Politics

Placerville is one of hundreds of communities around the country waiting on a growing backlog at FEMA. States say that under the Trump administration, disaster funding payments have slowed to a trickle, delaying crucial projects that could help communities withstand wildfires, hurricanes and floods.

In all, FEMA owes communities almost $10 billion, according to internal agency documents obtained by NPR. Much of that funding would reimburse local governments for what they've already spent repairing infrastructure after major disasters.

Emergency managers from several states say the backlog in funding is having ripple effects through communities, stressing local budgets and delaying or potentially derailing disaster projects that have taken years to plan.