Latest FEMA Headlines
All the headlines from our FEMA Topic Page, ordered by recency.
FEMA to Issue First Catastrophe Bond for Flood Insurance Program
Apr 5 2018 // In another step shifting risk to private markets, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said it intends to secure additional reinsurance for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) through issuance of a...
Florida Keys Request Additional $16M from FEMA for Irma Damage
Mar 29 2018 // County officials in the Florida Keys are looking to get federal money to reimburse them for expenses related to Hurricane Irma. Monroe County officials traveled to Washington D.C. last week to meet with FEMA officials. The...
Why Storm-Prone States Continue to Balk at Tough Building Codes
Mar 19 2018 // The showdown in the Florida statehouse last year had all the drama of a knock-down political brawl: Powerful industries clashing. Warnings of death and destruction. And a surprise last-minute vote, delivering a sweeping...
Some Houstonians Spend Huge Sums to Elevate Their Homes After Harvey
Mar 14 2018 // This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune. When Marni Axelrad and her family moved to Houston’s Meyerland neighborhood in 2015, they planned to stay there for years to come. They loved the community, and...
FEMA to End Short-Term Shelter Program for Florida Irma Victims
Mar 9 2018 // Federal disaster officials are ending a program that paid for hotel rooms for more than 27,000 Florida households in the wake of Hurricane Irma. FEMA officials announced Tuesday that the short-term emergency sheltering...
Harvey Survivors Critical of Texas Governor/FEMA’s Disaster Response Plan
Mar 1 2018 // This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2018/02/27/texans-left-limbo-gov-abbott-fema-use-harvey-reinvent-disaster-respons/. In the weeks immediately after Hurricane Harvey,...
Appeals Court Rejects $586M FEMA Fix for Louisiana Barrier Islands
Feb 5 2018 // A federal appeals court has rejected Louisiana’s contention that the federal government should pay $586 million to restore barrier islands and wetlands damaged by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. The 5th U.S....
Foreclosure Fears Rise in Texas with Jump in Late Mortgages After Harvey
Jan 29 2018 // As Jacob Lerma surveyed the skeletal beams of his suburban Houston home that was flooded during Hurricane Harvey, he kept muttering three words as he wondered if his family would ever be able to move back in: “I...
What Government Shutdown Means for P/C Insurance Industry
Jan 22 2018 // The property/casualty insurance industry is not immune to any economic effects the federal government shutdown may bring but since the industry is largely regulated by the states, not Washington, the impact on the industry...
2017 Disasters
Jan 22 2018 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was busy in 2017 as it supported 59 major disaster declarations and 16 emergency declarations, a year during which unprecedented disasters affected more than 25 million...
Federal Disaster Mitigation Saves $6 for Every $1 Spent: Report
Jan 12 2018 // Federal programs to protect Americans against extreme weather and other natural disasters save even more money than previously thought, according to a report funded by the same agencies that have proposed cutting many of...
FEMA Expands Flood Reinsurance Program with Private Reinsurers for 2018
Jan 8 2018 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has completed a reinsurance placement with 28 private reinsurers to help the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) recover losses it may have to pay in 2018. Expanding on...
FEMA Declares Church Centers Now Eligible for U.S. Disaster Aid
Jan 5 2018 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced that private nonprofit houses of worship are now eligible for disaster assistance as community centers, without regard to their secular or religious nature. The...
FEMA Announces Federal Disaster Assistance for Several Northeast States
Jan 4 2018 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has announced that federal disaster assistance has been made available to the states of Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the...
Disasters Affected 8% of U.S. Population in 2017, FEMA Notes in Review of Historic Year
Jan 3 2018 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) supported 59 major disaster declarations and 16 emergency declarations in 2017, a year during which unprecedented disasters affected more than 25 million Americans, almost...
FEMA OKs Disaster Declaration for California
Jan 3 2018 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency has made federal disaster assistance available to California to supplement state, tribal and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by wildfires from Dec. 4, 2017 and...
Special Reuters Report: The High Cost of Building in High Flood Risk Areas
Dec 12 2017 // When Hurricane Harvey sent two feet of water rolling into this small community about 35 miles north of Houston, Alfredo Becerra had to flee his modest 1,500-square-foot house. Muddy floodwater submerged the furniture and...
U.S. Flood Program to Collect $1 Billion in Reinsurance for Hurricane Harvey Claims
Dec 6 2017 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is seeking to recover the full $1.042 billion of its reinsurance coverage to help pay the federal flood insurance program’s losses from Hurricane Harvey. Those paid...
Nearly 894,000 Texans Apply for FEMA Harvey Aid
Dec 4 2017 // Nearly 894,000 people in Texas met this week’s deadline to register for federal disaster assistance to help them recover from Hurricane Harvey, with more than $1.4 billion in funding approved so far, the Federal...
Puerto Rico Agrees FEMA to Approve How Disaster Aid Is Spent
Nov 28 2017 // Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello said the island has agreed to give the Federal Emergency Management Agency unprecedented power to oversee disaster-relief spending, a step that may mollify Congress as the territory...
