FEMA Four Years in Review

During the past four years, FEMA has made tremendous strides to increase the nation’s resilience and improve access to disaster resources. FEMA’s workforce of more than 22,000 public servants has worked tirelessly to advance the agency’s mission to help people before, during and after disasters. In 2024 alone, FEMA deployed 16,294 personnel at the peak of our response to Hurricanes Helene and Milton, which set a record for the number of personnel deployed at a given time. Additionally, as of Jan 12, FEMA’s incident workforce stands at 12,569, which is the largest in FEMA history.

Led by Administrator Deanne Criswell, FEMA published the 2022-2026 FEMA Strategic Plan that articulated a shared vision to address key challenges the agency faces during a pivotal moment in the field of emergency management. This strategic approach has helped ensure all communities received support from FEMA during their greatest time of need, built resilience to mitigate future disasters and postured the agency to meet increased emergency management demands resulting from extreme, often severe weather patterns and disasters.  

Over the past four years, FEMA has responded to 278 major disaster declarations including hurricanes, floods, tornadoes and wildfires. From Alaska to Puerto Rico and from Guam to Maine, FEMA has provided and connected state, local, Tribal Nation and territorial governments and individuals to needed resources, including:  

• Provided more than 50.8 million liters of water, 31.4 million meals and 2,225 generators to states and communities to meet immediate needs.  
• Provided over $12 billion directly to disaster survivors to help jumpstart their recovery.  
• Awarded more than $133 billion to states, Tribal Nations, territories, local governments and eligible nonprofits to support essential response and recovery efforts. 
• Issued 168 Fire Management Assistance Grants to help communities impacted by wildfires.  
• Activated the National Response Coordination Center (NRCC) and National Watch Center (NWC) for a combined total of 885 days for 23 incidents.  
• Obligated over $15.63 billion in Non-Disaster Grants from Fiscal Year 2021 through Fiscal Year 2024. 

The response to the global COVID-19 pandemic tested the resilience and preparedness of the United States for more than two years. FEMA responded to the need by filling missing links in our nation’s supply chain, supporting vaccination centers across the country, deploying medical personnel to augment hospitals and medical facilities and covering pandemic-related costs for governments and individuals to ensure access to personal protective equipment, medical supplies and respirators. FEMA also provided $3.2 billion in funeral assistance to help grieving families who lost loved ones to the virus. 

During the pandemic and the days that followed, FEMA partnered with universities, national nonprofits and faith and community-based organizations to empower a network of trusted messengers. FEMA’s online repository of preparedness information was expanded with new resources tailored to caregivers, older adults, those who live in 

rural areas with limited resources and African American, Latino and Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities. All of these efforts are pieces of the foundation to build individual and community resilience. 

FEMA responded to Hawaii’s catastrophic wildfires, working side by side with the local community to ensure the historic and sacred land was respected and honored in a proper manner while supporting recovery. In the initial aftermath of the fires, FEMA deployed numerous resources from the National Urban Search and Rescue System to support the State in its search for missing persons and providing emotional closure to impacted families, searching over 1,000 impacted structures. FEMA paid for more than 4,000 displaced households to shelter in hotels, giving individuals a safe place to stay and begin their recovery.  

The agency made updates to the Individuals and Households Program (IHP), which simplified the application process and enabled millions of survivors to benefit from financial assistance they previously would not have received prior to the changes. FEMA responded to back-to-back hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton. Helene severely affected eight states in the Southeast. FEMA deployed more than 10,000 personnel and opened 65 Disaster Recovery Centers to support survivors.  

For the years 2021 through 2024, FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Assistance programs, including Public Assistance Mitigation, delivered $9.55 billion in mitigation funding to increase disaster resilience in communities across the nation. 

Increasingly frequent and severe disasters have demonstrated the importance of the Ready Campaign–a FEMA managed public education initiative that helps empower individuals and families across the nation to prepare for all types of hazards. During the past four years, FEMA has worked to ensure the Ready Campaign resonates with diverse communities and audiences by, among other things, making its messages accessible in other languages.

For nearly five decades, FEMA has strived to improve national readiness and coordinate the work of emergency managers filling critical positions in our nation’s civil defense framework. Building upon the lessons of the past and looking to prepare for future challenges, FEMA will continue to evolve to meet the needs of an ever-changing nation. 

The following are some of the recent highlights from our mission to improve preparedness, disaster response and recovery efforts to build a more-resilient nation. 

2021

In 2021, FEMA released a new Strategic Plan to ensure we continue to be the FEMA our nation needs and deserves. As part of the launch, the agency engaged over 1,000 members of our workforce and senior leadership and more than 400 external partners spanning all sectors, levels of government and a wide range of disciplines — including federal and territorial partners, state and local governments, over 50 Tribal Nations, private and nonprofit partners and the academic community.

• Hosted Civil Rights Summits to foster dialogue and partnerships through engagement with members of the public, advocates, community allies and civil rights organizations, as well as FEMA’s state, local, Tribal and territorial partners. Presentations and discussions allowed participants to learn more about FEMA’s programs and services.  
• FEMA Response in Action. FEMA's response to the COVID-19 pandemic was unparalleled in scale and complexity, marking the agency’s first time leading federal operations for an infectious respiratory disease pandemic since the agency was established in 1979. FEMA played a crucial role, supporting the nation by ensuring supplies were delivered to communities and establishing over 30 vaccination sites nationwide to help millions get vaccines to prevent the spread of the virus. 
  • Managing 57 Presidential Major Disaster Declarations and activating all 10 Regional Response Coordination Centers and the National Response Coordination Center, FEMA coordinated billions of dollars in personal protective equipment and medical resources, facilitated the deployment of health and medical personnel across impacted hospitals and healthcare facilities, including over 2,000 ambulances and supported over 3,600 COVID Vaccination Centers, helping to ensure the administration of over 236 million vaccinations during the first 100 days of the Administration. In total, FEMA processed over 2,300 mission assignments to interagency partners totaling $3.2 billion. 
• 2022-2026 FEMA Strategic Plan. Introduced its 2022-2026 FEMA Strategic Plan which set three goals to build a stronger and more-resilient nation for all by instilling equity as a foundation of emergency management, leading the whole of community in climate resilience and promoting and sustaining a ready FEMA and prepared nation. These goals have positioned FEMA to address the increasing range and complexity of disasters, support the diversity of communities we serve and complement the nation’s growing expectations of the emergency management community.
• Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). As a result of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Congress made available through FEMA billions of dollars in community-wide mitigation funding to reduce disaster suffering and future costs from floods, wildfires and hurricanes, to be made available between fiscal years 2022 and 2026. These investments, aligned with the Justice40 Initiative to advance environmental justice, reduce disaster vulnerability and promote safety and adaptability.  
  • The BIL provided $500 million to fund the Safeguarding Tomorrow Revolving Loan Fund program through 2026. This program provides capitalization grants to states, eligible federally recognized tribes, territories and the District of Columbia to establish revolving loan funds that provide hazard mitigation assistance for local governments to reduce risks from natural hazards and disasters.  
  • Funding for FEMA’s Flood Mitigation Assistance Swift Current (Swift Current) effort has been made possible because of the BIL. Swift Current provides funding to property owners that have a current flood insurance policy under the National Flood Insurance Program and a history of repetitive or substantial damage from flooding. 
• Funding Mitigation for Resilience. For the fiscal year 2021 mitigation grant cycle, FEMA offered $1 billion through the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant program and $160 million through its Flood Mitigation Assistance program to fund mitigation activities that reduce risk and increase disaster resilience.
• Increasing survivor access to Individual Assistance programs and funding improvements. To expand access to emergency assistance, FEMA revised its policy to help disaster survivors simplify the application process by expanding acceptable forms of documentation to prove home ownership and occupancy.  
• National Preparedness Month Public Service Announcements. Since 2021, FEMA and the Ad Council have created National Preparedness Month public service announcements (PSAs) designed to resonate with communities who may be disproportionately affected by disasters.  
• In connection with Hurricanes Katrina and Rita projects. FEMA’s Office of Environmental and Historic Preservation (OEHP) team worked with city officials to upgrade the drainage pump station that provides flooding protection to residents and properties located in nine neighborhoods. To provide one-on-one tailored guidance to the city, a local recovery office was established within the city. 
• As a follow up to Hurricanes Irma and Maria. the OEHP staff supported the Lares Cemetery Grave Repairs and Relocation in Puerto Rico. Founded in 1827, the Municipality of Lares figured prominently in the 1863 “Revolt” and movement towards emancipation from Spain. The Cementerio Municipal de Lares, built according to Spanish colonial standards, dates to 1855. The cemetery embodies distinctive characteristics of Spanish colonial design – eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places and is an important part of the community and historic culture.

2022

In 2022, FEMA continued its efforts to build and enhance national resilience through collaboration with and outreach to partners that share our goal to prepare for the evolving scope of threats our communities will face in the years ahead. Major highlights include the FEMA Building Code Strategy and the first-ever National Tribal Strategy.

• FEMA Response in Action. FEMA worked closely with federal, territorial, private sector and faith-based partners to support Puerto Rico in response to Hurricane Fiona, which made landfall just days before the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Maria.
  • FEMA’s Disaster Emergency Communications (DEC) integrated enhanced cellular capabilities into existing resources to expand the range of communications options available to field leaders and emergency managers to help mitigate challenges related to damaged infrastructure and austere conditions across impacted communities in Puerto Rico.
  • FEMA’s Response Geospatial Office (RGO) used flood modeling data, as well as high-resolution imagery from federal interagency partners and private sector companies, to identify impacted areas in Puerto Rico which highlighted municipalities with significant numbers of flooded structures that was used to support the initial disaster declaration. This increased the speed of delivery of federal resources and provided imagery to impacted areas that may otherwise be inaccessible to ground resources.
• National Tribal Strategy. This first-of-its-kind nationwide roadmap continued FEMA’s commitment to ensure Tribal Nations’ needs and concerns are addressed and they receive the support they are owed. The strategy document outlines a commitment to support Tribal Nations as they build climate-resilient communities and develop tribal-specific technical assistance programs.
• FEMA Flag. Administrator Criswell brought the FEMA flag back to honor our history and inspire our work moving forward. The eagle and shield, adapted from the Great Seal of the United States, represents vigilance and preparedness. The light blue color of the background has a historical association with the agency and its components. The white triangle represents civil defense. The banner motto, "PACE AC BELLO MERITA," means "Service in Peace and War," indicating the agency's responsibility in all types of emergencies.
• New State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program. The Grant Programs Directorate developed a new State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program in partnership with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to provide funds to eligible entities to address cybersecurity risks and threats to information systems owned or operated by state, local or Tribal Nation governments.
• Building Codes Initiative. The FEMA Building Code Strategy promotes the adoption and enforcement of hazard-resistant building codes and standards for agency programs. The strategy identified a need to increase the capability of building professionals and local officials through funding, collaboration, training and exercises and promotes strengthening nationwide capability and expertise to drive public action.
• Civilian Reservist Emergency Workforce (CREW) Act. The CREW Act of 2022 grants FEMA Reservists Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) protections. This means employees who hold another job can deploy as a FEMA Reservist and their job at home will be protected. It also protects against penalization, discrimination or loss of employee benefits resulting from disaster deployments, emergencies and critical trainings. These protections help FEMA maintain a workforce able to respond to disasters at a moment’s notice.
• New Next Generation Warning System Grant Program. Provides investments to improve the resilience and security of public broadcasting networks and systems to enable upgrades to the Advanced Television Systems Committee broadcast system’s capability to alert, warn and provide equivalent information to individuals with disabilities, individuals with access and functional needs and individuals with limited-English proficiency and improve geolocation to alert and warn remote rural areas.
• Justice40. FEMA applied equity considerations for the first time to the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) and Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) programs, using an interim data equity standard to measure progress toward the Justice40 Initiative. As a result of selections made for the FY 2021 BRIC and FMA programs, FEMA delivered over $508 million in climate resilience funding toward Justice40 communities. This accounted for 44% of the $1.16 billion made available during that funding cycle.
• National Level Exercise 2022. The National Level Exercise (NLE) 2022 took a unique approach to an NLE – shifting from a multi-day, full-scale or functional exercise to a series of 55 separate discussion-based engagements across the full calendar year as a result of the unprecedented scale of the COVID-19 pandemic and wildfires in the Pacific Northwest. NLE 2022 built upon the successes and challenges of the Cascadia Rising exercise (2016) and brought together more than 6,400 personnel to examine the ability of all levels of government, Tribal Nations, private industry and nongovernmental organizations to protect against, respond to and recover from a large rupture along the Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ) with subsequent tsunamis, aftershocks and a Spill of National Significance (SONS).
• Increased funding available for resilience programs. FEMA announced $1.16 billion in resilience assistance to make communities around the nation safer from natural hazards. This included $1 billion for the BRIC program, doubling from the previous year and $160 million for Flood Mitigation Assistance.
• OEHP launched the NEPA Repository. The Repository provides a centralized, robust, easily searchable database of Environmental Assessments and Environmental Impact Statements for the public and FEMA partners. Repository users can quickly locate projects in their area or research projects by type and download a custom list with links and summary info. Internally, a new streamlined workflow using PowerApps and SharePoint lists efficiently generated status emails from submittal to posting and built a new, valuable data set for OEHP to mine for high level research.
• 2022 Save Your Family Treasures. The Heritage Emergency National Task Force (HENTF), a public private partnership between FEMA's Office of Environmental Planning and Historic Preservation and the Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative, trained an inaugural cohort of 23 FEMA staff to offer Save Your Family Treasures (SYFT) demonstrations at Disaster Recovery Centers. Through the SYFT program, disaster survivors receive live demonstrations, tips and guidance on techniques to salvage water-damaged family heirlooms such as photos, books and textiles. Since 2022, the program has reached over 3,200 survivors.

2023

In 2023, FEMA continued to follow its mission to meet the needs brought about by the changing climate and extreme weather. The challenges we face require innovative thinking and creative measures and the agency elevated programs and initiatives to meet them.

• FEMA Response in Action.  FEMA Response met the need to respond to the wildfires that began burning in Maui and Hawaii counties and Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) teams were on the ground quickly to augment the county’s search and rescue mission for missing persons.
  • Geospatial Damage Assessments were pivotal in FEMA response efforts for the Lahaina Wildfires in Hawaii. Using open-source, commercial and satellite imagery the RGO visualized and counted destroyed structures, which allowed FEMA to enhance program delivery.
  • FEMA’s Response Directorate leveraged MERS capabilities, the DEC Cadre of staff, Region IX, private industry and Hawaii Telecommunications mission partners to address unique county and local communications restoration issues.
• FEMA Response in Action. FEMA’s Mobile Emergency Response Support (MERS) resources were deployed ahead of Hurricane Idalia and positioned immediately following post-landfall to enable holistic and unified coordination for lifesaving and life sustaining missions.
  • MERS operations were instrumental in establishing mobile, tactical and fixed voice and data services across 16 counties at more than 36 locations, integrating with the state of Florida to ensure a unified approach to interoperable communications, which allowed for the rapid deployment of response resources to reduce impacts on survivors.
  • DEC MERS resources deployment contributed to the success of FEMA receiving over 60,000 registrations through the FEMA Individual and Households program that resulted in the nearly $60 million in funding for survivors.
• Improved Application and Customer Service for Disaster Survivors. FEMA streamlined the DisasterAssistance.gov website to provide survivors applying for assistance with easy navigation, visual progress tracking and individualized information collection. FEMA also improved the Transitional Sheltering Assistance website to make it easier to book lodging and contact participating hotels to find temporary lodging.
• Enhanced Applicant Services. The agency debuted Enhanced Applicant Services, a new program that provides targeted casework for individuals navigating the disaster application process and connects them with additional resources to meet their needs.
• Extreme Heat Summits.  As more communities feel the impacts of a changing climate, FEMA's Extreme Heat Summits – part of the #SummerReady campaign – focused on actions that state, local, Tribal Nation and territorial leaders can take to reduce the effects of extreme temperatures. These summits brought together public, private and academic leaders to explore extreme heat impacts and define actionable ways to combat and prepare for these increasing risks.
• Nature-Based Solutions. FEMA leveraged lessons from the past and present to create community-tailored solutions to build resilience and solve problems that are expanding due to extreme weather events. By integrating natural features and processes into disaster risk reduction, FEMA is helping communities create sustainable and cost-effective ways to protect communities, build healthier ecosystems and enhance resilience.
• Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) Guide. A major milestone in 2023 was the release of the updated Hazard Mitigation Assistance Program and Policy Guide (HMA Guide). This document had not been updated since 2015 and the redesign sought to make it easier for state, local, Tribal and territorial governments to access and manage HMA grants.
• National Flood Insurance Program Risk Rating 2.0 full implementation. FEMA has fully implemented the National Flood Insurance Program's (NFIP) Risk Rating 2.0, a new pricing approach that leverages improved technology and FEMA’s enhanced understanding of flood risk to deliver actuarily-sound flood insurance rates that are easy to understand and communicate flood risk more clearly. The new rating approach allows FEMA to evenly distribute premiums across all policyholders based on the flood risk of their specific property by incorporating more flood risk variables such as flood frequency, multiple flood types—river overflow, storm surge, coastal erosion and heavy rainfall—distance to a water source and property characteristics such as elevation and the cost to rebuild. This phased implementation began in October 2021 and was completed in April 2023.
• Tribal Cybersecurity Grant Program. FEMA launched the first-ever Tribal Cybersecurity Grant Program to provide funding directly to Tribal Nations to enhance their ability to prepare for, protect against and respond to potential terrorist attacks and other hazards. This program supports the building and delivery of core capabilities essential for every community to create a nation resilient to cyber threats.
• Pre-Disaster Housing Initiative. FEMA's Pre-Disaster Housing Initiative, developed in partnership with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), aims to enhance state and local planning for housing recovery before disasters strike. This initiative promotes collaborative approaches to address housing recovery challenges, ensuring communities are better prepared and can recover more quickly and effectively when disasters occur.
• Release of Achieving Equitable Recovery: A Post Disaster Guide for Local Officials and Leaders. This guide provides tools and strategies for local officials to rebuild communities equitably after disasters. The guidance emphasizes the importance of identifying community needs, establishing partnerships and engaging the public strategically to ensure an inclusive recovery process.
• International Partnerships. FEMA participated in more than 20 international engagements and technical exchanges to share lessons learned and enhance domestic and global resilience. As part of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings in the United States, FEMA planned, coordinated and chaired events including the Consular Roundtable and Disaster Risk Reduction Talks. Additionally, Administrator Criswell became the first FEMA Administrator to attend the United Nations Climate Change Conference and the agency worked with Canadian officials to enhance resilience through the civ-mil construct, led civil emergency planning support for the U.S. Mission to NATO and represented the United States on the NATO Resilience Committee.
• Memorandum of Understanding with the Rosalynn Carter Institute. FEMA signed an agreement formalizing the partnership between FEMA and the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers which recognizes the critical role caregivers play in protecting our nation’s older adult community. Additionally, a guide was created for older adults to access preparedness resources they can share within their community.
• Awarded nearly $3 billion in resilience grants. FEMA announced it had selected $2.2 billion in Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grants to reduce natural hazard risks and $711 million for Flood Mitigation Assistance for actions like flood control and individual property mitigation projects. Additional funding enabled 23 states to be selected the first time in competitive BRIC funding.
• Completed Vermont’s the Melrose Terrace Demolition and Floodplain Restoration project. In September of 2023, restoration treatment measures that were developed under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act were completed. This involved the installation of an interpretive panel discussing the history of the area and its historic flooding concerns. Melrose Terrace, a historic property, was the first public housing development for elderly citizens in the State of Vermont. A storage area was created through a demolition construction project using a portion of the former public housing on the property. The structure was able to withstand flooding from severe weather in July of 2023.
• Released the Puerto Rico Environmental and Historic Preservation (EHP) Lookup Tool. This tool was requested by the FEMA Administrator along with the Secretary of Energy to better serve the people of Puerto Rico. Since FEMA-funded projects must comply with federal environmental planning and historic preservation laws and executive orders, the Puerto Rico EHP Lookup Tool was developed as an online planning tool to allow Puerto Rico Energy Applicants to look up the environmental and historic resources that may be present in their project areas. Due to the success of the PR Lookup Tool, an updated version, the Environmental and Historic Applicant Portal (EHARP) has been created for all FEMA Applicants across the nation as a way to incorporate consideration of EHP concerns earlier on in the application process and improve overall compliance outcomes. The EHARP will be released in early 2025 and will be FEMA’s first nationwide, publicly available environmental screening web mapper whose scope includes a broad array of environmental and historic resources.
• 2023 Unified Federal Review Technical Sessions. Unified Federal Review (UFR) Interagency Technical Sessions are convened virtually on a bi-monthly basis to build community among interagency EHP practitioners and facilitate efficient interagency collaboration on disaster response and recovery. The technical sessions began in 2023 and are regularly attended by 100-200 representatives of federal, state and local partners, comprising at least 19 federal agencies, departments and subcomponents as well as state and local emergency management partners and EHP compliance practitioners. The sessions provide opportunities for collaborative problem-solving and dissemination of technical information that increase awareness of agencies' roles and responsibilities in disaster response and recovery, provide overviews of new laws and regulations by implementing agencies and create a forum for sharing of case studies and best practices resulting from interagency collaboration in the field.
• Workforce Readiness. As part of our 2023 Workforce Readiness Cycle, implemented to help build, develop, deploy and support FEMA’s incident workforce, FEMA developed the Enhanced Demobilization Process to support our responders’ transition back to daily duties from disaster operation deployments and ensure their readiness to respond to future events when needed.

2024

In 2024 FEMA spearheaded a national conversation about strengthening communities by making the agency’s focus “A Year of Resilience” to prepare our country and meet people where they are. This included continued climate resilience grants and more survivor-centric policy changes for individuals and the nation.

• FEMA Response in Action. In 2024, FEMA responded to two catastrophic hurricanes, as Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton made landfall in the southeast US less than two weeks apart, leaving an overlapping trail of destruction across many communities still recovering from prior hurricanes.
  • The National US&R Response System deployed over 1,500 personnel, 110 canines and 90 swift water resources, leading to over 18,000 survivor interactions across 375,000 specific sites across both Hurricanes Helene and Milton. FEMA also relied upon search and rescue support from the U.S. Coast Guard, Department of Interior and Department of Defense, resulting in one of the largest search and rescue deployments ever.
  • FEMA’s DEC Division deployed more than 133 MERS personnel, 123 MERS vehicles, 36 Mobile Communications Office Vehicles (MCOVs) and six DEC Group personnel who supported the requirements of FEMA senior leadership, Incident Management Assistance Teams and the US&R mission.
  • The RGO implemented the largest imagery collection and geospatial damage assessment effort to date. Using areal and satellite imagery, over 258,000 structures were assessed resulting in seven expedited Individual Assistance applications.
• Year of Resilience. Building on efforts to help the nation withstand the threats of tomorrow, the agency declared 2024 the “Year of Resilience” to highlight the importance of stakeholder feedback and build resilient communities to help people before, during and after disasters.
• Increase in Climate Resilience Funding. FEMA made $1.8 billion available for two grant programs designed to help communities increase their resilience to the impacts of climate change, including increasingly frequent and extreme weather events. The Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) annual grant program selected about $1 billion to protect people and infrastructure from the effects of climate change and the Flood Mitigation Assistance program selected about $800 million to reduce flood risks facing homes and communities. 
• World Fire Congress. FEMA’s United States Fire Administration hosted the inaugural World Fire Congress. This historic event established a global fire service leadership network dedicated to supporting and strengthening the fire service around the world. 
• Development and implementation of the National Emergency Response Information System (NERIS). NERIS is a new, interoperable fire information and analytics platform to deliver timely, quality information to the fire service and its stakeholders. 
• Improving Individual and Community Wildfire Resilience Summit. FEMA hosted a virtual panel discussion led by a national partnership of agencies working to address the risk, prevention and effects of wildfire smoke. This event brought together leading subject matter experts and resources from across the country to share challenges, risks, rewards and real-life actionable steps to prevent and reduce the effects of wildfires when they happen. 
• Non-Disaster Grants. Through our programs we allocated $5.6 billion in non-disaster grants to help communities withstand disruptions, reduce risk and adapt.
• Individual Assistance Updates. FEMA revised its policies to improve access to Individual Assistance (IA) programs by incorporating feedback from disaster survivors. This feedback led to the largest program update in two decades. These changes ensure a more streamlined and equitable process, making it easier for individuals to receive the aid and support that they need after a disaster. Since the changes were made, more than 1.8 million households received $1.3 billion in Serious Needs Assistance, a new benefit under the IA program.
• Inflation Reduction Act. FEMA published the implementation memo for the use of low-carbon materials and net-zero energy. These clean, climate-resilient considerations are applicable to projects through FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP), HMGP Post Fire Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC), Pre-Disaster Mitigation and Public Assistance (PA) Programs. 
• Safeguarding Tomorrow Revolving Loan Fund (RLF). On Dec. 19, 2023, FEMA announced $150 million in Safeguarding Tomorrow RLF funding for fiscal year 2024 to enable communities to continue building resilience through innovative, locally driven mitigation efforts. During 2024 all FY 2023 awards were obligated. The FY 2024 applications were also reviewed, and 12 selections were announced for $150 million in funding, including the first Tribal Nation program participant. 
• Published three Federal Continuity Directives and Continuity Guidance Circular. These documents establish continuity planning frameworks to assist federal, state, Tribal and territorial organizations when considering risk to their essential functions. They also set program management requirements, key concepts and methodologies for threat and hazard impact mitigation. 
• Updated National Disaster Recovery Framework. FEMA updated the National Disaster Recovery Framework (NDRF) version 3 to streamline and clarify the federal government’s approach for providing disaster recovery resources and support to disaster-impacted communities. The NDRF explains the federal government’s roles and responsibilities for organizing and deploying disaster recovery assistance across the whole recovery community. It also enhances effective collaboration among federal agencies and state, local, territorial governments and Tribal Nations, while informing nongovernmental partners with practical resources to assist in recovery planning efforts. These updates will help states, Tribal Nations and territories to more effectively lead and coordinate disaster recovery efforts.
• Updated Tribal Declarations Interim Guidance. The updated FEMA Tribal Declarations Interim Guidance provides a clearer, more-streamlined process for Tribal Nations to request federal disaster assistance directly from FEMA. This guidance emphasizes collaboration and flexibility, ensuring Tribal Nations receive timely and effective support during emergencies.
• National Resilience Guidance. FEMA released the National Resilience Guidance, which recommends steps communities and organizations can take to increase their resilience to climate change in every sector and discipline. This guidance will help individuals and communities understand and fulfill their critical roles in increasing national resilience. As part of its role, FEMA provided trainings and exercises to increase understanding of climate risks and spur adaptation activities.
• Improved Trauma-Informed Communications. FEMA and the Office of Management and Budget crafted a simple, trauma-informed flyer to help disaster survivors better understand the FEMA application process and access other forms of assistance. Available in English and Spanish, this flyer is now used in Disaster Recovery Centers and by Disaster Survivor Assistance Teams as they work their way through communities, knocking on doors and helping survivors with the application process.
• National Disaster and Emergency Management University. FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute became the National Disaster and Emergency Management University to better reflect its role in training the nation’s emergency managers and first responders. The university includes the Emergency Management Institute, which provides foundational training and development for early career emergency managers, the School of Disaster Leadership for mid- and late-career emergency managers and the School of National Resilience, which will bridge emergency managers and the stakeholders within the field of emergency management through deeper dives into disaster risk reduction for specific sectors.
• Risk Communications, Crisis Communications and Community Engagement Summit. FEMA hosted the first-ever Risk Communications, Crisis Communications and Community Engagement Summit and convened some of our nation’s leading experts in this field to improve response practices and strengthen community engagement.
• Memorandum of Agreement with the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans. FEMA signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA) to close the preparedness gap and address barriers across Asian American, Pacific Islander and Native Hawaiian communities. This partnership formalizes the collaborative, strategic approach FEMA and NCAPA will take to engage trusted leaders and institutions in the AANHPI communities to build prepared communities and a resilient nation.
• National Level Exercise 2024. FEMA coordinated the first-ever National-Level Exercise (NLE) focused on resilience, climate change threats to national security and recovery to prepare the nation for an increasingly complex and interconnected threat landscape. From May 2023 through August 2024, FEMA worked with partners in Hawaii, Guam and California to conduct nine scenario-based activities to assess the impact of a large hurricane on the Hawaiian Islands and subsequent cyber-attacks in both Guam and Hawaii. These activities fostered active participation from a wide range of community partners through seminars, table-top exercises and other approaches, which stress-tested the capability of those organizations to work together toward risk reduction and resilience objectives.
• Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program (CSEPP) Closeout. With the completion of destruction of the last remaining U.S. Army chemical weapons stockpile in the summer of 2023 in Colorado and Kentucky, CSEPP marked a significant milestone in its 30+ year history in supporting communities surrounding these storage facilities. The CSEPP community in Pueblo, Colorado completed program closeout in February 2023. In Kentucky, three of its counties have closed out their programs and CSEPP continues to support enhanced preparedness for the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the seven remaining counties that participate in CSEPP until its projected closeout in 2027.
• Publication of the FEMA Disaster Resilience Hub. The virtual online Resilience Hub aims to facilitate a no-wrong-door access to disaster resilience information services. The Hub connects emergency managers with the knowledge and tools necessary to effectively prepare for, respond to, recover from and mitigate the probability of future hazard events. The Hub’s knowledge and tools improve decision-making and operational efficiency across the profession, enabling the nation's emergency managers to navigate authoritative disaster and future conditions data. The Hub is designed to serve as a central resource to:
  • Enhance disaster information literacy across emergency management.
  • Integrate disaster information services into the nation's disaster programs.
  • Guide the consistent application of future conditions data, before, during and after disasters.
• FEMA approved license of use agreements (LUAs). FEMA approved LUAs with several retailers to establish informational booth opportunities and provide community members with information about available resources. The purpose of the LUA is to establish a relationship with known retailers in communities so that information can be quickly disseminated in emergent times of need. There are over 9,100 CVS locations, 1,700 Lowe’s Home Stores and over 2,000 Home Depots in the United States.
• Grants Management Modernization. The Grants Management Modernization (GMM) initiative, launched in March 2016, aims to modernize FEMA’s grant management with the development of the FEMA Grants Outcomes (FEMA GO) system. GMM has achieved significant milestones, incorporating executive governance of the programs through the Grants Management Advisory Board and delivering high-quality training resources to support system users. In FY 2024, FEMA GO reached full operational capability (FOC) with the release of full lifecycle grant management capabilities for all FEMA grant programs and completed moving all non-disaster grant programs to the FEMA GO system for current and future year funding opportunities. Disaster grants will move into FEMA GO in a phased approach, to ensure the system can fully support disaster grant requirements.
• Updates to 44 CFR Part 9, Floodplain Management and Protection of Wetlands. FEMA revised 44 CFR Part 9 to fully implement the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard to make communities more resilient and help reduce the damage caused by both current and future flooding. The rulemaking also included key streamlining measures to reduce complexity and speed approval of FEMA-funded recovery projects, which included reducing the number of Public Assistance projects that require floodplain reviews and for Individual Assistance implementing a shortened review process for group Direct Housing sites. This rule change was effective on Sept. 9, 2024.
• Princeville, North Carolina OEHP review completed. OEHP completed the review of a critical infrastructure project in Princeville, North Carolina using Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant program funds. Town officials considered elevating every building in the town or physically moving the community, their homes and critical services out of the floodplain. After careful consideration, guidance and support from EHP, the town decided the best solution for the health of the community and for future growth of the population was relocating the services and structures to a safer area versus elevating the properties within the existing floodplain.
• Columbia Canal OEHP completed. The review of a Public Assistance grant fund project was completed to repair the historic Columbia Canal located in Columbia, South Carolina. The canal, built in the 1820s to bypass the rapids where the Broad and Saluda Rivers join to form the Congaree River, was later repurposed in the 1890s as a hydroelectric industrial power source. The original repair project from 2016 included repairs to the breach in-kind. In 2023, the project was updated to include repairs to the breach and additional enhancements to strengthen the embankments throughout the canal. This was made possible through a Building Resilient Infrastructures and Communities (BRIC) grant.
• 2024 Improved Efficiency in Interagency Environmental and Historic Preservation Compliance Review Categorical Exclusions (CATEX). Under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) are a class of actions that federal agencies, with Council on Environmental Quality approval, have determined do not have a significant effect on the human environment and for which neither an Environmental Assessment nor an Environmental Impact Statement is normally required. The use of CATEXs reduces paperwork, saves time and conserves resources. The Office of Environmental Planning and Historic Preservation (OEHP) developed an approach for interagency CATEX sharing by analyzing the expanded CATEX sharing allowances added to NEPA via the Fiscal Responsibility Act. The OEHP team prepared a list of potential CATEX with priority rankings and recommended 18 CATEXs from the U.S. Department of Energy for adoption by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). In June 2024, all 18 CATEXs were officially adopted by DHS, streamlining interagency environmental and historic preservation compliance reviews during disaster recovery. The adoption of these CATEXs will aid FEMA in expediting energy related projects that would have previously required the preparation of an Environmental Assessment.
• Workforce Readiness Cycle. FEMA updated our Reservist Availability Model to provide clear expectations of availability requirements and allow for more predictable understanding of staffing capacity at any given time. Additionally, FEMA continued our efforts in the Regional Force Structure Review to ensure the agency has the right numbers of personnel in the right positions who are able to quickly respond when a disaster strikes.