The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will now require disaster survivors to register for federal aid using an email address—a departure from previous policy where email addresses were optional. The move, FEMA employees tell WIRED, puts people across the US with little to no access to internet services at risk of losing out on crucial federal financial assistance after disasters.
In an internal operational update document seen by WIRED, the agency states that the new requirements are “an important step to prepare for the transition to digital payment methods and enhance communication with survivors throughout the application process.” The changes, the document states, are intended to support an executive order signed in March aimed at discontinuing federal paper-based payments. The changes were effective August 12, according to the document.
The rollout of the new policy last week appears to have caught staff on the ground by surprise, as they were suddenly unable to register people for aid without email addresses. Two FEMA workers providing assistance to survivors of disasters in Missouri and Tennessee told WIRED that the new policy has already caused issues. These workers spoke to WIRED on the condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the press.
One of the workers told WIRED they personally saw a colleague turn away a survivor who did not have an email address and could not be signed up for aid. The colleague, the worker told WIRED, wrote down instructions for the person to sign up for a Hotmail email address.
“You could tell this person was not going to be able to figure it out,” they said.
The internal update document states that more than 80 percent of survivors already apply for federal aid online. The move, the document says, will allow the agency to more effectively communicate with survivors via online accounts, which “remain the most effective way for survivors to stay informed about their application status, receive timely updates, and access critical information.”
FEMA did not respond to WIRED’s request for comment.
In 2022, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), the government agency that advises the president on telecoms and information policy, reported that one in five American households had no access to the internet in their homes. While the majority of offline households said they had no desire to be online, nearly 20 percent said that they couldn’t afford internet access. Offline households, NTIA data shows, are more likely than their online counterparts to make less than $25,000 a year, and are more likely to be racial and ethnic minorities. NTIA data from November 2023 shows that nearly 17 percent of households in Missouri and 20 percent of households in Tennessee—the two states where FEMA workers spoke to WIRED—had no internet use at all in the home.
The internal FEMA document seen by WIRED has an FAQ section; the second question listed asks what to do if an applicant doesn’t have an email address.
“Most Americans already have at least one email address, but setting up a new email address is quick and easy,” the document states. “There are many providers to choose from, and applicants can select the option that works best for them. FEMA does not endorse any specific email service provider.”