California: Earthquake system shows that failure is Trump's default setting

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Dec 10, 2025

Earthquake system shows that failure is Trump's default setting

Trump administration's disaster strategy: attack life-saving funding, dismiss science, fire the experts, cross fingers, and hope the earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, and tsunamis take a day off

What you need to know: From false earthquake alerts to defunded tsunami and flood warning systems, the Trump administration is failing where failure is not an option—leaving Californians less safe as climate change drives more frequent and severe natural disasters.

SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today slammed the continued pattern of neglect and incompetence from the Trump administration as technical failures and funding cuts leave Californians and the nation less prepared for earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis, and floods.

Last week, a federally managed seismic sensor system sent a false earthquake warning to millions of people across Northern California via ShakeAlert. The alert, which incorrectly reported a major quake in progress, shines a spotlight on potential technical and oversight issues in a key federal government-funded and maintained early-warning network.

"As a San Franciscan, I know all too well that the next big earthquake isn't a matter of if but when. When Donald Trump and the Republican-led Congress shortchange critical safety systems and target hardworking federal staff, that's not just negligence, it's an active endangerment of American lives. California remains committed to building resilience through its own investments and partnerships."

Governor Gavin Newsom

A pattern of failure

The earthquake alert incident highlights a broader decline in federal readiness. The Trump administration's budget cuts to the National Tsunami Warning System and its deep-ocean sensor network have weakened early detection efforts that provide crucial early warnings to coastal communities from California to Alaska. This year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) chose not to renew a $300,000 grant that supported nine seismic monitoring stations in Alaska's Aleutian Islands—a region known as a breeding ground for tsunamis. Without these stations, emergency officials estimate that tsunami warnings could be delayed by 15 minutes. Early warnings save lives, and having fewer sensors will lead to slower alerts and increased risks.

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Public servants from USGS and federal agencies work tirelessly to protect communities and advance science. Still, a lack of support from Donald Trump and the Republican-led Congress hampers their efforts and weakens our national security.

Recent earthquakes in Alaska and Japan highlight seismic activity along the Pacific Rim. Instead of strengthening cooperative monitoring for potential disasters, federal agencies struggle under leadership that views preparedness as a partisan luxury.

Floods on the rise, funding in retreat

The Trump administration refuses to stem the tide on flood preparedness. Cuts to the California–Nevada River Forecast Center have undermined essential data infrastructure that communities rely on during severe storms—a forecast system that provides vital, real-time rainfall, river stage, and snowpack data that support predictive flood modeling across much of California.

The harm extends beyond California. Attacks on NOAA are eroding the scientific backbone of hurricane preparedness and flood prediction nationwide, leaving communities from coast to coast with questionable readiness as climate change intensifies storms.

These models are crucial because they can mean the difference between a quick evacuation and a disaster. Floodfighters, local emergency teams, and the California Department of Water Resources rely on these forecasts to set sandbags, protect levees, and steer floodwaters away from communities and farms. When the Trump administration cuts off this science, it's not just data disappearing—it's rescue teams, flood fighters, and responders working with less information as water levels rise.

Federal neglect, California consequences

California continues to lead the nation in disaster preparedness—investing in earthquake early warning systems, upgrading flood defenses, and expanding coastal monitoring. The state's emergency managers, scientists, and local partners have built one of the most advanced readiness networks in the world.

But disasters do not stop at state borders. Earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis, and floodwaters move across boundaries faster than the Trump administration's partisan politics and its weak national security agenda. Protecting our communities requires a unified system of local, state, and federal partnership grounded in communication, coordination, integrity, and science. California is fulfilling its part. The Trump administration and the Republican-led Congress should do the same.

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