Over $250 million in Federal Funding Announced to Help States and Local Communities Protect against Floods

Today, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced more than $250 million in funding to help states prevent damage from future flood disasters. Under the leadership of Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin, FEMA has been empowered to expeditiously work on pending mitigation grant awards. At his direction, FEMA is moving forward with plans to fund more than 100 projects across 20 states. This funding-distributed through FEMA's Flood Mitigation Assistance program and Swift Current-will enable states to protect their communities from the devastating impact of floods, which are the most common and costly type of natural disaster.

"Communities all across the United States are all too familiar with how devastating flooding can be," said Senior Official Performing the Duties of the FEMA Administrator Karen S. Evans. "State and local leaders need support from FEMA-not red tape. Under the leadership of Secretary Mullin, FEMA has prioritized moving resources to states to help them face all kinds of disasters, including floods. This funding will empower them to take decisive, proactive action to save lives and reduce the cost of future disasters."

FEMA's Flood Mitigation Assistance Program funds community-led projects to reduce or eliminate the risk of repetitive flood damage to structures and buildings insured by the National Flood Insurance Program. Also, as a part of Flood Mitigation Assistance, in 2022, FEMA implemented its Swift Current grant opportunities which are made available after Presidentially declared flood disasters to expedite the delivery of mitigation awards.

The awards announced today will fund more than 100 projects under both traditional Flood Mitigation Assistance funding and Swift Current, including:

• Nearly $24 million to Ohio for flood control projects throughout the city of Findlay, including hardening the shoreline of the Blanchard River to decrease runoff and restoring more than 900 acres of the riverbank to native wetland.
• More than $20.2 million to Louisiana to help improve old infrastructure in a neighborhood that often floods during heavy rains. Specifically, this funding will be used to build new systems to divert rainwater into a local canal.
• More than $18.8 million to Oregon to help kickstart a flood control project. This will improve flood control infrastructure and lower hazard risks to residences and roadways that have faced dangerous flooding conditions.
• More than $10.1 million to Texas to build new water infrastructure-including basins and culverts-that will help control flooding and protect homes from flood damage.
• More than $3.59 million in New Jersey to rebuild a stormwater system and replace the water main due to asbestos in cement pipe. These efforts will reduce flooding in a coastal area.
• More than $1.21 million to Florida for elevations related to the state's Elevate Florida Program. This funding was awarded through Swift Current following Hurricane Milton.
• Nearly $750,000 to Iowa to assess the impact of specific infrastructure improvements on flood risk. This assessment will inform a design plan for potential improvements to the community's levee system as well as other water infrastructure solutions.
• More than $415,000 to Kentucky to buy and tear down five buildings that have been repeatedly damaged by floods. This will eliminate future claims to the National Flood Insurance Program on these structures.
• More than $202,000 to West Virginia to create a statewide strategic flood plan that will align funding opportunities to local communities and specific priority projects.

These projects are the latest in billions of dollars in funding provided by FEMA to support state and local communities as they work to rebuild from natural disasters.

For more information about these awards, visit FEMA.gov.