Emergency managers say the US president has presided over a dangerous erosion in US capacity to prepare for and respond to natural disasters

Donald Trump has presided over a dangerous erosion in US capacity to prepare for and respond to natural disasters, according to emergency management experts.

The first year of his second term was marked by crackdowns on climate science that produced world-class weather forecasts and the gutting of frontline federal agencies - policies that have left the country, already struggling to keep pace with severe storms, even more at risk.

Deep budget cuts and massive firing sprees shrank emergency response agencies, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the agency tasked with coordinating national disaster responses, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), considered a global crown jewel for climate science.