The Trump administration on Wednesday reaffirmed what it describes as its commitment to “increasing preparedness and leading the Western Hemisphere” in response to hurricanes and other natural disasters in the Caribbean and other places.
“Building on the United States’ rapid response to Hurricane Melissa in 2025, the department will engage in greater coordination with the United States Southern Command through the new Bureau for Disaster and Humanitarian Response (DHR),” said the US Department of State in a statement.
“The United States stands ready to respond to the impact of storms in our hemisphere during the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season with the launch of DHR’s first US humanitarian assistance hub in South Florida,” it added.
The State Department said this initiative formalizes a “State-led coordination hub, better integrating pre-positioned emergency relief supplies strategically located across our region and embedding DHR disaster and humanitarian advisors at Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) to expand technical expertise civil-military coordination.”
With the Department of State leading US government responses to sudden-onset disasters and high-priority, complex humanitarian emergencies overseas, the department said the “Trump administration continues to refocus our humanitarian assistance in our region.”
Through the Administration’s America First Foreign Assistance, the State Department said the US is “dedicating 20 percent of our total assistance resources to our hemisphere, advancing US priorities and further demonstrating American leadership in our region.” (CMC)
