Multiple natural disasters converge with federal emergency response cutbacks this week—a dangerous heat wave exceeding 100°F in the South, an atmospheric river bringing 4-10 inches of rain to the Southeast, and tornado threats across the Midwest, all as FEMA undergoes dramatic restructuring with 1,000+ staff cuts and elimination of key programs while CISA faces similar reductions, leaving state and local governments vulnerable to both natural disasters and increased cybersecurity threats targeting critical infrastructure as hurricane season approaches with reduced federal coordination capacity.

The way we’ve always done preparedness is breaking down—and fast. With $218 billion in U.S. disaster losses in 2024 alone and pressure mounting from every direction, it’s clear that the status quo can’t keep up. This piece is a direct message to the outdated systems, legacy tools, and expensive processes still dominating the field—and a call for something better. Preppr is built for the people actually doing the work. Not to modernize the binder, but to replace it entirely.

I've spent years in emergency management, working with complex tabletop exercises (TTXs) designed to test response capabilities and identify gaps in emergency plans. I've seen exercises that took months to design and required teams of subject matter experts to execute. So imagine my surprise when my 9-year-old son created a TTX in just 20 minutes. Using Preppr.ai, our AI-powered emergency planning platform, he designed a tabletop exercise based on something he understood well: Monopoly. The familiar board game became his framework for exploring how communities respond when resources are limited and decisions have consequences.