FEMA Unveils $1.3 Billion for Disaster Resilience

The federal agency is directing funds toward disaster assistance, hazard mitigation, and resilience projects for states and localities.

Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in Safety

Screen-print poster illustration of a curving stormwater channel across a flat plain, with a raised stilted house frame, in mustard, teal, and rust. — The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced $1.3 billion for disaster assistance, hazard mitigation, and resilience programs, including a $400 million flood mitigation grant program, in late October. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced $1.3 billion in funding and funding opportunities for disaster assistance, hazard mitigation, and resilience programs in late October. The agency also awarded more than $896 million for some 620 projects and assistance programs, most aimed at helping state, territorial, and local governments recover from and prepare for disasters.

Why it matters

FEMA disburses these funds to states and local communities because they are best positioned to decide how the money will be spent most effectively. The announcement comes as the agency works through a contested stretch for its mitigation programs, including the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program.

FEMA has awarded more than $896 million for some 620 projects and programs, with $90 million supporting about 75 Hazard Mitigation Grant Program projects. Roughly 700 BRIC subapplications worth $2.2 billion remain unresolved according to an October GAO report.

The players

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

The federal agency responsible for coordinating disaster response, recovery, and hazard mitigation across the United States.

Cameron Hamilton

The FEMA Administrator who warned that states should prepare to respond to disasters without federal help in as soon as six months.

Government Accountability Office (GAO)

The independent federal watchdog agency whose October report identified hundreds of BRIC subapplications still awaiting decisions.

The details

The Flood Mitigation Assistance Grant Program, a $400 million funding opportunity, supports building acquisitions and elevations as well as communitywide projects such as drainage improvements and soil stabilization. The program is designed to help states, territories, tribal nations, and the District of Columbia reduce or eliminate the risk of repetitive flood damage.

April 2025: FEMA announced it was ending the BRIC program.
March: FEMA reinstated BRIC after a judge ruled the termination was unlawful.
May: FEMA made $1 billion in BRIC funding available to states and local governments.
September: FEMA approved nearly $8.2 million in post-disaster funding and Hazard Mitigation Grant Program projects.
Late October: FEMA announced the $1.3 billion package, and a GAO report flagged 700 BRIC subapplications still in limbo.

Seasonal Patterns

The October announcement follows the April 2025 decision to end the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, which a judge later found unlawful and FEMA reinstated in March. The program's reinstatement and subsequent $1 billion funding round mark a shift back toward pre-disaster mitigation spending.

State, territorial, and local governments seeking Flood Mitigation Assistance or Hazard Mitigation Grant funding should review the application requirements before the November 4 webinar. Residents in flood-prone areas should track their local government's mitigation plans, since FEMA says states should prepare to respond to disasters without federal help in as soon as six months.

The takeaway

Federal mitigation funding is flowing, but hundreds of pending applications and FEMA's warning about reduced federal support mean local preparedness planning matters now. Communities that move early on flood-risk projects are better positioned for whatever funding remains available.

What happens next

FEMA will host an application assistance webinar on Nov. 4 for prospective applicants to its funding opportunities. States should also plan for the possibility that federal disaster help could be unavailable within six months, according to FEMA Administrator Cameron Hamilton.