Here Comes the Apocalypse launches a 5 Day Challenge

Federal agencies are changing, including FEMA, which might be dismantled. HCTA’s 5 Day Challenge helps citizens quickly improve their disaster preparedness.

Without a national safety net, personal preparedness becomes much more important. Relying on ourselves and our local communities before, during, and after emergencies could be the new normal.”

— Jennifer Heller, founder of Here Come the Apocalypse

OAKLAND, CA, UNITED STATES, February 13, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- As departments within the US Executive Branch face cutbacks, households in disaster-prone areas are tracking Donald Trump’s intentions for federal agencies

that provide information, instructions, resources, and relief related to disasters. Millions of citizens rely on federal agencies that may be restructured with drastically reduced offerings or hamstrung by personnel changes, even as disasters become more intense and more frequent.
During a January 2025 trip to survey the damage caused by Hurricane Helene in North Carolina, Trump said, “I think we’re going to recommend that FEMA go away. [...] I’ll sign an executive order to begin the process of reforming FEMA or getting rid of FEMA.” Unambiguously against the organization in its current form, Trump added, “I think FEMA’s not good.”

From NOAA to CDC to FEMA, a network of federal agencies is responsible for the United States’ safety net during times of crisis. As those agencies react to executive orders and pressure from the president, the disaster landscape could change significantly during this administration.

In response to the changes, Bay Area-based disaster prep startup Here Comes the Apocalypse has launched “The Kickstart Your Prep 5 Day Challenge” to jumpstart individual preparedness. HCTA Founder Jennifer Heller says, “Without a well-organized national safety net, personal preparedness becomes much more important. Relying on ourselves and our local communities before, during, and after emergencies could be the new normal, especially for those who live in states that do not have the resources to cover gaps created by federal disinvestment.”

The Kickstart Your Prep 5 Day Challenge focuses on five preparedness tasks that users can complete within about 30 minutes or less, but that have a meaningful impact on effectiveness in a disaster situation. Here Comes the Apocalypse’s tools focus on building skills, creating plans, and collecting the right gear to make preparedness more accessible to families that might feel lost or overwhelmed when they think about taking their preparedness to the next level.

The 5 Day Challenge includes tasks like preparing mobile phones to ensure they’re able to send and receive information in extraordinary circumstances and turning on emergency alerts.

During Hurricane Helene, which caused 230 deaths, local alerts often failed to reach many in time. Brian Toolan, Connecticut's former emergency operations chief, commented, "The timelines are going to be critical to understand was there enough time to get an alert out, you know, was there enough time to prepare? [...] And if not, you know, how do we learn from this and make sure this doesn't happen again?" HCTA acknowledges the communication gap by providing a system for people looking to take disaster preparedness into their own hands.

“When I founded Here Comes the Apocalypse in 2018, I knew FEMA didn’t have all of the answers, which is why we needed a more accessible disaster prep system, but I never imagined a future in which it no longer existed,” says Heller. “In this scenario, personal and community preparedness are more important than ever.”

To participate in The Kickstart Your Prep 5 Day Challenge from Here Comes the Apocalypse, visit https://herecomestheapocalypse.com/5-day-challenge/.