Alarm over Fema aid rule requiring email address for disaster victims

Source: The Guardian

Fri 22 Aug 2025 08.00 EDT
Last modified on Fri 22 Aug 2025 08.01


Current and former Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) officials are concerned over a new agency rule requiring disaster victims to have an email address in order to apply for federal aid. The policy change, first reported by Wired and confirmed by a Fema official to the Guardian, was “troubling to say the least”, said Jeremy Edwards, former spokesperson for Fema and the White House under Joe Biden’s presidency.

Email was an optional means of contacting Fema under previous administrations, but will now be mandatory for those seeking relief amid disasters. The change, which follows a March executive order discontinuing federal paper-based payments, could be a major hurdle for victims in need of financial aid, particularly for those with limited internet access.

“For most people, it’s a non-issue, but for people that have either chosen not to have an email or don’t have an email for whatever reason, it seems to be a very arbitrary thing to say, no email, no help,” said Craig Fugate, a former Fema administrator during the Obama administration. “It sounds like the clerks are just making the job easier for themselves.”

In the US, an estimated 12% of people lived in households without any internet connection in 2023. Disasters can also make it difficult or impossible for victims to access libraries or other public spaces to get online. “My question is, why aren’t we focused on meeting the survivors where they are, versus making them fit our plan,” said Fugate.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/22/fema-rule-aid-disaster-victims