Will states lead — or leave US communities to face disaster alone?

A statement by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) arguing that the US government is dismantling critical disaster protections and weather forecasting capabilities while the petrochemical industry continues to expand in hurricane-prone regions, leaving vulnerable communities exposed to escalating climate risks and financial instability.

• The Gulf Coast is a high-risk zone for chemical disasters during hurricanes, containing over 84 percent of US plastics production and nearly half of the country's petroleum refining capacity. There are more than 870 highly hazardous chemical facilities within 50 miles of the Gulf Coast, with over 4 million residents and 1,500 schools located within a 1.5-mile radius of a high-risk facility.
• The Trump administration has systematically reduced federal disaster preparedness and safety oversight since taking office in 2024. Actions include cutting staff at NOAA and the National Weather Service, dismantling the Chemical Safety Board, proposing rollbacks to the Risk Management Program (RMP) for nearly 12,000 facilities, deleting the RMP public data tool, and announcing plans to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
• Petrochemical infrastructure increases the danger of storms and is continuing to expand in high-risk areas; 80 percent of proposed new petrochemical projects over the last decade have been sited within 20 miles of a hurricane or tropical storm path. Historical examples include Hurricane Katrina, which caused over 200 onshore releases of hazardous materials and spilled more than 7.4 million gallons of oil, and Hurricane Harvey, where flooding at the Arkema Petrochemical plant led to a massive explosion.
• The insurance industry is increasing costs for homeowners while profiting from and investing in the fossil fuel industry. US home insurance rates rose nearly 38 percent since 2019, with premiums increasing by 10 percent or more in forty states between 2021 and 2024. Despite this, the property and casualty sector earned record profits of $167 billion in 2024, and at least 35 insurance companies—including AIG, Chubb, and Liberty Mutual—underwrite LNG export terminals in the Gulf South.

APA

Jurca, L., Slidders, C., & Pace, B. (2025). Will states lead — or leave US communities to face disaster alone? Center for International Environmental Law. https://www.ciel.org/hurricane-petrochemicals/

Chicago

Jurca, Lindsey, Charles Slidders, and Barnaby Pace. Will states lead — or leave US communities to face disaster alone? Center for International Environmental Law, 2025. https://www.ciel.org/hurricane-petrochemicals/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Jurca |first1=Lindsey |last2=Slidders |first2=Charles |last3=Pace |first3=Barnaby |title=Will states lead — or leave US communities to face disaster alone? |publisher=Center for International Environmental Law |date=21 August 2025 |url=https://www.ciel.org/hurricane-petrochemicals/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{jurca2025will, author = {Jurca, Lindsey and Slidders, Charles and Pace, Barnaby}, title = {{Will states lead — or leave US communities to face disaster alone?}}, publisher = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2025}, month = aug, url = {https://www.ciel.org/hurricane-petrochemicals/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }