FEMA Now Requires Disaster Victims to Have an Email Address

Workers at FEMA worry that demanding disaster survivors access services using email could shut out people without internet connectivity from receiving government aid.

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.