing at once — likely driving prices even higher for everyone.

Natural disasters are worsening the U.S. housing crisis, upending the home insurance market, and reducing housing options — particularly for lower-income residents. And that trend will likely grow as disasters become more frequent and severe.

Climate change, experts warn, is the world’s fastest-growing driver of homelessness, displacing millions of people annually. In 2022 alone, disasters forced 32.6 million people worldwide from their homes, according to a 2023 report by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre.

If trends continue, 1.2 billion people globally could be displaced due to disasters by 2050, according to the international think tank Institute for Economics & Peace.

The consequences are already playing out.

After the 2023 Maui wildfires, homelessness in Hawaii rose by 87%. With Los Angeles’ fires destroying about six times as many homes, experts predict that California’s homeless population will surge dramatically in 2025.

“Natural disasters cause a massive spike in homelessness,” said Jeremy Ney, a macroeconomics policy strategist who studies American inequality. “The primary goal of relief organizations like the Red Cross is to prevent people from becoming permanently unhoused — but for many, it can take a decade or more to recover.”

A long path to recovery

According to the Migration Policy Institute, 3.2 million U.S. adults were displaced or evacuated because of natural disasters in 2022, with more than 500,000 still unable to return home by the end of the year.

The recovery timeline can be grueling. In North Carolina, state officials managing Hurricane Helene’s recovery warned that key federal funding for home reconstruction could be delayed for months — possibly into next fall, according to NC Newsline.

In the event of a disaster, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, known as FEMA, focuses on shorter-term relief, offering emergency shelters, disaster unemployment assistance and grants for rebuilding. State agencies, though, are tasked with the long-term projects, such as making infrastructure repairs and developing housing initiatives, said Samantha Batko, a senior fellow in the Housing and Communities Division at the Urban Institute.

“Disaster relief programs like FEMA focus on short-term recovery, whereas homelessness response systems struggle with long-term systemic challenges,” said Batko. “People who live in unsheltered places during disasters, like on street corners or in cars, have higher exposure to ash [from fires] and debris, which leads to more health issues and emergency room visits.”

At the time of the Eaton fire, Los Angeles’ Skid Row was home to roughly 2,200 unsheltered people, experiencing some of the worst air quality effects, according to Batko, who co-authored a report on the issue for the institute.

Los Angeles’ homelessness crisis was already dire: Last year, Los Angeles County had just 27,000 shelter beds for 75,000 unhoused residents. The fires have now left thousands more without homes, further straining an already overwhelmed system.

“The relevant governments — state and federal agencies, L.A. County and its 88 cities — must be on the same page to mount an organized and effective response,” said Finnigan, of the Terner Center for Housing Innovation.

There may be another twist coming.

When President Donald Trump visited western North Carolina last month, he floated the idea of eliminating FEMA and leaving disaster response to the states, with federal reimbursement of some costs. He has since signed an executive order calling for a full assessment of FEMA and recommendations for “improvements or structural changes.” State emergency managers quickly responded that they need FEMA’s involvement.

Insurance challenges

Disaster recovery is not equal: Homeowners with insurance typically rebound the fastest, as policies cover much of the rebuilding costs. But as climate disasters intensify, the insurance market has begun to unravel. In 2023, insurers lost money on homeowners’ coverage in 18 states — more than a third of the country — according to a New York Times analysis.

It’s led to an insurance crisis — rising premiums, reduced coverage or insurers pulling out altogether — a trend that began in California, Florida and Louisiana but that has spread across the country.

Even before this winter’s fires, these insurance issues would have been a defining legislative issue for California, predicted Alexandra Alvarado, director of education and marketing at the American Apartment Owners Association, an industry lobbying group.

“There’s a great anxiety from … property owners on whether they will be insured or covered when another wildfire or a similar event costs them their home, and whether it’s worth it to rebuild and start over,” Alvarado told Stateline in December. “I think it’s going to be on the radar of lawmakers not just in our state, because we’re seeing this play out in other states as well.”

During the fires, California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara reminded insurers of their legal duty to cover mudslide damage caused by recent wildfires, as colder, wetter weather raises risks, particularly for Los Angeles County wildfire survivors.

Already, State Farm, the largest home insurer in California, has asked the state to approve “emergency” rate hikes because of the fires, seeking an average 22% increase for homeowners and 15% for renters.

Barriers for lower-income residents

The long-term recovery process is filled with hurdles — especially for low-income and marginalized communities.

Lower-income households are disproportionately vulnerable to climate disasters; they’re also disproportionately harmed. Residents may reside in older, high-risk homes that are more susceptible to destruction. In some places, lower-income neighborhoods were built in low-lying flood plains because land was cheaper or red-lining kept families of color from living elsewhere.

Many households cannot afford homeowners or flood insurance, and strict eligibility criteria may prevent them from qualifying for disaster relief loans, said Katie Arrington, a disaster recovery expert for Boulder County, Colorado.

Natural disasters cause a massive spike in homelessness.

– Jeremy Ney, a macroeconomics policy strategist

Renters, mobile home residents and uninsured households often can’t afford homes comparable to the ones lost to disaster. Without financial safety nets, many displaced residents face an impossible choice: endure months or years of instability, or leave their community altogether.

“People with insurance have an easier time recovering than people without it. Homeowners, in general, recover more easily than renters,” Arrington said. “There’s a spectrum, from homeowners with full insurance to renters without insurance, and each group faces very different recovery timelines.”

One major barrier to recovery for renters is the post-disaster surge in housing costs. A Brookings Institution report published in October 2023 shows that effective rents typically rise 4% after a disaster and remain elevated for at least five years.

In the past few weeks in Los Angeles, fire-affected neighborhoods such as Venice and Santa Monica saw rents surge by 60-100% within days, fueling calls for stronger enforcement of California’s anti-price gouging laws.

California lawmakers in January allocated billions in funding to state and federal government relief efforts and put an immediate moratorium on evictions. The governor’s office also has issued an executive order prohibiting Los Angeles-area landlords from evicting tenants who provide shelter to survivors of the Los Angeles-area firestorms.

Experience and luck

For many municipalities, past experience is the only real preparation for disaster recovery. And sometimes, a bit of luck helps, too.

In 2021, the Marshall Fire in Colorado forced the evacuation of 35,000 residents in Boulder County and destroyed nearly 1,000 buildings. County officials say their response benefited from both preparation and circumstance.

“Some of our success was due to experience, but some of it was luck. We had a vacant county-owned building available to house the disaster assistance center, which allowed us to act quickly,” said Arrington, the disaster response manager for Boulder County. “If we had needed to rent or find a less-central location, the response would have been slower.”

Across the U.S., states are grappling with similar challenges.

In North Carolina, state-led efforts such as the Back@Home program helped rapidly rehouse approximately 100 displaced households after Hurricane Florence in 2018, and later helped nearly 800 households find more permanent homes. The program has since become a model for addressing disaster-fueled displacement.

Similarly, after Tropical Storm Helene last fall, Asheville, North Carolina, allocated $1 million in rental assistance to prevent displacement. While Red Cross and state-run shelters were scheduled to close by Nov. 10, the city coordinated with the WNC Rescue Mission to keep one shelter open longer for the remaining displaced residents.

By Dec. 31, 2024, all nine remaining shelter participants had secured exit plans — ensuring no one was left without a place to go, according to the city’s spokesperson, Kim Miller.

Hawaii also has launched large-scale relief initiatives. In response to the 2023 Maui fire, HomeAid Hawaii, in partnership with the state, developed interim housing solutions for 1,500 displaced residents for up to five years.

“Disaster-driven homelessness requires targeted programs that meet the needs of people at risk,” said Batko, of the Urban Institute. “States must integrate housing policy into emergency preparedness, or they’ll find themselves overwhelmed when the next disaster strikes.”

In Colorado, Boulder County has managed to rebuild or begin construction on about two-thirds of the homes that were lost.

Boulder County is aiming for an ambitious 90% recovery rate, meaning 9 of 10 displaced households will find a new homes in the area. But even that success comes with a twinge of mourning for what was lost.

“We started this recovery with a goal to get close to 90%, so we’re proud,” Arrington said. “But we also recognize that some parts of the community have changed forever.”

Stateline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger for questions: info@stateline.org.

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Alabama Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Alabama Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Brian Lyman for questions: info@alabamareflector.com.

The post Fires and floods are eviscerating US communities, intensifying the housing crisis • Alabama Reflector appeared first on alabamareflector.com

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News from the South - Alabama News Feed

Alabama Legislature sends 2026 ETF, General Fund budgets to Gov. Kay Ivey

Published

1 day ago

April 30, 2025

Staff Editor

alabamareflector.com – Alander Rocha – 2025-04-30 07:01:00

by Alander Rocha, Alabama Reflector
April 30, 2025

The Alabama Legislature Tuesday gave final approval to the state’s two budgets for the 2026 fiscal year, but not without a battle.

The Alabama Senate passed a $3.7 billion 2026 General Fund budget late Tuesday night on a 30-0 vote after an hours-long slowdown.

HB 186, sponsored by Rep. Rex Reynolds, R-Huntsville, would provide a 10% increase ($347 million) over the current budget for the 2026 fiscal year, which starts October 1.

“In many cases, you had a reduction in what your request had been. Everyone of us had that … so we’re in a dichotomy here where we have the largest budget we’ve ever had, and yet, we have the tightest constraints and control that we’ve had in recent memory,” said Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Atmore, who chairs the Senate Finance and Taxation General Fund Committee, pointing to Medicaid’s significant budget increase that will bring its budget to over $1 billion.

Sen. Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham, asked for the 125-page funding bill to be read in its entirety Tuesday afternoon, which delayed the vote by hours. He said after the Senate adjourned that he didn’t want controversial bills to be passed without deliberation, and that he was afraid the Senate would move to adopt a different set of bills to consider.

“[The House] did have a second calendar, and it was going to be the same thing here in terms of the desire to have a second calendar, and I thought that we need to just work on that particular calendar,” Smitherman said after the Senate adjourned.

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The Alabama Medicaid Agency, which provides health insurance for over 1 million Alabamians, nearly all children, elderly citizens and those with disabilities, will get $1.179 billion from the state, a $223.8 million (19%) increase over this year. Ivey requested $1.184 billion in February, about $5 million more than what the House approved.

The Alabama Department of Corrections, which administers the state prisons, will get a $90.1 million increase (11%) to $826.7 million.

The Alabama Department of Human Resources, which provides child and adult protective services, enforces child support payments and administers food and family assistance, will get $148.9 million from the state in 2026, a $4.7 million (3%) increase from the current budget.

The Alabama Department of Mental Health, which provides mental health care services in the state, will get a $4.7 million increase (2%) to $244 million. The Legislature cut the funding from Ivey’s recommendation by $3.7 million.

But senators also appeared to want to send a message to the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles, which has drawn mounting criticism from Democratic and Republican senators over low parole rates and what senators consider a lack of responsiveness to their questions about the parole process. The Senate cut the board’s funding from $94.5 million to $90.6 million, a 4.1% decrease.

In addition, Sen. Clyde Chambliss, R-Prattville, added an amendment to make funding for the Board of Pardons & Paroles conditional on the board developing parole release guidelines. The amendment passed on a 27-0 vote.

“What they do, as y’all know, they adopt guidelines. Those are supposed to be updated and revised. They have not done that,” he said.

The board has faced backlash after parole rates declined significantly after 2017, when members granted parole to about 54% of applicants. The rates fell as low as 7% at times, according to an analysis by the ACLU of Alabama in 2023, but rebounded to slightly more than 20% within the past year.

The Senate also passed HB 185, also sponsored by Reynolds, which would appropriate $50 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to the Department of Finance and provide over $12.6 million to the Unified Judicial System.

“This bill is supplemental monies just taking federal money and appropriating it,” Albritton said.

The House concurred with the changes late Tuesday evening, sending the bill to Gov. Kay Ivey.

The Senate also concurred with House changes to SB 112, sponsored by Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, a nearly $10 billion 2026 Education Trust Fund budget (ETF).

The House changes added $17.6 million to the budget, bringing it to a 6% increase over the 2025 ETF budget. The budget does not contain pay raises for teachers in the 2025-26 fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1. But it includes a $99.2 million increase for the Public Education Employees’ Health Insurance Plan, as well as funding for workman’s compensation for education employees and paid parental leave.

The Senate also concurred with the ETF supplemental funding bills, including SB 113, also sponsored by Orr, a $524 million 2025 supplemental appropriation for education that passed the House with an amendment changing language to clarify dual enrollment programs funding.

The Senate also concurred with House changes to SB 111, sponsored by Orr, which would appropriate $375 million over three years to implement changes to the state’s school funding formula.

The House added an additional $80 million from the Education Opportunity Reserve Fund to the Creating Hope and Opportunity for Our Students’ Education (CHOOSE) Act Fund, a voucher-like program that gives tax credits for non-public school spending, including private school tuition. The first-year cost estimate will go from $100 million to $180 million, an 80% increase. Over two-thirds of applicants to the program are already in private school or are homeschooled.

The story was updated at 10:30 a.m. to include comment from Sen. Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham, regarding the procedural delay.

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Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Centrist

The content primarily reports on the legislative proceedings and budget approval in Alabama, focusing on the specifics of the Senate’s actions, including discussions and amendments. The tone is factual, without clear support or opposition to any political party or position. It details the actions of both Republican and Democratic senators, presenting them neutrally. The mention of funding allocations, including increases for Medicaid and the Department of Corrections, appears to be a straightforward report on the outcome of legislative decisions, without showing favor to any side. The coverage adheres to neutral, factual reporting rather than offering an ideological stance.

News from the South - Alabama News Feed

Bail reform bills moving through Alabama Legislature in final days of session

Published

2 days ago

April 29, 2025

Staff Editor

alabamareflector.com – Ralph Chapoco – 2025-04-29 07:01:00

by Ralph Chapoco, Alabama Reflector
April 29, 2025

Two bills that would change Alabama’s bail system are working their way through the Legislature in the waning days of the 2025 session.

The Senate Judiciary Committee hosted a public hearing Wednesday for HB 42, sponsored by Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, which gives judges the authority to allow defendants to pay a portion of their total bond to be released from pretrial detention.

HB 410, sponsored by Rep. Shane Stringer, R-Citronelle, which was approved by the House Judiciary Committee, modifies the composition of the Alabama Professional Bail Bonding Board, expands the exemptions for the fees that bail bond companies must pay the court, increases penalties for bail jumping and adds more regulations for bail bond companies when they operate in another state.

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A message was sent to Stringer Monday seeking comment.

HB 42 has passed the House and is awaiting a vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee. The House is scheduled to vote on HB 410 on Tuesday. England’s bill adds three words, “a part of” back into an Alabama statute that were removed when the same Legislature enacted the Alabama Bail Reform Act of 1993.

The removal of the words meant judges in the state could not allow defendants to pay a percentage of their bond to get release from pretrial detention.

“What that translates into is a large amount of money that would normally go to the court system, instead of going to the court system, it goes to a bondsman,” England said to the committee Wednesday.

People can secure their release after an arrest if they pay a bail bond company. The premium, which is typically 10% of the total amount of the bond, is paid to the bail bond company, which then must ensure the individuals go to their court appearances.

The money that people pay when released on a percentage bond would be retained by the court and kept if defendants fail to appear for their court dates.

The Alabama Bail Bond Association has been a vocal opponent of the bill, speaking out against the legislation at a March public hearing and the House Judiciary Committee considered it then and eventually approved the bill a week later.

Victor Howard, vice president of the Alabama Bail Bond Association and bail bond company owner, said that enacting the legislation would reduce accountability for defendants to appear for their court dates.

Chris McNeil, the president of the Alabama Bail Bond Association, suggested Monday in an interview that the rates that people would not appear for court would increase. He also cited records from the Alabama Administrative Office of Courts saying that people who paid cash to be released from pretrial detention in 2022 and 2023 had a failure to appear (FTA) rate of 55%.

“The court just can’t function when you have a failure to appear rate of 55%,” McNeil said Monday. “The bonding companies were averaging about a 14%-15% failure to appear rate. And were able to trim that rate by returning defendants back to court.”

England told the committee that the numbers do not present a fair comparison to percentage bonds.

“The numbers are obviously going to be off because there are more people on smaller offenses with cash bonds versus somebody who is on a large bond with a bondsman,” England said to the committee on Wednesday. “Obviously, there is going to be a higher number of FTAs on smaller cases, traffic tickets, because they all count.”

Jerome Dees, policy director from the Southern Poverty Law Center, supported the legislation.

“The vast majority of times when there was an FTA that was ultimately secured, and the defendant showed up in court, it largely was due to law enforcement bringing that individual in and not the bail bond company,” he said to the committee on Wednesday. “That is not to say that it never happened, but the vast majority of time it was law enforcement bringing that particular individual in.”

McNeil said in an interview Monday he supports HB 410, Stringer’s bill.

“It expands the Alabama Professional Bail Bonding Board by adding a sheriff to the board, adding a layperson, so I think that is very important,” he said.

It also states that any fees that bail bond companies pay to the court that have not been deposited within 90 days and that have an expiration date “shall be deemed uncollected” and will no longer hold the bail bond company responsible for making the payment.

The bill also exempts bail bond companies from fees that the courts or district attorneys have not attempted to collect past one year from the original due date.

HB 410 also adds more conditions such that the bail bond company will not pay a fee, known as forfeiture, to the court when in cases that the defendant fails to appear in court.

McNeil said the bill would cancel that forfeiture payment if someone was not placed in the National Crime Information Center and failed to appear in court, or if the bail bond company brings back a defendant that the jail refuses to accept.

The bill also addresses instances when an individual travels out of state and enhances the penalty for bail jumping, going from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class D felony, punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a $7,500 fine.

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The post Bail reform bills moving through Alabama Legislature in final days of session appeared first on alabamareflector.com

Political Bias Rating: Center-Left

The content focuses on legislative efforts to reform Alabama’s bail system, highlighting a bill sponsored by a Democratic representative aimed at allowing partial bond payments to reduce the financial burden on defendants. It presents arguments from both supporters and opponents, including the bail bond industry’s concerns and civil rights advocacy perspectives. The article leans slightly left by emphasizing criminal justice reform and the perspective of proponents seeking to reduce penal system inequities, yet it maintains a generally balanced tone by including conservative viewpoints and the legislative process details.

News from the South - Alabama News Feed

7-Year-Old Calls 911, Helps Save Family Member's Life | April 28, 2025 | News 19 at 10 p.m.

Published

2 days ago

April 28, 2025

Staff Editor

www.youtube.com – WHNT News 19 – 2025-04-28 23:17:38

SUMMARY: Seven-year-old Maddux Kendrick from New Market showed remarkable bravery by calling 911 when his stepmom, Megan Douglas, who has epilepsy, suffered a seizure on New Year’s Day. While playing video games and watching TV, Maddux noticed Megan fell and was having a seizure. Calmly, he first called Megan’s mother and then 911, providing precise information and helping the operator monitor Megan’s breathing until EMTs arrived. His quick thinking likely saved her life, as she later had another seizure and might have suffered worse alone. Maddux received a Good Samaritan Award for his courage and presence of mind, making his family very proud.