I’m A FEMA Responder. Here's What No One Is Telling You About The Tragic Texas Floods.

The catastrophic floods in Texas killed more than 100 people – including at least 28 children, most of them at a Christian summer camp that was devastated by last week’s disaster. Despite the horror, these children were not the first young Americans to have their futures destroyed by climate change. Nor will they be the last.

Though the White House has described the floods as “an act of God,” the disaster was not divine intervention, but part of a deadly chain of undeniable global climatic shifts that we are wholly unprepared for.

As an emergency health care worker, FEMA responder and proud woman of faith, I know this tragedy stems from years of climate denialism and reckless cuts to science, preparedness and infrastructure.

I’ve seen hospitals overheat during heatwaves — my own cousin was denied a proper funeral because the morgue couldn’t keep his body cool. My organization, Health4Peace, has sent thousands of dollars to hospitals only to learn it’s often spent on air conditioning, not advanced treatment. That’s just one of the ways that climate change is quietly rewriting our priorities.

In church, I’ve heard people say “God is in control” to dismiss the crisis — but my faith calls me to speak up, gently but firmly. Because staying quiet would be a betrayal of both my beliefs and what I see on the frontlines.

Cuts now being deepened under Donald Trump are harming an entire generation of American children. Kids are physically more vulnerable to climate change and its effects – they breathe more air, eat more food, and drink more water relative to their body size, making them more susceptible to pollution, heat and disease.

Psychologically, studieslink childhood exposure to natural disasters with higher rates of anxiety, depression, and PTSD.

Climate change is already reshaping childhood. And as the crisis worsens, they’ll face growing threats: less access to clean water and healthy food, more illness, and more extreme weather disasters.

Since 2022, extreme weather has forced over 400 million students worldwide out of school. Even when classrooms stay open, disasters disrupt learning, displace families and put children at risk.

In 2024 alone, more than 11 million Americanswere displaced by climate-fueled events — uprooting children into instability, where they face greater risks of abuse, exploitation, and long-term psychological distress. In New Mexico last summer, wildfires destroyed 1,400 structures, including homes and schools. This year, fires in Los Angeles wreaked even greater havoc, with several schools and hospitals severely damaged or destroyed completely.

The Texas floods highlighted another blind spot: Every summer, 26 million American children attend camps, often in areas particularly vulnerable to floods or extreme heat, with almost no oversight or preparation for the new climate realities. We know from officials in Kerr County that lifesaving warnings were delayed due to bureaucracy and systematic defunding of warning and response systems.

This tragedy was the inevitable result of deliberate policy choices that have gutted our capacity to respond. And it’s only going to get worse.

In his first term, Trump wanted to slash FEMA’s pre-disaster mitigation budget by almost two-thirds. This time, he plans to phase it out altogether — with hundreds of billions of dollars already wiped out. NOAA’s budget for vital climate research and weather forecasting is set to be cut by roughly $2.3 billion, around 40% year-on-year, eliminating a lab that was specifically working on a flash-flood forecasting tool.

The current administration insists on framing the climate crisis as a partisan fight. But what could be more bipartisan, more deeply American, than keeping our children safe? This is a moral emergency that calls for the very “family values” the MAGA movement so loudly proclaims. We should demand they live up to that promise and apply those values where they are needed most.

First, the Trump administration must urgently reinstate and expand federal support for early warning systems, emergency planning in schools and camps, and climate-resilient infrastructure in every community, not just the ones who can afford it.

Instead of stripping the Department of Education and its internal Emergency Management arm, local authorities should be properly equipped with the tools and funding to retrofit schools, camps, and childcare facilities to withstand climate extremes. At the same time, we cannot stop at emergency response alone. We also need to confront the root causes driving these disasters — cutting emissions, restoring ecosystems that buffer against floods and heat, and investing in sustainable infrastructure that protects both people and the planet.

Critically, we must also invest in climate education, so the next generation understands the crisis they’re inheriting and is empowered to act. Young people should be informed of the latest climate research and equipped with leadership skills to fill gaps left by policymakers.

Just recently, Duke University’s Divinity School signed a Memorandum of Understanding to continue its pioneering youth fellowship program in partnership with Faith For Our Planet, a global interfaith nonprofit established by the Muslim World League (MWL). Under the leadership of MWL Secretary General Sheikh Mohammad Al-Issa, the program equips young faith leaders with tools to identify climate risks and build climate resilience in their communities. Al-Issa, who met personally with the Duke president, has long argued that faith is an underutilized framework and should be harnessed to deliver values-based solutions to the climate crisis.

On the other hand, programs like Climate Generation’s Youth Environmental Activists (YEA!) network work directly with students and teachers in public schools to develop climate literacy, train young leaders and organize community-wide preparedness projects.

However, the truth is, no amount of grassroots heroism can fully replace what deliberate federal policy has destroyed. Local efforts are holding the line, but they are forced to do so with shrinking resources and against rising odds.

The floods in Texas should remind us that climate change is not just an environmental issue, but a test of our collective morality — of whether we will stand idle or rise to meet this moment. Americans of faith, of science and of conscience have already begun to fill the gaps left by government failure. Now it’s time for our leaders to catch up.

Ultimately, our children are not bargaining chips in a culture war. They are the future of our nation. And they deserve a country willing to fight for them.

Dr. Nathalie Beasnael is a nurse, FEMA trainee, diplomatic envoy for Chad, COP28 delegate and the founder of Health4Peace. 

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