FEMA Awards Over $1.1 Million to New Hampshire for Laconia Flood Control Project

The Federal Emergency Management Agency will be sending more than $1.1 million to the State of New Hampshire to reimburse the City of Laconia for part of the cost of replacing an undersized culvert with a larger bridge to help avoid future flood damage.

The $1,135,411 Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) grant will fund the replacement of a culvert on Hillard Road in Laconia with a 21-foot clear span bridge to reduce the frequency and severity of flooding, and decrease overtopping of the roadway during large storm events.

"We support mitigation projects that make local communities and the state better able to withstand the effects of natural disasters," said Robert Buxton, Director of the Department of Safety Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. "We will continue to work with our partners at the local, state and federal levels to build resiliency throughout New Hampshire."

The funding for this project represents 90 percent of the total $1,261,568 price tag and comes from a pool of money the state received from FEMA as part of the COVID-19 pandemic disaster through the HMGP program.

Under the program, every state, tribe, and territory that received a major disaster declaration in response to the COVID-19 pandemic will be eligible to receive 4% of those disaster costs to invest in mitigation projects that reduce risks from natural disasters, especially those related to climate change.

HMGP grants are managed by the state and funding for HMGP projects is authorized under Section 404 of the Robert T. Stafford Act, the 1988 law that governs FEMA's disaster-related activities. Since the funding is limited, states are responsible for prioritizing projects for funding.

"Hazard mitigation funding is FEMA's way of providing an incentive to state and local governments to rebuild smarter, stronger, and with an eye toward the next disaster that may strike," said FEMA Region 1 Acting Regional Administrator Jarrett Devine.

FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Grant Program is an important source of federal disaster assistance. HMGP funds may become available following the president's declaration of a major disaster, and help strengthen communities by improving buildings, facilities, residential structures and infrastructure that people use every day.