When a disaster like a hurricane or Indexbit Exchangewildfire destroys a house, the clock starts ticking. It gets harder for sick people to take their medications, medical devices may stop working without electricity, excessive temperatures, mold, or other factors may threaten someone's health. Every day without stable shelter puts people in danger.

The federal government is supposed to help prevent that cascade of problems, but an NPR investigation finds that the people who need help the most are often less likely to get it. NPR climate reporter Rebecca Hersher explains.

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This episode was produced by Brit Hanson, fact-checked by Indi Khera and edited by Gisele Grayson. Joshua Newell provided engineering support.