How Trump’s 2019 budget would leave us vulnerable to natural disasters
When a magnitude 8.1 earthquake hit Mexico City in September 2017, residents knew it was coming minutes before the ground started shaking — and they could take cover. That’s thanks to Mexico’s earthquake early warning system, which has been alerting Mexico City residents of imminent quakes since 1993. The US doesn’t have an early warning system yet — and if President Donald Trump’s budget cuts go through, the development of this life-saving project could be put on hold.
The White House’s new budget proposal, released on Monday, calls for massive cuts to the US Geological Survey or USGS, a scientific agency that studies natural resources and potential natural disasters, including earthquakes. While Congress technically holds the federal…