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Last year was a record year for disasters in the United States. A new report from the British charity International Institute for Environment and Development finds that 90 disasters were declared nationwide in 2024, from wildfires in California to Hurricane Helene in North Carolina. The average number of annual disasters in the U.S. is about 55. The Federal Emergency Management Agency provides funding and recovery assistance to states after disasters. President Donald Trump criticized the agency in January 2025 when he visited hurricane-stricken western North Carolina. Though 41% of Americans lived in an area affected by disaster in 2024, according to the institutes report, the Trump administration is reportedly working to abolish or dramatically diminish FEMAs operations. FEMA has been a very big disappointment. They cost a tremendous amount of money. Its very bureaucratic, and its very slow, Trump declared, saying he thought states were better positioned to take care of problems after a disaster. A governor can handle something very quickly, he said. Trumps remarks have prompted a heated response, including proposals to fundamentally overhaulbut not abolishfederal disaster recovery. But I believe the current discussion about FEMA handling U.S. disasters puts the emphasis in the wrong place. As a scholar who researches how small and rural local governments cooperate, I believe this public debate demonstrates that many people fundamentally misunderstand how disaster recovery actually works, especially in rural areas, where locally directed efforts are particularly key to that recovery. I know this from personal experience, too: I am a resident of Watauga County, in western North Carolina, and I evacuated during Hurricane Helene after landslides severely impaired the roads around my home. Volunteers and Vermont Army National Guardsmen help to unload pallets of emergency drinking water at a community food and resource share at the Ludlow Community Center. The emergency drinking water was supplied by FEMA. [Photo: Vincent Alban/The Boston Globe via Getty Images] When disaster strikes Here, in short, is what happens after a disaster. Federal legislation from 1988 called the Stafford Act gives governors the power to declare disasters. If the president agrees and also declares the region a disaster, that puts federal programs and activities in motion. Yet local officials are generally involved from the very start of this process. Governors usually seek input from state and local emergency managers and other municipal officials before making a disaster declaration, and it is local officials who begin the disaster response. Thats because small and rural local governments actually have the most local knowledge to lead recovery efforts in their area after a disaster. Local officials determine conditions on the ground, coordinate search and rescue, and help bring utilities and other infrastructure back online. They have relationships with community members that can inform decision-making. For example, a county senior center will know which residents receive Meals on Wheels and might need a wellness check after disaster. However, small towns cannot do all this alone. They need FEMAs money and resources, and that can present a problem. The process of applying and complying with the requirements of the grants is incredibly complex and burdensome. According to FEMAs website, there are eight phases in the disaster aid process, composed of 28 steps that range from preliminary damage assesment to recovery scoping video to compliance reviews and reconciliation. Getting through these eight phases takes years. The FEMA Public Assistance National Delivery Model Workflow Snake [Graph: FEMA] Larger cities and counties frequently have dedicated staff that apply for disaster aid and ensure compliance with regulations. But smaller governments can struggle to apply for and administer state or federal grants on their ownespecially after a disaster when demands are so high. Thats where regional intergovernmental organizations come in. Every region has its own name for these entities. Theyre often called councils of government, regional planning commissions or area development districts. My colleagues and I call them RIGOs, for their initials. What is a RIGO? No matter the name, RIGOs are collaborative bodies that allow local governments to cooperate for services and programs they might not otherwise be able to afford. Bringing together local elected officials from usually about three to five counties, RIGOs help local officials cooperate to address the shared needs of everyone in their area. They do this in normal times; they also do this when disasters strike. RIGOs operate throughout most of the U.S., in big cities and rural areas, in turbulent times and in calm. They serve different needs in different regions, but in all cases, RIGOs bring together local elected officials to solve common problems. One example of this in western North Carolina is the Digital Seniors project, launched during COVID-19. Here, the local RIGO is called the Southwestern Commission. In 2021, the RIGO area agency on aging coordinated with the Fontana Regional Library to help dozens of elders who had never been connected to the internet get online during the pandemic. The Southwestern Commission used its relationships with the local senior centers to identify people who needed the service, and the library had access to hot spots and laptops through a grant from the state of North Carolina. In rural areas, RIGOs work alongside regional business and nonprofits to allow local governments to offer regular services and programs they might not otherwise be able to afford, such as public transportation, senior citizen services or economic development. Part of that work is helping member governments navigate the maze of federal and state funding opportunities for the projects they hope to get done, often by employing a specialized grant administrator. Each small local government may not have enough work or revenue to justify such a staff member, but many together have the workload and funding to hire someone specially trained to abide by the rules of funding from states and the federal government. This system helps small local governments receive their fair share in federal grant money and report back on how the money was spent. Transparency, technical compliance and action Disasters rarely respect borders. Thats why governments generally work together to distribute grant money for rebuilding communities. In the summer of 2022, eastern Kentucky faced deadly flooding after receiving about 15 inches of rain over four days600% above normal. The North Fork of the Kentucky River crested at approximately 21 feet, killing over two dozen people and damaging 9,000 homes and more than 100 businesses. Laura Humphrey walks a wheelbarrow to a pile of debris while volunteering to clean up in Perry County, Kentucky. [Photo: Michael Swensen/Getty Images] The Kentucky River Area Development District, a RIGO representing eight counties, played a key role in the areas recovery. It secured millions in FEMA aid and maintained critical services, including expanded food delivery and transportation for elderly residents. Similarly, after disastrous flooding hit Vermont in 2023 and 2024, another RIGO, the Central Vermont Regional Planning Commission, jumped into action. It quickly provided emergency communication to the 23 small villages and towns in its region and has since supported local governments applying for grants and reimbursements. Today, it continues to assist in Vermonts disaster planning and flood mitigation. This is also part of the recovery process. Local control Rebuilding after a disaster is a long, arduous process. It begins after national journalists and politicians have left the area and continues for years. That would be true no matter how Trump restructures emergency aid: The damage is massive, and so is the repair. For example, heres how western North Carolina looks six months after Helene: Most businesses have reopened, most folks have running water again, and people can drive in and out of the area. But many roads are still full of broken pavement. Mud from landslides presses up against the sides of the highway, and condemned housing teeters on the edge of ravaged creek beds. It is, in other words, too soon to see the full impact of local government efforts to rebuild my region. But RIGOs across the region are hiring additional temporary staff to help local governments get federal money and comply with complex guidelines. Their support ensures that decisions affecting North Carolinians are voted on by the city and county leaders they electednot decreed by governors or handed down from Washington, D.C. Locally led rebuilding is slow and difficult work, yes. But it is, in my opinion, the most community-responsive way to deal with disaster. Jaylen Peacox, a graduate student in public administraion at North Carolina State University, contributed to this story. Jay Rickabaugh is an assistant professor of public administration at North Carolina State University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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The Fast Company Impact Council is an invitation-only membership community of leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual dues for access to peer learning, thought leadership opportunities, events and more. The landscape of home automation has sparked numerous discussions about security and control. According to SonicWalls comprehensive 2025 Annual Cyber Threat Report, smart home products experienced a staggering 124% increase in cyberattacks during 2024, with smart plugs emerging as particularly vulnerable targets. These vulnerabilities have ignited growing consumer concern about the safety of cloud-dependent technologies that have dominated the smart home market. As our homes become increasingly connected, the cloud-connected home automation weve been seeing for the past decade is being critically examined. A growing segment of consumers now seeks alternatives emphasizing local control, data privacy, and system resilience. Here well examine the emerging paradigm of locally controlled smart home technologies, an approach that promises to return technological autonomy to homeowners. The current landscape of smart home technology The modern smart home ecosystem has evolved into an interconnected network predominantly reliant on cloud infrastructure. This cloud-centric approach requires constant internet connectivity, routing even the simplest commands through distant data centers thousands of miles away. While promising convenience, this model introduces vulnerabilities: A single network interruption can render home systems inoperable. Each connected device becomes a potential cybersecurity entry point. Data privacy becomes increasingly compromised as more personal information is transmitted and stored remotely. Real-world IoT and smart home security failures The most troubling aspect of cloud-dependent smart home technology is the threat of planned obsolescence. Manufacturers can shut down cloud services that power devices consumers have already purchased, rendering functional hardware useless. For example, in February 2024, Amazon announced that its Echo Connect landline adapter would cease functioning, giving users just three weeks’ notice. This transition forced vulnerable users to quickly adapt to new technologies or lose access to a potentially life-saving communication tool. The Echo Connect shutdown is far from an isolated incident. In April 2022, Insteon abruptly shut down its servers without warning, rendering thousands of connected devices instantly nonfunctional. These incidents expose a critical flaw in cloud-dependent systems: Consumers never truly own their devices. When business interests change or financial pressures mount, companies canand sometimes mustabandon their customers. Beyond platform shutdowns, security researchers continue to uncover alarming vulnerabilities in cloud-connected devices. For example, in 2020, multiple families experienced privacy violations when their Ring security cameras were compromised, allowing strangers to speak directly to family members through the devices meant to protect them. Corporate resistance to local control Some manufacturers have actively blocked consumers from maintaining local control of purchased devices. In January 2024, appliance giant Haier issued legal threats against a developer who created Home Assistant integration plugins for the company’s smart appliances. These open-source tools allowed consumers to control their purchased devices without relying on Haier’s cloud infrastructure. Despite overwhelming community support, with users creating hundreds of backup copies of the developer’s work, Haier’s aggressive stance exemplifies how manufacturers prioritize maintaining control over their ecosystems rather than respecting consumer ownership rights. These failures underscore fundamental problems with cloud-dependent smart home technologies that consumers are increasingly recognizing: Personal security is compromised when critical home systems depend on external servers. Single points of failure make entire ecosystems vulnerable. Personal data faces unnecessary exposure and transmission risks. Manufacturers maintain excessive control over hardware consumers believe they own. There is a growing community focused on local control, like Home Assistant, where users actively discuss strategies to maintain autonomy and minimize cloud dependency. The local control revolution Locally controlled smart home technology represents a paradigm shift in home automation, offering a fundamentally different approach to device management and data processing. At its core, this approach keeps all smart device functionalities within your home’s local network, providing unprecedented levels of privacy, reliability, and user control. The key principles of local control are simple. Locally controlled smart home technology represents a paradigm shift, offering fundamentally different approaches to device management and data processing: Local processing: Devices process information directly within the home network, delivering near-instantaneous response times Network independence: Systems operate independently of internet connectivity Privacy by design: Data processing remains within the home network, creating a barrier against external data collection Platforms like Home Assistant and Hubitat have emerged as leaders in this revolution, offering robust, customizable ecosystems that prioritize user autonomy. These platforms empower tech-savvy users to build truly personalized smart home experiences that reflect their unique needs and values. The path forward The shift toward locally controlled smart home technology presents a significant opportunity for forward-thinking developers and manufacturers. As consumer demand for privacy, security, and true ownership grows, businesses that embrace this paradigm wll gain competitive advantage in an increasingly crowded market. For developers and product teams, the strategy is clear: Incorporate local processing capabilities alongside cloud features, respect user autonomy through open APIs, and build trust through transparent data practices. Companies that prioritize these values aren’t just serving a nichethey’re positioning themselves at the forefront of the next evolution in smart home technology. The most successful smart home ecosystems won’t be those that lock users into vulnerable cloud dependencies, but those that empower customers with genuine control while delivering exceptional experiences. Svetlin Todorov is cofounder of Shelly and CEO of Shelly U.S.A.
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Pope Francis’ funeral mass will be held on Saturday morning in St. Peters Square, a large plaza in front of St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. Francis’ funeral will take place six days after he died of a stroke and heart failure at age 88. It comes after three days of public viewing at St. Peter’s Basilica, where tens of thousands of people flocked to pay their respects to the first Latin American pope. After the mass, the pope’s coffin will be taken to Rome and entombed at St. Mary Major Basilica, near his favorite Madonna icon, making him the first pope to be buried outside of the Vatican in over a century, according to NPR. (Leo XIII was the last pope buried outside the Vatican in 1903.) Francis wrote about his plans for a pared-down burial in his autobiography, and reportedly left instructions that future popes will also have simplified burial rites. The break with tradition is in line with “the People’s Pope’s” progressive 12-year reign as pontiff, characterized by a concern for the poor and greater inclusion in the church. Known to be humble, Francis chose to be buried in a simple wooden coffin instead of the more traditional three-nested coffins (one made of cypress, one made of lead, and one made of elm), according to CBS News. A number of heads of state from over 100 foreign delegations are expected to attend the funeral, including U.S. president Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, U.K. prime minister Keir Starmer, and Prince William (on behalf of King Charles III), NPR reported. The Italian government expects as many as 200,000 people to attend in person. One notable absence: Russian president Vladimir Putin, according to Russian media reports, due to his arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) in connection with alleged war crimes in Ukraine. What time is Pope Francis’ funeral? Saturday’s funeral mass will begin at 10 a.m. local time, which is 4 a.m. ET. The Vatican said the mass will be presided over by the dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re. The College of Cardinals will meet in a few weeks, between May 6 and May 11, to elect a new pope, as required by the rules governing the conclave. How can I watch or stream Pope Francis’ funeral live? All networks will be covering this historic day. Traditional cable subscribers or those with an over-the-air antenna can tune in, as well as those with certain streaming service subscriptions: ABC: Coverage starts at 3:30 a.m. ET, including on Disney+ and Hulu CBS: Coverage starts at 4 a.m. ET, and concludes at about 7 a.m. NBC: Coverage is also available on Peacock+ If you cut the cord and dont have an over-the-air antenna, you can try live TV streaming services, including: Hulu + Live TV Fubo Peacock+ YouTube TV You can also livestream coverage of the funeral and procession to St. Mary Majors on the Vatican News YouTube channel. However, coverage will stop before the burial in the Basilica.
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