Wednesday, September 17, 2025

Digital Beat

FEMA Says the Check is in the E-Mail

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) now requires disaster survivors to register for federal aid using an e-mail address—a change from previous policy that made an e-mail address optional. While the move is intended to modernize and streamline the process of applying for disaster aid, it risks blocking vulnerable populations from accessing critical federal assistance in the wake of disasters.

How does the move put disaster victims at risk, and what can communities—and FEMA—do to ensure folks can still get the assistance they need?

E-mail Usage Among Americans

While e-mail may feel ubiquitous to many, millions of Americans still do not use it regularly. According to the 2023 Internet Use Survey, 17 percent of Americans do not use the internet at all. Rates of use are even lower among vulnerable groups: just 73 percent of households earning under $25,000 a year, and only 77 percent of adults over age 65 report using the internet.

As for e-mail use specifically, 92.4 percent of Americans over the age of 15 use e-mail. While this indicates widespread adoption across the country, it still leaves millions of Americans who do not use email. Older adults and rural Americans use e-mail at even lower rates than the rest of the country (86.5 percent and 89.4 percent, respectively). 

While FEMA’s new requirement may be feasible for many survivors, access to e-mail will be a barrier to a significant number of individuals at their most vulnerable moments, when they also might not be able to get online consistently. For vulnerable populations, the lack of an e-mail address could complicate an already stressful recovery process.

Disaster Impact on Connectivity

Even for households that regularly use e-mail, disasters can disrupt access. Natural disasters often cause power outages and damage to communications infrastructure. Disaster survivors can also lose their devices in extreme weather events and be unable to connect to the internet even if service is available. 

Some examples of damage to communications infrastructure and devices from recent natural disasters include:

• After Hurricane Helene hit Western North Carolina in September 2024, an estimated 12,000 devices were lost or destroyed.
• In the aftermath of Hurricane Milton in October 2024, more than 1.2 million Floridians lost internet, telephone, or television service.
• The Eaton and Palisades fires in January 2025, which destroyed more than 15,000 structures, also destroyed internet equipment inside homes.

For households that lose connectivity or devices in natural disasters, e-mail could become inaccessible just as they need it to apply for assistance.

How Can Communities Be Prepared?

Local governments, community institutions, and nonprofit organizations may be able to provide support to ensure that survivors are not excluded from aid. 

• Disaster Preparedness Initiatives: Local governments, especially in high-risk areas, often run emergency preparedness initiatives to help citizens be prepared for inclement weather incidents. Those initiatives should incorporate digital readiness into disaster preparation and encourage residents to set up e-mail accounts before emergencies occur. 
• Community Emergency Response Teams: Community Emergency Response Teams, community volunteers who are trained in basic disaster response skills, could prepare to help community members connect to the internet and register for e-mail in the wake of disasters. 
• Resilience Hubs: Resilience hubs are physical spaces that help serve as community centers, provide capacity, and help reduce burdens on emergency response teams. They often provide food, medical supplies, and energy sources in the wake of emergencies. Resilience hubs should also stock hotspots or other redundant connectivity options to help community members connect to the internet after disasters.

What Can FEMA Do?

FEMA can also adopt policies to ensure that no one gets left behind in the wake of a disaster because of a lack of access or digital skills. 

• Digital Navigators: FEMA operates Disaster Recovery Centers (DRC) in the wake of natural disasters. Moving forward, the agency should consider keeping a digital navigator—a trusted guide who assists community members with support accessing affordable and appropriate connectivity, devices, and digital skills—on hand at DRCs. The navigator can help folks register for e-mail accounts and teach the digital skills needed to apply for aid online. 
• Local Partnerships: Libraries, nonprofits, and community centers often have digital navigators or have staff members who provide digital navigation services. FEMA could partner with trusted local organizations to help provide the assistance needed to prepare community members to apply for aid. 
• Digital Literacy Assistance: FEMA could also help fund local organizations to provide short-term digital skills training for residents during disaster recovery. 

Looking Ahead

While the internet can help to make government services more convenient and efficient, making systems entirely digital risks excluding populations without digital skills or consistent internet access. Moving forward, communities and FEMA can take steps to mitigate harm and ensure that everyone can access the aid they need in the wake of disasters.

More in this Series

• Broadband's Role in the Los Angeles Fires Response and Recovery Efforts
• Resilient Kentucky Responds to Latest Floods
• Milton's Four Horses Ride Through Florida
• The Road to Recovery in Western North Carolina

Zoë Walker is a Writing Associate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society.

Kevin Taglang
Executive Editor, Communications-related Headlines
Benton Institute
for Broadband & Society
1041 Ridge Rd, Unit 214
Wilmette, IL 60091
847-220-4531
headlines AT benton DOT org